Series from book jacket. Includes bibliographical references and index.
Contents:
1. Survey design. Total survey error / Herb Weisberg, Ohio State University -- Longitudinal surveys: Issues and opportunities / Sunshine Hillygus and Steve Snell, Duke University -- The advantages and disadvantages of mode / Lonna Atkeson and Alex Adams, University of New Mexico -- Taking the study of political behavior online / Stephen Ansolabehere and Brian Shaffner, Harvard University -- Sampling for studying context: Traditional surveys and new directions / James Gimpel, University of Maryland -- Questionnaire science / Daniel Oberski, Tilburg University -- 2. Data collection. Exit polling today and what the future may hold / Anthony Salvanto, CBS News -- Sampling hard to reach populations: Lessons from sampling Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) / Prakash Adkihari, Central Michigan State University and Lisa Bryant, California State University Fresno -- Reaching beyond low-hanging fruit: Surveying low-incidence populations, Justinlamazoo College / Youssef Chouhound and Jane Junn, University of Southern California -- Survey research in the Arab world / Lindsay Benstead, Portland State University -- The language-opinion connection / Efren O. Perez, Vanderbilt University -- 3. Analysis and presentation. Causal inference with complex survey designs: Generating population estimates using survey weights / Ines Levin, University of Georgia and Betsy Sinclair, Washington University at St. Louis -- Cross-national surveys and the comparative study of electoral systems / Jeffrey A. Karp, University of Exeter and Jack Vowles, Victoria University Wellington -- Aggregating survey data to estimate subnational public opinion / Paul Brace, Rice University -- Public opinion at the state and local level / Chris Warshaw, Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- Using graphical displays for presenting polling data and analytic results / William Jacoby and Saundra Schneider, Michigan State University -- Graphical visualization of polling results / Susanna Makela, Yajuan Si, and Andrew Gelman, Columbia University -- Measuring group consciousness: Actions speak louder than words / Kim Proctor, Department of Health and Human Services -- Issues in polling methodologies: Inference and uncertainty / Jeff Gill and Jonathan Homola, Washington University in St. Louis -- 4. New frontiers. Survey experiments: Managing the methodological costs and benefits / Yanna Krupnikov and Blake Findley, Stony Brook University -- Using qualitative methods in a quantitative survey research agenda / Kinsey Gimbel, Fors Marsh Group and Jocelyn Newsome, Westat -- Integration of contextual data: Challenges and opportunities / Armando Razo, Indiana University -- Twitter and measuring public opinion / Jonathan Nagler et al., New York University -- Expert surveys as a measurement tool / Cherie Maestas, University of North Carolina Charlotte -- The rise of poll aggregation and election forecasting / Natalie Jackson, Huffington Post, Pollster.com.
Summary:
The methodologies used to study public opinion are now in flux. The primary polling method of the last half-century, the telephone survey, is rapidly becoming obsolete as a data collection method. At the same time, new methods of contacting potential respondents and obtaining their response are appearing, providing a variety of options for scholars and practitioners. Generally speaking, we are moving from a polling world that was largely interviewer driven over the phone and face-to-face to predominantly interviewer driven self-administered poll environments, New methods of data collection, however, must still deal with fundamental questions to polling methodology and total survey error including sampling, selection bias, non-response error, poststratification weighting, and questionnaire design features. The Oxford Handbook on Polling and Survey Methods brings together a unique mixture of academics and practitioners, from various backgrounds, academic disciplines, and experiences. In some sense, this is reflective of the interdisciplinary nature of the polling and survey industry: polls and surveys are widely used in academia, government, and the private sector. Designing, implementing, and analyzing high quality, accurate, and cost-effective polls and surveys requires a combination of skills and methodological perspectives. Despite the well-publicized issues that have cropped up in recent political polling, a great deal is known today about how to collect high quality polling and survey data even in complex and difficult environments. Divided into four main sections, the Handbook draws on the existing research and explores data collection methods. It then addresses data analysis and the methods available for combining polling data with other types of data. The next section covers analytic issues, including the new approaches to studying public opinion (ie social media, the analysis of open-ended questions using text analytic tools, and data imputation). The final section focuses on the presentation of polling results, an area where there is a great deal of innovation. A comprehensive overview of the topic, this volume highlights current polling trends provides ideas for the development of new and better approaches for measuring, modeling, and visualizing public opinion and social behavior. -- From publisher's description.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.