Chapter 11. Public Opinion
Explore
General
Wondering what public opinion is on a recent controversial issue? Go to pollingreport.com, and you are sure to find the answer. This amazing site contains results from nationwide polls on a variety of issues that are currently in the news. (See Exercises.)
Media polling organizations
The only newspaper to regularly conduct its own in-house polls is the Los Angeles Times. It regularly carries out polls on issues of importance to the nation, California, and Los Angeles. The Time Poll link also provides an alternative to the network-funded exit poll consortium, as it regularly conducts exit polls on national, California, and Los Angeles elections. Results of all Times polls are available for free on the web site. (See Exercises.)
The Washington Post also regularly conducts polls on national issues (sometimes in conjunction with ABC News). Its polling web site contains articles on the poll results. Students interested in polling methodology will want to check out the FAQ and Detailed Methodology links. Similar links are available to polls conducted by other media organizations including ABC News and CBS News.
Private polling organizations
The granddaddy of polling organizations, the Gallup Organization provides visitors to its web site with daily polls on a variety of topics, including the famous and much-revered Gallup presidential approval question. Find out these monthly results by clicking the "State of the Nation" tab at the top of the screen. Although visitors must be members to view the entire poll, anyone can watch "The Gallup Poll Daily Briefing," where Gallup Poll Editor-in-Chief Frank Newport provides interesting commentary on recent Gallup polls (requires Macromedia Flash Player).
The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press is an independent opinion research group, headed by Andrew Kohut, the focus of this chapter's "Profiles in Citizenship." The Center studies attitudes toward the press, politics, and public policy issues. Visitors have the opportunity to download datasets of surveys conducted by the Center and to read commentary on recent Pew surveys.
The Pew Research Center for the Press and Public Agenda contains enormous amounts of information regarding public opinion on a wide array of issues. The Public Agenda web site allows visitors to examine issues (accessible via the "Issue Guides" link in the top-left corner of the homepage) such as abortion, the economy, education, gay rights, and social security. Clicking on each issue provides links to an immense amount of information regarding the major debates and public opinion on those issues. This would be an exceptional resource for a research paper.
The web site for Zogby International, the polling company founded by John Zogby, contains information on recent polls conducted by the organization on everything from the president's job approval ratings to America's favorite fast-food restaurant.
Anyone interested in California politics will want to check out The Field Poll's web site. This nonpartisan polling organization regularly conducts polls on a variety of issues. Particularly interesting is the California Opinion Index, which includes reports on political, economic, and social issues that face the state.
Data consortiums
Social scientists would have a difficult time conducting their research if not for the University of Michigan's Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) . Though the site requires a university membership to access data, students can find public opinion questions (and data in general) on almost every subject imaginable.
Also housed at the University of Michigan is the famous National Election Study, the most comprehensive survey on American elections and conducted every two years. Students can access time-series data on subjects such as religion, ideology, party identification, and the public's views on several issues, to name just a few.
The Roper Center, housed at the University of Connecticut, contains a vast array of public opinion datasets on everything from public confidence in the Supreme Court to the Latin American Databank. The Center also holds the 2004 exit polls (available only to member institutions or for a fee). Visitors might also want to check out the Presidential Approval of George Bush link, which provides detailed information on the public's views of the president (there is no charge).
Professional polling organizations
The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) is one of the largest public opinion organizations in the country. On AAPOR's web site, you can view press releases from the organization on ethical questions in polling and learn about acceptable polling practices. Check out the "VOX BOX," which provides links to recent polls and studies. The organization publishes Public Opinion Quarterly, one of the most cited journals on public opinion research. On the web site, visitors can search for articles published in the journal and have the opportunity to sign up for emails announcing the recent issue's table of contents. This is another helpful site for research.
Another organization dedicated to upholding professional and ethical standards for pollsters is the National Council on Public Polls. Particularly useful is the organization's "20 Questions a Journalist Should Ask About Poll Results." These are questions that all people, not just journalists, should keep in mind when reporting poll results. (See Explore.)