Public Opinion

Polling and the Public : What Every Citizen Should Know

Name: Polling and the Public : What Every Citizen Should Know
Author: Herbert B. Asher
ISBN: 9781568024004

by Herbert B. Asher

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Overview

How can a public opinion poll of only 1,500 Americans accurately represent the entire population? Asher demystifies this and other polling issues with clear descriptions, colorful anecdotes and such up-to-date examples as polls concerning doctor-assisted suicide and NATO expansion. He explains how the wording and ordering of the survey questions, and the interviewer's techniques profoundly affect the response the pollster gets.

Public opinion polls are pervasive, influencing discourse and decision-making on practically every issue of public life. Yet they are poorly understood and often misused. Asher explores how polls are constructed, conducted, and interpreted-and what role they have in influencing the very attitudes they measure. He discusses the use of polls in campaign politics, media coverage of public opinion, and he guides readers to make their own judgments.

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Editorials

Booknews

Although information from public opinion polls is ubiquitous<-- >wielded by political candidates, the media, and all kinds of organizations hoping to prove a point<-->polling is poorly understood by most people. Asher (emeritus, political science, Ohio State U.) explains how surveys are constructed, conducted, and interpreted. He covers polling in campaign politics and media coverage and discusses issues such how a survey's questions influence the very attitudes they purport to measure. It's intended for students of political science, public opinion, communications, and journalism as well as for reporters, editors, and campaign managers; also useful for general readers who want to better understand the numbers in the news. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

New edition of a book intended to turn people into wiser consumers of polls. Asher (political science, Ohio State U.) discusses the problem of nonattitudes, the wording and context of questions asked in polls, sampling techniques, how the media reports on polls, the effects of polling on elections, and the art of polling analysis and interpretation. The book is filled with examples from actual polls, anecdotes, and pertinent cartoons. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.