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The SAGE Handbook of Public Opinion Research
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The SAGE Handbook of Public Opinion Research

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December 2007 | 640 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd
Public opinion theory and research are becoming increasingly significant in modern societies as people's attitudes and behaviors become ever more volatile and opinion poll data becomes ever more readily available. This major new Handbook is the first to bring together into one volume the whole field of public opinion theory, research methodology, and the political and social embeddedness of polls in modern societies. It comprehensively maps out the state-of-the-art in contemporary scholarship on these topics.

With over fifty chapters written by distinguished international researchers, both academic and from the commercial sector, this Handbook is designed to:
  • Give the reader an overview of the most important concepts included in and surrounding the term 'public opinion' and its application in modern social research
  • Present the basic empirical concepts for assessing public opinion and opinion changes in society
  • Provide an overview of the social, political and legal status of public opinion research, how it is perceived by the public and by journalists, and how it is used by governments
  • Offer a review of the role and use of surveys for selected special fields of application, ranging from their use in legal cases to the use of polls in marketing and campaigns.

The SAGE Handbook of Public Opinion Research provides an indispensable resource for both practitioners and students alike.

 
PART ONE: HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC OPINION AND PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH
Vincent Price
The Public and Public Opinion in Political Theories
Peter Neijens
The Deliberating Public and Deliberative Polls
Thomas E. Patterson
The News as a Reflection of Public Opinion
Kurt Lang & Gladys Engel Lang
Advocacy: Alternative Expressions of Public Opinion
Ursula Hoffmann-Lange
Studying Elites vs. Mass Opinion
Bernhard Debatin
The Internet as a New Platform for Expressing Opinions and as a New Public Sphere
Debra Merskin & Jonathan David Tankel
Popular Communication and Public Opinion
Anthony Oberschall
The Historical Roots of Public Opinion Research
Murray Goot
Mass-observation and Modern Public Opinion Research
Hans L. Zetterberg
The Start of Modern Public Opinion Research
Robert Mattes
Public Opinion Research in Emerging Democracies
Penny S. Visser, Allyson Holbrook & Jon A. Krosnick
PART TWO: THEORIES OF PUBLIC OPINION FORMATION AND CHANGE
 
Knowledge and Attitudes
Roger Tourangeau & Mirta Galešic
Conceptions of Attitudes and Opinions
William P. Eveland Carroll J. Glynn
Theories on the Perception of Social Reality
Patricia Moy
Pluralistic Ignorance and Nonattitudes
Dietram A. Scheufele
Spiral of Silence Theory
Albert C. Gunther, Richard M. Perloff & Yariv Tsfati
Public Opinion and the Third-person Effect
Hans Mathias Kepplinger
Effects of the News Media on Public Opinion
Patrick Roessler
Agenda-setting, Framing and Priming
 
PART THREE: METHODOLOGY
Herbert Weisberg
The Methodological Strengths and Weaknesses of Survey Research
Michael W. Traugott
The Uses and Misuses of Polls
Jennifer Dykema, Danna Basson & Nora Cate Schaeffer
Face-to-face Surveys
Paul J. Lavrakas
Surveys by Telephone
Don A. Dillman & Nicholas L. Parsons
Self-administered Paper Questionnaires
Vasja Vehovar, Katja Lozar Manfreda & Gašper Koren
Internet Surveys
Yang-chih Fu & Yun-han Chu
Different Survey Modes and International Comparisons
Colm O'Muircheartaigh
Sampling
Adam J. Berinsky
Survey Non-response
Thomas Petersen
Split ballots as an Experimental Approach to Public Opinion Research
Jochen Hansen
Panel Surveys
David L. Morgan & Collin E. Fellows
Focus Groups and Public Opinion
Winfried Schulz
Content Analyses and Public Opinion Research
Kenneth A. Rasinski
Designing Reliable and valid Questionnaires
Norbert Schwarz
The Psychology of Survey Response
Michael Häder
The use of Scales in Surveys
Thomas Petersen
The use of Visual Materials in Surveys
Michael W. Traugott
Validation Studies
Hans L. Zetterberg
Identifying Value Clusters in Societies
 
PART FOUR: THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT OF PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH
Wolfgang Donsbach & Uwe Hartung
The Legal Status of Public Opinion Research in the World
Anne Hildreth
Attitudes of the Public Towards Public Opinion Research and Polling
David H. Weaver
Attitudes of Journalists Toward Public Opinion Research
Tom W. Smith
Codes of Ethics and Standards in Survey Research
Wolfgang Jagodzinski & Meinhard Moschner
Archiving Poll Data
Frank Brettschneider
The News Media's use of Opinion Polls
Robert M. Eisinger
The use of Surveys by Governments and Politicians
Michael Kunczik & Eva Johanna Schweitzer
The use of Public Opinion Research in Propaganda
Sibylle Hardmeier
The Effects of Published Polls on Citizens
 
PART FIVE: SPECIAL FIELDS OF APPLICATION
Anne Niedermann
The use of Surveys as Legal Evidence
Lutz M. Hagen
Public Opinion and the Economy
Humphrey Taylor
Marketing Research
John P. Robinson, Kenneth C. Land & Steven Martin
Social Indicators and the Quality of Life
Ottar Hellevik
Assessing Long-term Value Changes in Societies
Kathllen A. Frankovic
Exit Polls and Pre-election Polls
Marta Lagos
International Comparative Surveys
Their Purpose, Content and Methodological Challenges

 
Fred Steeper
The use of Voter Research in Campaigns

'Some of the most experienced and thoughtful research experts in the world have contributed to this comprehensive Handbook, which should have a place on every serious survey researcher's bookshelf' - Sir Robert Worcester, Founder of MORI and President of WAPOR '82-'84.

'This is the book I have been waiting for. It not only reflects the state of the art, but will most likely also shape public opinion on public opinion research' - Olof Petersson, Professor of political science, SNS, Stockholm, Sweden

'The Handbook of Public Opinion Research is very authoritative, well organized, and sensitive to key issues in opinion research around the world. It will be my first choice as a general reference book for orienting users and training producers of opinion polls in Southeast Asia' - Mahar K. Mangahas, Ph.D., President of Social Weather Stations, Philippines (www.sws.org.ph)

'This is the most comprehensive book on public opinion research to date' - Robert Ting-Yiu Chung, Secretary-Treasurer, World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR); Director of Public Opinion Programme, The University of Hong Kong


'This is an admirable and expansive book..Any scholar with an interest in public opinion will want to have access to this book, and I recommend it highly. The editors have provided a substantial

resource that no serious research library can be without'
Michael Higgins
The British Politics Journal

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter One PDF


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