Key Online Reading on Public Opinion   
 
ACNielsen.com.  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2005oct CHOICE.
43-1038 
http://acnielsen.com/site/index.shtml 

[Visited Jul'05] ACNielsen Company, founded in 1923, is a leading provider of marketing research services. Its Web site, which primarily serves as a sales tool, offers standard information about the company: history and news, contact information for its employees around the world, and services provided for a fee. Some of the content is free. Three free articles are featured on the main page under Trends & Insights, as well as a hot link is provided to a featured market industry. The article "Are Online Surveys as Accurate as Offline Surveys?" discusses their benefits and disadvantages and offers advice on parallel test and parallel test case studies. "Developing a True Measure of Retailer Equity" describes the competitive edge, equity drivers, and converting occasional shoppers to core shoppers, and advises quantifying results. "Do Consumers Do as They Say?" contains charts showing how differences in attitudes toward grocery shopping drive differences in shopping trips, banners shopped, and brand and deal buying. The featured industry report, which covers the food and beverage industry, is a substantive 39 pages and of excellent quality. Other reports listed are available for a substantial price. Other free information is available from the dropdown menu of the Trends & Insights tab, which appears at the top of the page. The Reports and Studies section features Global Executive News Reports (e.g., reports on personal care products and the private label market) and Global Consumer Confidence and Opinion Reports (e.g., Asia Pacific Consumer Confidence Survey, Europe Consumer Confidence Survey). The Publications section links to articles in ACNielsen Insights Asia Pacific, Consumer Insight Magazine, and a free monthly online newsletter about the consumer packaged-goods industry, Facts, Figures & the Future, which readers can subscribe to. Summing Up: Optional. Marketing practitioners and researchers.—L. Hickey, Sam Houston State University 
    
American attitudes: program on international policy attitudes.  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2004mar CHOICE.
41-4262 
http://www.pipa.org/

The study of American opinions and perceptions toward international issues is the focus of this site. A shared project of the Center on Policy Attitudes (COPA) and the Center for International Security Studies (CISSM) at the University of Maryland, the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) carries out polls and conducts focus groups to survey public attitudes on global affairs. The mission of COPA, founded in 1992, is stated as "giving the public a greater voice," and this site does offer a wealth of insight into the American pulse. A broad range of topics is surveyed, from biotechnology to human rights to terrorism. Studies issued in the fall of 2003 include "Americans Reevaluate Going to War with Iraq" and "Misperceptions, the Media and the Iraq War." Also covered are issues related to the major regions and countries of the world, e.g., Africa, China, and Russia, especially controversial issues such as foreign aid, sanctions, and defense spending. For each public survey, the user can view the actual questionnaire, including sample size, dates, margin of error, and list of questions. Site content is up-to-date, with many of the surveys from the current or past year. The site's organization is primarily by topic or region, although there is also a search function. American Attitudes would be of value and interest to researchers in public policy, communications, and political science as well as students of international affairs. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.— B. J. Hillson, George Mason University 

Europa Public Opinion Analysis.  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2006feb CHOICE.
43-3157 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/

[Visited Nov'05] This Web site provides access to summary and full reports on the well-respected quantitative and qualitative European public opinion surveys sponsored by the European Commission and conducted from 1973 to 2005. Topics range from the European Union and elections and politics, to economic, social, cultural, and environmental issues. For many surveys, it is possible to obtain results in different languages and for individual countries. This free site is up-to-date, with provision for regular e-mail updates. It also offers valuable links to other European public polling sites and social science data archives. The home page layout is attractive, and its design allows for easy navigation through the different categories of surveys (the semiannual standard Eurobarometer, special thematic and flash Eurobarometers, and the qualitative studies) and the archive.

Locating a particular survey among the 400 surveys on this site requires scanning the chronological lists by category. A search tool is available, but it is limited to the survey questions and responses for the "EB trend questions." Adding a keyword index or topical search for the survey titles and expanding the survey tool to include more survey questions would greatly improve the site's usefulness. Users interested in international public opinion have access to an expanding universe of good free Web sources, including the World Values Survey http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/services/main.html.  Individual countries and regions also have free public opinion research centers, e.g., the British Question Bank: Social Surveys Online http://qb.soc.surrey.ac.uk/, the Russian FOM: Public Opinion Foundation http://english.fom.ru/, and for Africa, the Afrobarometer http://www.afrobarometer.org/. Polling the Nations http://www.orspub.com/, a good fee-based resource, provides access to domestic and international polling data. The Europa Public Opinion Analysis site would be of high interest and value to all international public opinion poll watchers and European studies scholars. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All collections.—G. B. Thompson, Siena College

National Network of State Polls (NNSP).  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 1998sup CHOICE.
35Sup-454
http://survey.rgs.uky.edu/nnsp/ 

The National Network of State Polls (NNSP), housed at the Institute for Research in Social Science at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is a collection of more than 350 state-level public opinion surveys conducted over the years by university polling centers and private research firms, such as the Harris Poll. While the results of national public opinion polls over the decades are readily available, this site gives access to state-level information that is often difficult to retrieve for those who are most interested in subnational attitudes and trends. Although polls from a number of states are included in the database, the (North) Carolina Poll represents a large chunk of the available data. It is clear that the value of the site will grow with time as more state data are included. Of particular note for scholars of the politics and culture of the southern US are the results of the polls of southerners conducted during the last decade by the institute. The well-organized Web site includes a well-designed search engine that allows searching of the more than 31,000 questions by keywords and by state. The aggregate results for the questions are viewable on the site; therefore, this site has particular value for journalists and teachers, who could make good use of such aggregate information. Some of the individual-level information can be downloaded by Internet users; access to other data is limited to faculty and students at The University of North Carolina. The value of this information for use in original research of state politics and public opinion therefore varies. Even with these limitations, the site serves as a tremendous resource for those who are in the process of designing questionnaires for their own locales. The NNSP is an Internet resource that already is of value, and it holds significant growth potential. General readers, graduate students, and professionals.—J. Barth, Hendrix College

Pew Global Attitudes Project.  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2006sep CHOICE.
44-0643 
http://pewglobal.org/

[Visited Jun'06] The Pew Global Attitudes Project Web site, funded primarily by the Pew Charitable Trusts and directed by Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center, makes available to the public data sets and reports on cross-cultural public opinion surveys. Since its inception in 2001, the project has conducted 44 surveys, interviewing more than 90,000 people in 50 countries. Cochaired by Madeleine Albright and John Danforth, it has issued 13 reports, mostly on the US image abroad, but others on computer use, democratic values, satisfaction with life, and religiosity. In-country local organizations under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates conducted the surveys. As with other Pew Research Center reports, the topics are limited and the analysis atheoretical. Some of the reports include data from one survey only; others give longitudinal benchmark data from earlier surveys. Almost all reports include information on the sample and the data collection, and copies of the questionnaire. The most valuable part of the Web site is having access to the original data sets in SPSS format, along with the codebooks. The data from the 2001-04 surveys are easily downloaded and available free to the public. The reports and the data sets would be useful for cross-cultural study or for social research classes that address international political and social issues. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.—K. M. McKinley, Cabrini College 

The Pew Research Center for the people & the press.  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2005sup CHOICE.
42Sup-0076
http://people-press.org/

[Revisited May'05] Providing access to the Pew Center's collection of public-opinion surveys and public-policy documents, this site (first reviewed, CH, Sup'99, 36SUP-086) continues to be the very model of a usable, well-constructed Web site. The simple, well-designed main page provides a search engine (also available on subpages); a featured recent survey; links to recently published political commentary; a link to the Pew Global Attitude Project, which surveys worldwide opinion on major topics; and (via the tabs across the top of the page) access to the site's five main areas. Under the Survey Reports tab the visitor will find Pew-commissioned surveys on a wide range of topics conducted from 1989 to the present; these reports can be sorted by time period in decades or by six broad subject categories. Clicking on the commentary tab takes one to Pew's published articles on political, social, and economic topics (also sortable). The Datasets section is home to survey data collected by the center from 1997 to the present; users must register to download these datasets in ZIP files. The In the News section comprises articles appearing in major publications, and under FYI Other Polls one finds surveys conducted by other polling companies and major media outlets. All sections of the site are well designed and easy to navigate. Pew also offers an RSS feed for its reports, and users can subscribe through the site. This site remains an invaluable source of information about communications and public policy. Summing Up: Essential. All collections; all levels.—S. L. Hupp, West Virginia University at Parkersburg 

Polling the nations.  ORS. Annual subscriptions begin at $495.00 for up to 1,500 FTE or for 1 user.  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2006may CHOICE.
43-5036
http://www.orspub.com/

[Visited Feb'06] ORS previously published this material as a CD-ROM (1998 version, CH, Jun'99, 36-5425). The contents came from the American Public Opinion Index (CH, Jan'84), a print index arranged by topic and survey question, and American Public Opinion Data (1981- ) on microfiche. The current Internet resource covers 1986 to the present, encompassing some 14,000 surveys from 1,000 survey organizations in the US and 100 other countries. The reviews for the previous versions of these products were favorable. The issue is to what degree the Internet format has provided added value. The answer is very obvious. The Internet permits a degree of flexibility not found in the earlier modes. It is now possible to access more than 500,000 records with great speed, varying the names of, e.g., the polling organizations, subjects, and year of coverage with a few keystrokes. Pollsters include universities, newspapers, television news and Internet polling organizations, and special interest groups. Only surveys employing random samples have been included (self-selected respondents are omitted). Searching, via Dropdown Lists or by entering search criteria, is self-explanatory, but a Help feature is available for those who need it. The results can be downloaded and/or sent to an e-mail address using the HTML format. This option works well and quickly.

Other features include All About Polling and a glossary. The former includes a brief history of polling and an explanation of major concepts and issues. The emphasis is on the word brief; by any standards this section's level of coverage is inadequate. The glossary section is worse. To limit all of polling to seven words and phrases is very misleading. The actual results generated from a search include the polling question asked, the data, results, universe, method, sample size, and contact information. These are the appropriate elements, and they are the heart of this database's value. Apart from the need to greatly expand the areas mentioned above, this is a resource beyond compare in the polling field. Given the complete acceptance of the Internet as the avenue for searching, this database should be on the subscription list of colleges as the best single source for providing students with polling data. Summing Up: Essential. All levels.—G. R. Walden, Ohio State University

PollingReport.com.  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 1999mar CHOICE.
36-4172
http://www.pollingreport.com/ 

This Internet vehicle for the magazine The Polling Report gives undergraduates, teachers, and researchers alike easy access to a timely, high quality cross-section of poll data on topics of national political, economic, and sociocultural interest. The site has navigation bars on every page and a simple yet useful search engine. Content, updated nearly daily, consists of recent poll questions posed by reputable national firms (e.g., Gallup, Harris, CBS/NYT, NBC/WSJ) with tabulated responses, trend data where available, and pertinent information such as polling firm, sample size, and target population. Poll margins of error and sampling schemes are not reported. Aside from links to a few article excerpts and the table of contents from the companion magazine, the site provides little guidance in interpreting poll numbers. Apart from a link for paying subscribers, it is devoid of links to related content providers. However, with few graphics and no advertising except for references to the eponymous magazine, the primarily text-based pages load reasonably swiftly even during peak hours, providing rapid access to both new and practiced perusers of current poll data. All levels.—T. Fackler, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Public agenda online.  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2000sup CHOICE.
37Sup-657 
http://www.publicagenda.org/

Since 1975, Public Agenda, founded by social scientist Daniel Yankelovich and former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, has worked to "help leaders better understand the public's point of view on major policy issues," and to "help citizens better understand critical policy issues." Its Web site, Public Agenda Online, expands the outreach of this nonpartisan public opinion research and citizen education organization. There is excellent information on abortion, alcohol abuse, America's global role, crime, the economy, education, the environment, the family, the federal budget, gambling, health care, illegal drugs, immigration, Internet speech and privacy, Medicare, race, right to die, social security, and welfare. Each issue brief includes background reports, facts presented in graphs, public opinion data, and much more. Public Agenda's own research is available in full-text or summary form; publications can be ordered online. The About Polling section offers valuable information on the field of opinion research. Another feature, In the Headlines, uses background information and public opinion analysis to explain two headline stories a week. The site also provides links to nonpartisan Web sites that contain information about political candidates. This is an excellent Web site for anyone wanting to understand complex policy issues. Recommended for all levels.—L. M. Stuart, Johns Hopkins University 
   
The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2005oct CHOICE.
43-0691 
http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/

[Revisited Jul'05] Since this Web site was last reviewed by Choice (Jun'99, 36-5429), The Roper Center has increased its archival holdings by 50 percent, currently providing access to over 15,000 studies; it is the world's largest such archive. The opening screen has four highlighted boxes, "Public Opinion Matters," which link readers to changing topics of current interest. As of this writing, they are "2004 Exit Polls," "Election 2004," "Space Exploration," and "NSF Surveys." Additionally, a panel on the left side of the screen permits easy access to other elements within the site. These include online polling data, archived collections, academic research, and other information, such as a description of the center, membership, and services and support provided. The "Quick Links" section includes a search screen for data sets, "iPOLL Login," "NSF Surveys of Science & Technology," "GSS 2002," and "Survey Spotlights." The iPOLL contains "nearly a half million questions asked on national public opinion surveys since 1935." Six years ago, the number was 275,000. A "What's New" page on "Quick Links" focuses on newsworthy stories, spotlighted data sets, and special studies, along with links to special survey samples. "Public Opinion Matters" includes a sampling of information found in the archives and published in Public Perspective magazine (1989-2003). A total of 64 links to most of the best-known survey research organizations, associations, academic research institutes, commercial firms, and international organizations is a useful service. Clearly, The Roper Center has grown significantly since 1999, and the greatly enhanced Web site has become far more user-friendly, of benefit to all who visit. As before, an excellent resource. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All public and academic libraries.—R. Walden, Ohio State University 

World public opinion.org.  Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2006jul CHOICE.
43-6617 
http://worldpublicopinion.org/
 
[Visited Apr'06] Described as "a website dedicated to objective analysis of public opinion on international policy issues," World Public Opinion was launched in January 2006 by the Program on International Policy Attitudes. The site provides articles on the results of opinion polls taken around the world on a wide variety of current issues. Articles are organized by region and topic. An example of a recent headlined entry is "22 Nation Poll Shows China Viewed Positively by Most Countries." The polls are conducted by a wide range of authoritative organizations including the Pew Research Center, Gallup, Harris, and the BBC as well as the staff of World Public Opinion. Each article summarizes the results of the polls and often includes graphs and links to the original questionnaire, methodology, and full report of the poll. Most articles also provide extensive links to additional polling data on related issues. Polls dealing with US public opinion lead to a special section titled Americans and the World, which summarizes American opinions on a wide range of international topics; this section appears to predate the World Public Opinion site. The entire site is currently free. There are no archives of past polls; older polls simply appear farther down the chronological lists of articles. Some of the key topic areas are sparsely populated with articles, but this may improve as the site builds up its content. This attractive, well-designed, and easy to use site appears to provide unique access to public opinion polls conducted by a wide range of organizations around the world. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty.—J. E. Juricek, University of Southern California 

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