He earned his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990 and his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1995. Dr. Best specializes in public opinion, electoral behavior and research methods. He has authored or co-authored numerous articles in many of the top journals in political science, such as American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Behavior, and American Politics Research. His books include Exit Polls: Surveying the American Electorate: 1972-2010 (CQ Press, 2012), Polling America (Greenwood, 2005) and Internet Data Collection (Sage, 2004).