1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910811444403321

Autore

Shiraev Eric <1960->

Titolo

People and their opinions : thinking critically about public opinion / / Eric Shiraev, Richard Sobel

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London [England] ; ; New York, New York : , : Routledge, , 2016

©2006

ISBN

1-315-66335-X

1-317-34585-1

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (385 p.)

Disciplina

303.3/8

303.38

Soggetti

Public opinion

Public opinion - United States

Political socialization

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Restrictions on access to electronic version: access available to SOAS staff and students only, using SOAS id and password.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

""Cover ""; ""Title Page""; ""Copyright Page""; ""Table of Contents ""; ""Preface""; ""About the Authors""; ""Chapter 1 Introduction: The Nature of Public Opinion""; ""What Is Public Opinion?""; ""Types of Public Opinion""; ""A Case in Point 1.1: Elitist Commentators or Next-Door Neighbors?""; ""Public Opinion and Society""; ""Social Value of Opinion Polls""; ""Practical Value""; ""Comparative Value""; ""A Case in Point 1.2: Specific Opinions on Particular Policies""; ""A Case in Point 1.3: When Pollsters and Their Sponsors "Go Wrong"""; ""Political and Ideological Value""

""Overall Resistance to Polling""""Government: Does Public Opinion Matter?""; ""Two Views on Government and Polls""; ""A Topic for Class Discussion: Factors Mediating Public Opinion's Influence on Policy""; ""Political Structure: Institutions and Communications""; ""Political Landscape and Elections""; ""Political Participation""; ""Assignment 1.1: Proliferating Information Sources""; ""Chapter Summary""; ""Definitions of Key Terms""; ""Chapter 2 Measurement of Opinion""; ""Measurement and Human Expression""; ""Steps in Survey Research""; ""Sample



Selection""; ""Types of Sampling""

""Sampling Error""""Sampling and Accuracy of Polls""; ""A Case in Point 2.1: The 1948 Polling Disaster""; ""A Case in Point 2.2: The Use of Nonrepresentative Samples""; ""Looking for Linkages""; ""Surveys""; ""Survey Questions""; ""Structure and Order of Questions""; ""A Case in Point 2.3: The Way Questions Are Asked""; ""Hazy, Knotty, Corny, and Other Bad Questions""; ""Question Translation""; ""Non-Survey Methods""; ""Experiment""; ""Content Analysis""; ""Focus Groups""; ""Meta-Analysis: Research on Research""; ""Qualitative Approaches""; ""A Case in Point 2.4: Culture-Bound Surveys""

""Assignment 2.1: Problems with Questions""""Assignment 2.2: Errors in Sampling""; ""Chapter Summary""; ""Definitions of Key Terms""; ""Chapter 3 Thinking Critically About People's Opinions""; ""Critical Thinking about Polls""; ""Thinking About a Survey's Context""; ""Circumstances Surrounding a Survey""; ""The Way the Question Is Asked""; ""Thinking About Bias in Survey Interpretation""; ""Be Aware of Your Own Prejudgments""; ""Be Aware of Respondents' Assumptions""; ""A Topic for Class Discussion: "Right" and "Wrong" Issues""; ""Wording: Look Critically at Descriptions""

""Pay Attention to Labels""""Question Secondary Sources""; ""Be Aware of Dichotomous and Continuous Variables""; ""A Case in Point 3.1: Headlines About Survey Results""; ""Explanations: Understanding Sources of Opinions""; ""Know How to Interpret Correlations and Co-appearances""; ""Look for Many Causes""; ""A Case in Point 3.2: What the "Average" American Thinks About Correlation and Causation""; ""Assignment 3.1: Similarities and Differences""; ""Chapter Summary""; ""Definitions of Key Terms""; ""Chapter 4 Attitudes and Opinions""; ""The Nature of Attitudes""

""A Case in Point 4.1: Culture and Attitudes""

Sommario/riassunto

Utilizing both a critical thinking approach and a comparative perspective throughout the text, Sobel and Shiraev provide comprehensive coverage of public opinion while also teaching students the basic skills necessary for measurement, understanding, and interpreting. Written in an accessible and engaging manner, this text provides a unique and practical introduction to the field of public opinion. The book begins by schooling the reader in how to think critically and then helps students apply those techniques as they encounter the concepts of public opinion. The text also employs a comparative perspective, demonstrating the effect and nature of public opinion in other countries while also placing American public opinion in context.