Understanding surveys is critical to being an informed citizen, but popular media often report surveys without any guidance on how to interpret and evaluate the results. Some basic guidelines can promote more sophisticated readings of survey results and help teach when to trust the polls.
References
1.
ConversePhilip E.“The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics.” In Ideology and Discontent, ed. ApterD. E.. New York: The Free Press, 1964. A profound and skeptical exploration of the nature of public attitudes.
2.
GrovesRobert M.Survey Errors and Survey Costs.New York: Wiley, 1989. A sophisticated consideration of the sources of error in surveys.
3.
KaltonGraham. Introduction to Survey Sampling.Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications (Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences), 1983. A brief and lucid introduction to sampling.
4.
PageBenjamin I.ShapiroRobert Y.. The Rational Public: Fifty Years of Trends in Americans' Policy Preferences.Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. In part, a persuasive reply to Converse's skepticism.
5.
SchumanHowardPresserStanley. Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys: Experiments on Question Form, Wording, and Context.San Diego, Calif.: Academic Press, 1981 (Reprint edition with new preface, Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1996). Several experiments discussed in the present article are drawn from this volume.
6.
StoufferSamuel A.Communism, Conformity, and Civil Liberties, with introduction by James A. Davis. New York: Doubleday, 1955; New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1992. Stouffer's keen awareness of both the possibilities and the limitations of survey data is reflected in this classic investigation. Also relevant to today's political climate.
7.
SudmanSeymourBradburnNorman M.SchwarzNorbert. Thinking About Answers: The Application of Cognitive Process to Survey Methodology.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996. A clear discussion of survey questioning by three well-known researchers.
8.
TourangeauRogerRipsLance J.RasinskiKenneth. The Psychology of Survey Response.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. A comprehensive account of response effects, drawing especially on ideas from cognitive psychology.
