The term public opinion means the feeling or sentiment shared by most people, the voice of the people. This definition may be simple, but it is often difficult to determine what the public's opinion is on any given issue and how to interpret its meaning. This two-volume encyclopedia defines and discusses the history and development of public opinion as a concept in democracy, major public opinion controversies in American politics, and the science and methods of opinion polling. Over 170 signed entries explain the major concepts, people, historical events, organizations, practice and theory, and measurement methods of public opinion and political opinion polling in the United States.
Entries include: Noam Chomsky, exit polls, gender differences, liberalism and conservatism, National Election Studies, polling and voting, random digit dialing, and survey ethics. Ready reference materials include statistics and charts and a listing of major public opinion research centers, organizations and archives. Excellent for researchers and students in political science and civics courses.

Polling America [2 volumes]: An Encyclopedia of Public Opinion [2 volumes]

Reference

Radcliff, Benjamin

Best, Samuel J.

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

Greenwood

Designed for researchers and students alike, the volume describes how to perform each stage of the data collection process on the Internet, including sampling, instrument design, and administration. Through the use of non-technical prose and illustrations, it details the options available, describes potential dangers in choosing them, and provides guidelines for sidestepping them. In doing so, though, it does not simply reiterate the practices of traditional communication modes, but approaches the Internet as a unique medium that necessitates its own conventions.

Internet Data Collection (Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences)

Business & Money

Krueger, Brian S.

Marketing & Sales

Sage Publications, Inc.

Every two years, exit polls become the most widely analyzed, written about, and discussed data-set in the United States. Although exit polls are known for their use in predicting elections, they are in fact the best tool for explaining election results. Exit polls are taken from actual voters, whereas pre-election polls that tally people’s intended votes tend to overstate the number of people who will actually go to the polls. Exit Polls: Surveying the American Electorate is a groundbreaking new reference work that explores for the first time the trends in longitudinal variables asked in the national Election Day exit polls from their beginning in 1972 to the present. The book documents comparable survey items that have appeared in multiple exit polls over time. Authors Samuel J. Best and Brian S. Krueger―both election commentators for CBS news and statistical experts―present more than 100 tables and 100 figures showing the changes in the American electorate and its voting patterns over time. This work represents the first time exit poll data has been combined to show trends over time. Chapter one: The Exit Poll Phenomenon provides a brief history of exit polls and chronicles how they evolved into their current arrangement. It explains how exit poll questions are developed, the sampling and weighting procedures used, the reporting protocols adopted, and the benefits and limitations of exit polls. Chapter two: Creating and Using Exit Poll Time Series describes how individual exit polls were compiled into a first of its kind cumulative data file and discusses the rationale for selecting specific survey items. The chapter explains the techniques used to merge the data and discusses the framework used to present the data in the subsequent chapters. Chapter three: Composition of Voters in Federal Elections focuses on changes in the demographic and ideological composition of the electorate over almost forty years, including gender, age, race, sexual orientation, education, income, religion, party membership, and military service. Chapter four: The Presidential Voting Preferences of the Active Electorate examines the presidential voting patterns of the various groups that make up the American electorate, from 1972 to 2010. Chapter five: The Congressional Voting Preferences of the Active Electorate examines the congressional voting patterns of the various groups that make up the American electorate from 1972 to 2010. Offering unique insight into the American electorate, this important new work is meant to serve novice and expert researchers alike. Libraries with holdings in American politics and government will want to acquire this one-of-a-kind resource.

Exit Polls: Surveying the American Electorate, 1972-2010

Science & Math

Mathematics

CQ Press

Toppling Trump: How Party Elites Steered Joe Biden to the Democratic Nomination and Victory in the 2020 Presidential Election. (Springer Series in Electoral Politics)

Politics & Social Sciences

Ladewig, Jeffrey W.

Politics & Government

Springer

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Books by Best, Samuel J.