The Illusion of Public Opinion: Fact and Artifact in American Public Opinion PollsIn a rigorous critique of public opinion polling in the U.S., 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 9/11, amplified by additional examples on other occasions drawn from the American 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. |
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Contents
The Elusiveness of Public Opinion | 1 |
Illusory Opinions on Public Affairs | 19 |
Survey Questions and Reality | 47 |
The Changing American Voter Fact and Artifact | 69 |
September 11s Ephemeral Opinions | 91 |
Ambiguities of Measurement | 115 |
Spurious Impressions in the Press | 143 |
Illusions of Causality Asking Why | 169 |
Improving the Measurement of Public Opinion | 187 |
| 203 | |
| 215 | |
About the Author | 223 |
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Common terms and phrases
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References to this book
The SAGE Handbook of Public Opinion Research Wolfgang Donsbach,Michael W Traugott No preview available - 2008 |
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Illusion of Public Opinion: Fact and Artifact in American Public Opinion Polls |
| Author | George F. Bishop |
| Publisher | Rowman & Littlefield, 2005 |
| ISBN | 0742516458, 9780742516458 |
| Length | 223 pages |
| Subjects | › › Political Science / Civics & Citizenship Political Science / Political Process / General Social Science / Media Studies |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |