AP Government Chapter 5
Convenience Sample
Respondents to unscientific polls who are self selected.
Opinion Leader
A broker who imparts information about politics and government to other people
Two-Step Flow Model
A communication model where the media disseminate information that is processed by opinion leaders, who simplify messages and pass them on to opinion followers.
Probability Sampling
A method of selecting survey participants at random
Quota Sample
A method of selecting survey participants that involves choosing subjects on the basis of their fitting into particular demographic categories, such as sex and age groups.
Survey
A questionnaire typically administered by academic or government researchers to a representative sample people drawn from a larger population.
Public Opinion Poll
A short questionnaire administered to a sample of people to ascertain the views of a larger population usually conducted by a commercial organization.
Deliberative Polling
A technique that brings people together to discuss issues with experts and other citizens in order to arrive at more informed opinions
Public Judgment
A type of public opinion where people carefully consider the range of viewpoints and policy consequences of issues.
Robo-Polling
Administering automated polls by phone using a recorded voice to ask the question and requiring respondents to answer by pressing the touch pad on their telephone.
Straw Poll
An informal poll, often used to gauge opinions about candidates, that is administered haphazardly and without attention to proper sampling methods.
Quick Poll
An online poll, usually consisting of one or two questions, that is asked of a non representative, self-selected sample of respondents.
Exit Polls
Face-to-face interviews with voters taken as they leave the voting booth to determine their candidate preference in the election and their positions on issues.
Focus Groups
Facilitators convene a small group of subjects to engage in a structured discussion about a topic.
Open-Ended Questions
Items on a questionnaire that allow respondents to reply to a question in their own words
Closed-Ended Questions
Items on a questionnaire that provide respondents with a fixed number of options about a topic from which they can choose the one that best fits their opinion.
Push Poll
Not a legitimate poll but a marketing technique disguised as a poll that is designed to influence respondents' opinions about candidates and issues through leading questions
Issue Publics
People who focus on particular public policy debates and ignore other issues
Pundits
People who offer their opinion or commentary on political issues through the media
Attentive Public
People who pay close attention to government and politics in general.
Public Opinion
People's collective preferences on matters related to government and politics.
Attitudes
Persistent, general orientations toward people, groups, or institutions.
Digital Polls
Polls administered through internet platforms and smartphones that run the gamut from sophisticated surveys to quick polls.
Live Polls
Polls that record people's opinion about an event as it is unfolding; the results are depicted simultaneously with the video of event
Echo Chamber
The idea that people pay attention to media that conforms to their ideological view to the exclusion of media that offer alternative perspectives.
Opinion
The position that a person takes on a particular issue policy, action, or leader