Polling and the public
Subtitle: what every citizen should know
By: Herbert Asher.
Edition: 3rd ed.
Publisher: CQ Press
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Washington, D.C
Language: eng
Format: Trade Paperback
Number of pages: 199
Subjects: Public opinion polls.; Public opinion -- United States.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 176-189) and index.
Table of contents: title: Polling and the public. The importance of polls -- The pervasiveness of polls -- Commissioned polls -- The citizen as a consumer of polls -- Citizens’ views of the polls -- Polling and democracy -- The problem of nonattitudes. An example of nonattitudes -- The use of screening questions -- Nonattitudes and the middle position in survey questions -- The “mushiness index” -- Conclusion -- Wording and context of questions. Question wording -- Question order and context -- Conclusion -- Sampling techniques. Sampling designs -- Sample size -- Total vs. actual sample size -- Conclusion -- Interviewing procedures. Methods of collecting polling information -- Interviewer effects in public opinion polling -- Conclusion -- The media and the polls. Standards for reporting results -- Substantive interpretation of polls -- Media, polls, and the news reporting emphasis -- Conclusion -- 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 -- Analyzing and interpreting polls. Choosing items to analyze -- Examining trends with polling data -- Examining subsets of respondents -- Interpreting poll results -- Weighting the sample -- When polls conflict : a concluding example -- Advice to poll consumers -- How to evaluate polls : a summary -- Polls and their effect on the political system -- Conclusion.