Polling and the public : what every citizen should know /
Herbert Asher.
- 7th ed.
- Washington, DC : CQ Press, c2007.
- xiii, 255 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-238) and indexes.
Preface -- 1: Polling And The Public -- Importance of polls -- Pervasiveness of polls -- Commissioned polls -- Citizen as a consumer of polls -- Citizens' views of polls -- Polling and democracy -- Exercises -- 2: Problem Of Nonattitudes -- Example of nonattitudes -- Use of screening questions -- Nonattitudes and the middle position in survey questions -- Response instability and nonattitudes -- Implications for democracy and public policy -- Conclusion -- Exercises -- 3: Wording And Context Of Questions -- Question wording -- Question order and context -- Conclusion -- Exercises -- 4: Sampling Techniques -- Nonprobability sampling -- Sampling designs -- Sample size and sampling error -- Total versus actual sample size -- Response rates -- Weighting the sample -- Conclusion -- Exercises -- 5: Interviewing And Data Collection Procedures -- Methods of collecting polling information -- Interviewer effects in public opinion polling -- Internet polling -- Conclusion -- Exercises -- 6: Media And The Polls -- Standards for reporting results -- Substantive interpretation of polls -- Media, polls, and the news reporting emphasis -- Conclusion -- Exercises -- 7: Polls And Elections -- Sponsors of election polls -- Types of election polls -- Uses of polls by candidates -- Polls in the presidential selection process -- When and why election predictions are wrong -- How preelection polls affect voters -- Conclusion -- Exercises -- 8: Analyzing And Interpreting Polls -- Choosing items to analyze -- Examining trends with polling data -- Examining subsets of respondents -- Interpreting poll results -- When polls conflict: a concluding example -- Exercises -- 9: Polling And Democracy -- How to evaluate polls: a summary -- Polls and their effect on the political system -- Conclusion -- Exercise -- Web sites -- References -- Index.
9780872893405 (alk. paper) 0872893405
Public opinion polls. Public opinion--United States. Encuestas de la opinión pública Encuestas sociales Opinión pública--Estados Unidos