Chapter 9.1 Study Questions

What conditions do professional pollsters need to meet to accurately measure public opinion?

1. Ask questions in a way that accurately measures the opinions of a sample. 2. make sure the sample size is large enough to yield an acceptable margin of error 3. Take a sample that is representative of the population from which it is drawn.

What are some of the guidelines for being a responsible consumer of polls?

1. Examine question wording 2. Consider the reputation and motives of the organization conducting the poll. 3.Asses the sample size and the margin of error 4. Realize that every poll has a margin of error.

There are six guidelines for being a responsible consumer of polls. Match the strategy to the guideline that will help you do this. Check the target population and sampling method.

Determine if the sample is appropriate for the target population.

There are six guidelines for being a responsible consumer of polls. Match the strategy to the guideline that will help you do this. Consider the reputation and the motives of the organization conducting the poll.

Use common sense for polls commissioned by an interest group or political party.

Public opinion is always divided. For this reason, it is typically expresses as an ___ measure

aggregate

The ___ is a phenomenon in which individuals decide to support a cause or candidate simply because polls demonstrate the popularity of the cause or candidate.

bandwagon effect

A sample that is ___ proportionally reflects the racial, ethnic, religious, gender and class diversity of the population.

demographically representative.

In a ___ question, respondents are asked about more than one issue but are only allowed to give one answer.

double-barreled.

There are six guidelines for being a responsible consumer of polls. Match the strategy to the guideline that will help you do this. Compare across polls

e poll aggregatorss

A(n) ___ sample is one which proportionately reflects the relevant diversity of opinions in the population from which it is drawn.

representative.

A small subset of individuals drawn from a population is referred to as a(n) ___

sample.

What can happen as a result of nonresponsive bias?

A sample under represents those who are less likely to respond to the survey.

Asses the sample size and margin of error

Adjust your interpretation on the population being closer to the minimum or maximum within the margin of error.

How can you administer a survey to reduce the tendency of respondents to display social desirability bias?

Administer the survey anonymousley.

Considering the laws of probability, how can researchers influence the margin of error?

By altering the size.

___ bias occurs when individuals with certain characteristics are less likely to respond to surveys than others.

Nonresponse

What areas are considered to be a public concern?

Government Politics Public Policy

Consider this poll question that was asked in 1993 by the Roper polling organization. "Does it seem possible or does it seem impossible to you that the Nazi extermination of the Jews never happened?"

It uses a double negative.

There are six guidelines for being a responsible consumer of polls. Match the strategy to the guideline that will help you do this. Examine question wording

Look for wording mistakes

How can you approximate representative sample?

Make sure that it is demographically representative.

Why is probability sampling preferred to non-probability sampling?

Non-probability methods are more reliant on human judgement and, thus, human error, than are probability sampling methods.

___gather(s) and average the results of multiple polls.

Poll aggregators.

What do public opinion researchers analyze to estimate the opinions of large populations?

Polls conducted on small samples from those populations.

What is the sampling method that involves taking a random selection of people from a defined population

Probability sampling.

_____ is a probability sampling technique that uses a computer to randomly generate phone numbers that are used for calling potential poll respondents

Random digit dialing.

Selection bias occurs when researchers fail to choose a representative sample of potential respondents.

Selection

____ is the propensity to answer questions inaccurately to put oneself in the best light possible. This may happen on polls with controversial or sensitive topics.

Social desirability bias

There are six guidelines for being a responsible consumer of polls. Match the strategy to the guideline that will help you do this. Be realistic in your expectations

Sort the good from the bad, but don't ignore them altogether. Even good polls have a margin of error.

What does it mean when the margin of error is high?

The estimates based on samples are less precise

It is important to be clear about which underlying population is being referred to when discussing public opinion. Why?

To avoid making misguided judgements based on that data.

A(n) ___ question is a question that is worded in a way that sways the respondent toward one side of an argument.

leading

The ___ is the amount within a specific level of confidence (typically 95% or higher), that a measured sample value can be expected to deviate from the true population value.

margin of error

The sequence of questions on a poll can influence responses. these are called ___

ordering effects

Public opinion always refers to the opinions held by specific groups of people. The specific group in question is called a(n) ___

population

According to political scientists, ___ is an aggregate measure of the beliefs, attitudes, judgments, and/or preferences of a population over matters of public concern.

public opinion