“73.1% of American's describe themselves as soft-hearted”*
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Statements such as the one above are derived from the results of opinion polls. Many people in politics, news organizations, and business believe that the use of poll and survey data can effectively gauge the public’s opinion on a particular issue. Others believe that polls and surveys are fundamentally flawed; they are based on the erroneous premise that public opinion is merely an aggregate of individual opinions which can in turn be represented in percentages. |
With the election season in full swing public opinion poll results are continuously referenced in the news. Regardless of how we feel about their merit we cannot deny that they have considerable influence on our own opinions. The results of polls and surveys are determined by using various statistical methods that can be difficult to understand. Cleveland Public Library has a wide range of resources that highlight poll and survey results and delve into the different methodologies used in conducting them.
For an overview of past opinion polls and other national surveys we would like to draw your attention to the Gallup and New Strategists publications held by CPL. New Strategist publications summarize the results of various polls and surveys taken by outside organizations. These titles cover everything from the purchasing habits of various demographic groups, American attitudes on social issues, how we spend our time and many other topics. The Gallup organization has been conducting polls for the last 70 years and their daily election poll results are reported on by news organizations around the world. Their Public Opinion series, which spans the years 1935-2007, summarizes Gallup poll results taken from the previous year. One of the more revealing polls summarized in the 2007 edition of Public Opinion is the annual survey on the honesty and ethical standards of people in various professions. The poll results, published on December 10th 2007, found that a new profession has claimed the top prize (the lowest ranking) when ranking their perceived level of honesty and ethical standards. 91% of American’s view lobbyists as having “Average” to “Low/Very Low” ethical standards. The four lowest-rated professions in descending order are: Congressmen, Advertising practitioners, Car salesmen, and Lobbyists.**
Determining which methodology was used in a poll or survey, and whether or not it is a sound method can be more problematic. Some organizations publish their methodologies at the bottom of their poll results and others do not. The National Council on Public Polls (NCPP), one of the largest associations of polling organizations, aims to set minimum standards for polling organizations by publishing guidelines for principles of disclosure, demographic weighting, and internal responsibility. It also has published a list of 20 questions a person should ask before reporting the claims of a poll. Below you will find additional resources intended for laypeople that address polling methods.
Lastly, if you are interested in conducting your own, albeit unscientific, poll there are a wide host of online applications that may be of use to you. Online polls such as the one displayed in the left side bar of this page can be created using websites such as PollDaddy, SurveyMonkey, and Micropoll; each offer the user the ability to create polls and analyze their results with a variety of free and easy-to-use web applications.
We hope this information has been useful to you. Please feel free to take our "Winter Sentiment Survey" located in the left side bar of this page. If you have any questions regarding this subject please contact the Social Sciences Department at 216.623.2860.
Reference Titles
American attitudes: what Americans think about the issues that shape their lives New Strategist Publications
HN90.P8 A527 (REF Social Sciences Department)
American time use: who spends how long at what
New Strategist Publications
HD69 .T54 A46 2007 (REF Business Department)
Dictionary of polling: the language of contemporary opinion research
By Michael L. Young
HM261 .Y684 1992 (REF Social Sciences Department)
The Gallup poll: public opinion 2007
Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield
HN90.P8 G34 (REF Social Sciences Department)
Polling America: an encyclopedia of public opinion
Greenwood Press
HN90.P8 P645 (REF Social Sciences Department)
Public opinion and polling around the world: a historical encyclopedia
ABC-CLIO
HM1236 .P83 2004 V.1-2 (REF Social Sciences Department)
Circulating Titles
Developing a questionnaire
By Bill Graham
HN29 .G566 2000
Doing survey research: a guide to quantitative methods
By Peter N. Nardin
HN29 .N25 2006
The illusion of public opinion
George F. Bishop
HN90.P8 B57 2005
Polling and the public
By Herbert Asher
HM1236 .A75 2001
Public opinion
By Walter Lippman
HM261 .L75 2004
The voter’s guide to election polls
Michael W. Traughott and Paul J. Lavrakas
HN90 .P8 T73 2000
Websites
Gallup daily election poll results: http://www.gallup.com/poll/election2008.aspx
Polling Report: http://pollingreport.com/
PollDaddy http://www.polldaddy.com/
SurveyMonkey http://www.surveymonkey.com/
MicroPoll http://www.micropoll.com/
* Source: General Social Survey, National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago.
**Jones, J. (2007). Lobbyists debut at the bottom of honesty and ethics list. In Alec Gallup & Frank Newport (Eds.), Gallup Poll: Public Opinion 2007 (pp. 258-529). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
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