Public Opinion

Barbara A. Bardes is professor emerita of political science at the University of Cincinnati. She is the coauthor of American Government and Politics Today and Declarations of Independence: Women and Political Power in Nineteenth-Century American Fiction.Robert W. Oldendick is professor of political science at the University of South Carolina and directs the Institute for Public Service and Policy Research. He is the author or more than 30 articles on public opinion and survey methodology, appearing in journals such as Public Opinion Quarterly, the American Journal of Political Science, and the Journal of Politics.

• PART I: PUBLIC OPINION AND AMERICAN DEMOCRACY1. Public Opinion and American Democracy Defining Public Opinion Does Public Opinion Matter? Public Opinion versus Public Judgment Opinions, Attitudes, and Beliefs The Current Environment The Plan of the Book2. Measuring American Opinion: The Origins of Polling The Origins of Public Opinion Polling The Development of Survey Research The Election of 1948: A Temporary Setback After 1948: Continued Growth A Surge in Telephone Interviewing: The Development of Random-Digit Dialing The Rise of Internet Polling Social Media as an Indicator of Public OpinionPART II: HOW ARE OPINIONS MEASURED AND USED?3. How Public Opinion Data Are Used Using Public Opinion in Political Campaigns The Use of Public Opinion Polling by Officeholders The Use of Polling Data by Government Agencies Public Opinion and Interest Groups The Use of Polling by the Media Tracking Presidential Approval Ratings The Call-In Poll The Use of Public Opinion Data in Academic Research 4. How Are Opinions Measured? Modes of Survey Data Collection Populations of Interest Selecting a Sample Random-Digit Dialing Sampling for Electronic Data Collection Sampling ErrorSample Size Non-probability SamplingQuestionnaire Design Data Analysis PART III: WHAT DO AMERICANS BELIEVE?5. Sources of Opinions: Socialization, Mass Media, and Social Media The Political Learning of Children and Adolescents The Influence of Formal Education Gender and Opinions The Influence of Peers Generational Influences on Opinion The Role of Genetics in Shaping OpinionsHow Mass Media Influences Public Opinion Social Media and the Formation of Opinion6. What the Public Knows about Politics Early Empirical Investigations The Unchanging American Voter Applying Democratic Principles Group Differences in Knowledge The Consequences of Political Knowledge A Glass Half-Full Perspective?7. Political Orientations Political Ideology Party Identification Confidence in Institutions Trust in Government Polarization and Party Sorting in the American Electorate8. Public Opinion on Social-Welfare Issues Social-Welfare Issues Social Security Education Health Care Assisting the Needy The Environment The Issue of Global Warming Group Differences in Attitudes Polarization on Social-Welfare Issues9. Americans’ Views on Racial Issues Historical Racial IssuesGovernment Aid to Minority Groups Affirmative Action Symbolic RacismDifferences is the Racial Attitudes of Blacks and WhitesPolarization on Racial IssuesThe Increasing Influence of Hispanics 10. Public Opinion on Highly Controversial Issues Public Opinion toward Abortion Public Opinion on Gay Rights The Politics of Individual Rights Privacy and the Patriot ActThe Politics of Crime and Criminal Justice American Views on Gun Control Thinking about Weapons and Government Controls Immigration: A Mind Divided Polarization on Controversial Issues11. How Americans View Foreign and Defense Policies American Opinion in the Post 9/11 World Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: Which Opinions? Foreign Policy Goals and Priorities Issues of War and PeaceTerrorism and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq Peacekeeping, Rescue, and Other Uses of Military Force Foreign Aid and Other International IssuesHow Do Americans Think about Foreign Policy? Polarization on Foreign Policy IssuesPART IV: PUBLIC OPINION AND VOTING12. The Electoral Connection: Public Opinion and the VotePolls and ElectionsHow Voters DecideThe Connection between Opinions on Issues and the VoteThe Role of Political Parties in ElectionsPolitical Ideology and the VoteParty Polarization and Voting Behavior

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