Public Opinion: Measuring the American Mind / Edition 5

by Barbara A. Bardes University of Cincinnati, Robert W. Oldendick University of South Carolina

Overview

The fifth edition of Public Opinion: Measuring the American Mind provides a comprehensive, accessible introduction to public opinion in the United States and describes how public opinion data are collected, how they are used, and the role they play in the U.S. political system. Bardes and Oldendick introduce students to the history of polling and explain the factors a good consumer of polls should know in order to critically evaluate public opinion data. Public Opinion: Measuring the American Mind is the only text to devote significant space to the history of polling, the use of polling in America today, and to explain the methods used for survey research. In addition, the authors engage students by providing in-depth coverage of public opinion on such issues as political ideology, health care, race, and foreign policy, as well as an update and discussion of the major changes that have taken place on controversial issues such as gay marriage, gun control, and immigration. Updated to include the latest data from the American National Election Study and the General Social Surveys in 2012 and 2014, this lively, engaging text combines a comprehensive grounding in the nuts and bolts of the field with relevant, real-world examples.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442261884
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/14/2016
Edition description:	Fifth Edition
Pages:	370
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

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.

Table of Contents

PART I: PUBLIC OPINION AND AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
1. 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 Book

2. 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 Opinion

PART 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 Error
Sample Size
Non-probability Sampling
Questionnaire 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 Opinions
How Mass Media Influences Public Opinion
Social Media and the Formation of Opinion

6. 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 Electorate

8. 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 Issues

9. Americans’ Views on Racial Issues
Historical Racial Issues
Government Aid to Minority Groups
Affirmative Action
Symbolic Racism
Differences is the Racial Attitudes of Blacks and Whites
Polarization on Racial Issues
The 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 Act
The Politics of Crime and Criminal Justice
American Views on Gun Control
Thinking about Weapons and Government Controls
Immigration: A Mind Divided
Polarization on Controversial Issues

11. 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 Peace
Terrorism and the Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
Peacekeeping, Rescue, and Other Uses of Military Force
Foreign Aid and Other International Issues
How Do Americans Think about Foreign Policy?
Polarization on Foreign Policy Issues

PART IV: PUBLIC OPINION AND VOTING
12. The Electoral Connection: Public Opinion and the Vote
Polls and Elections
How Voters Decide
The Connection between Opinions on Issues and the Vote
The Role of Political Parties in Elections
Political Ideology and the Vote
Party Polarization and Voting Behavior

Editorial Reviews

Bardes and Oldendick’s text is the best of the half-dozen or so out there on the subject, and is likely to remain so.

Daron Shaw

The most comprehensive and readable undergraduate public opinion text out there.

Jason Gainous