Despite their pervasiveness in American life, with subjects ranging from how citizens will vote in presidential elections to opinions about American Idol contestants, considerable misunderstanding exists about the conduct and interpretation of polls. Politicians, interest groups, political parties, advertisers, media outlets, and academics alike point to what the public has expressed through any number of public opinion polls to bolster their positions and arguments. Given the ever-increasing prevalence and frequent misinterpretation of polls, students need to become better consumers of poll results.


This updated seventh edition builds on a proven framework, closely examining structural aspects of polls, methodological procedures, and the function of polls in electoral politics. New material examines a number of methodological areas including possible meanings of the "don't know" or middle response, more detailed coverage of sampling and response rates, consideration of nonattitudes, and greater discussion of reliability, validity and index construction. End-of-chapter exercises further the book's goal of educating individuals to become savvy to the use and misuse of polls.