George F. Bishop

The Illusion of Public Opinion (eBook, ePUB)

Fact and Artifact in American Public Opinion Polls

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

In a rigorous critique of public opinion polling in the United States, George F. Bishop makes the case that a lot of what passes as 'public opinion' in mass media today is an illusion, an artifact of measurement created by vague or misleading survey questions presented to respondents who typically construct their opinions on the spot. Using evidence from a wide variety of data sources, Bishop shows that widespread public ignorance and poorly informed opinions are the norm, rather than definitive public opinion on key political, social, and cultural issues of the day. The Illusion of Public Opinion presents a number of cautionary tales about how American public opinion has supposedly changed since September 11, 2001, amplified by additional examples drawn from the National Election Studies. Bishop's analysis of the pitfalls of asking survey questions and interpreting poll results leads the reader to a more skeptical appreciation of the art and science of public opinion polling as it is practiced today.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury eBooks US
• Seitenzahl: 248
• Erscheinungstermin: 19. August 2004
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9780742568655
• Artikelnr.: 39418857

Autorenporträt

George F. Bishop is professor of political science at the University of Cincinnati.

Inhaltsangabe

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 The Elusiveness of "Public Opinion"
Chapter 3 Illusory Opinions on Public Affairs
Chapter 4 Survey Questions and Reality
Chapter 5 The Changing American Voter: Fact and Artifact
Chapter 6 September 11th's Ephemeral Opinions
Chapter 7 Ambiguities of Measurement
Chapter 8 Spurious Impressions in the Press
Chapter 9 Illusions of Causality: Asking Why
Chapter 10 Improving the Measurement of Public Opinion