Wolfgang Donsbach & Michael W. Traugott 
The SAGE Handbook of Public Opinion Research [PDF ebook] 

′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

Public opinion theory and research are becoming increasingly significant in modern societies as people′s attitudes and behaviours 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 Handbook of Public Opinion Research provides an indispensable resource for both practitioners and students alike.

Содержание

PART ONE: HISTORY, PHILOSOPHY OF PUBLIC OPINION AND PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH

The Public and Public Opinion in Political Theories — Vincent Price

The Deliberating Public and Deliberative Polls — Peter Neijens

The News as a Reflection of Public Opinion — Thomas E. Patterson

Advocacy: Alternative Expressions of Public Opinion — Kurt Lang & Gladys Engel Lang

Studying Elites vs. Mass Opinion — Ursula Hoffmann-Lange

The Internet as a New Platform for Expressing Opinions and as a New Public Sphere — Bernhard Debatin

Popular Communication and Public Opinion — Debra Merskin & Jonathan David Tankel

The Historical Roots of Public Opinion Research — Anthony Oberschall

Mass-observation and Modern Public Opinion Research — Murray Goot

The Start of Modern Public Opinion Research — Hans L. Zetterberg

Public Opinion Research in Emerging Democracies — Robert Mattes

PART TWO: THEORIES OF PUBLIC OPINION FORMATION AND CHANGE — Penny S. Visser, Allyson Holbrook & Jon A. Krosnick

Knowledge and Attitudes

Conceptions of Attitudes and Opinions — Roger Tourangeau & Mirta Galešic

Theories on the Perception of Social Reality — William P. Eveland Carroll J. Glynn

Pluralistic Ignorance and Nonattitudes — Patricia Moy

Spiral of Silence Theory — Dietram A. Scheufele

Public Opinion and the Third-person Effect — Albert C. Gunther, Richard M. Perloff & Yariv Tsfati

Effects of the News Media on Public Opinion — Hans Mathias Kepplinger

Agenda-setting, Framing and Priming — Patrick Roessler

PART THREE: METHODOLOGY

The Methodological Strengths and Weaknesses of Survey Research — Herbert Weisberg

The Uses and Misuses of Polls — Michael W. Traugott

Face-to-face Surveys — Jennifer Dykema, Danna Basson & Nora Cate Schaeffer

Surveys by Telephone — Paul J. Lavrakas

Self-administered Paper Questionnaires — Don A. Dillman & Nicholas L. Parsons

Internet Surveys — Vasja Vehovar, Katja Lozar Manfreda & Gašper Koren

Different Survey Modes and International Comparisons — Yang-chih Fu & Yun-han Chu

Sampling — Colm O′Muircheartaigh

Survey Non-response — Adam J. Berinsky

Split ballots as an Experimental Approach to Public Opinion Research — Thomas Petersen

Panel Surveys — Jochen Hansen

Focus Groups and Public Opinion — David L. Morgan & Collin E. Fellows

Content Analyses and Public Opinion Research — Winfried Schulz

Designing Reliable and valid Questionnaires — Kenneth A. Rasinski

The Psychology of Survey Response — Norbert Schwarz

The use of Scales in Surveys — Michael Häder

The use of Visual Materials in Surveys — Thomas Petersen

Validation Studies — Michael W. Traugott

Identifying Value Clusters in Societies — Hans L. Zetterberg

PART FOUR: THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT OF PUBLIC OPINION RESEARCH

The Legal Status of Public Opinion Research in the World — Wolfgang Donsbach & Uwe Hartung

Attitudes of the Public Towards Public Opinion Research and Polling — Anne Hildreth

Attitudes of Journalists Toward Public Opinion Research — David H. Weaver

Codes of Ethics and Standards in Survey Research — Tom W. Smith

Archiving Poll Data — Wolfgang Jagodzinski & Meinhard Moschner

The News Media′s use of Opinion Polls — Frank Brettschneider

The use of Surveys by Governments and Politicians — Robert M. Eisinger

The use of Public Opinion Research in Propaganda — Michael Kunczik & Eva Johanna Schweitzer

The Effects of Published Polls on Citizens — Sibylle Hardmeier

PART FIVE: SPECIAL FIELDS OF APPLICATION

The use of Surveys as Legal Evidence — Anne Niedermann

Public Opinion and the Economy — Lutz M. Hagen

Marketing Research — Humphrey Taylor

Social Indicators and the Quality of Life — John P. Robinson, Kenneth C. Land & Steven Martin

Assessing Long-term Value Changes in Societies — Ottar Hellevik

Exit Polls and Pre-election Polls — Kathllen A. Frankovic

International Comparative Surveys — Marta Lagos

Their Purpose, Content and Methodological Challenges

The use of Voter Research in Campaigns — Fred Steeper