4.3 Public Opinion

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4.3 Public Opinion

• Do Now
• What is an opinion and how is it formed?

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This slide is a placeholder for a
Polleverwhere.com poll slide. Use the
instructions included in the documents section to
create a poll using the following question.

• Agree or Disagree
• Same-Sex Marriage should not be illegal.
• Agree
• Disagree

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This slide is a placeholder for a
Polleverwhere.com poll slide. Use the
instructions included in the documents section to
create a poll using the following question.

• Abortion is evil and should not be legal, right?
• Agree
• Disagree

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This slide is a placeholder for a
Polleverwhere.com poll slide. Use the
instructions included in the documents section to
create a poll using the following question.

• Should capital punishment (death penalty) be
  outlawed by the federal government?
• Yes
• No

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This slide is a placeholder for a
Polleverwhere.com poll slide. Use the
instructions included in the documents section to
create a poll using the following question.

• Should the federal government, through an act of
  congress, make illegal in every circumstance, the
  policy of killing those convicted of certain
  serious crimes?
• Yes
• No

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This slide is a placeholder for a
Polleverwhere.com poll slide. Use the
instructions included in the documents section to
create a poll using the following question.

• Should dangerous weapons, like deadly assault
  rifles, be made illegal?
• Yes
• No

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This slide is a placeholder for a
Polleverwhere.com poll slide. Use the
instructions included in the documents section to
create a poll using the following question.

• Should assault rifles be outlawed?
• Yes
• No

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This slide is a placeholder for a
Polleverwhere.com poll slide. Use the
instructions included in the documents section to
create a poll using the following question.

• Same-Sex Marriages should be allowed by law
• True
• False

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This slide is a placeholder for a
Polleverwhere.com poll slide. Use the
instructions included in the documents section to
create a poll using the following question.

• Should abortion be allowed by law?
• Yes
• No

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Public Opinion

• The attitudes held by a significant number of
  people on matters of government and politics.

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Public Opinion

• How is it formed?
• Family
• Peer Groups
• Media

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Mass Media

• Internet
• Television
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Books

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Mass Media

• Are you affected by mass media?

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Measuring Public Opinion

• How can we measure public opinion?
• Anecdotal evidence and Polling

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Polling
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Poll Types

• Straw Poll
• Exit Poll
• Tracking Polls
• Push Poll
• Scientific Polling

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Scientific Polling

• Define your universe
• Construct a proper sample
• Create clear, unbiased questions
• Carefully examine poll results and extrapolate
  opinion

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Universe
Whose opinion are you trying to measure?
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Sample
As you cannot poll all of these people, pick an
unbiased selection of them to represent the whole.
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Unbiased Questions
Bias deviation of the expected value of a
statistical estimate from the quantity it
estimates systematic error introduced into
sampling or testing by selecting or encouraging
one outcome or answer over others Political
scientists must make sure their questions do not
steer participants to a particular answer but
that they actually measure the true opinion of
their universe
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Avoiding Bias

• Vague Questions
• Complicated Grammar
• Loaded Words
• Leading Questions
• Double Barrel Questions
• Double Negatives
• Mutual Exclusion in Answers
• Exhaustive Categories
• Response Sets

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Vague Words/Questions
People will interpret vague words/questions in
different manners and skew the data. Questions
should be pointed and clear. Agree or disagree
Healthcare is good.
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Complicated Grammar
The use of a sentence structure that is not
short, concise and simple. Should airplanes,
when flying over water or land, be allowed to
expel their waste, solid or liquid, as needed,
without notifying any possibly affected parties?
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Loaded Words
Words that carry a connotation along with their
meaning Tree Hugger vs. Environmentalist Bea
st vs. Animal Vermin vs. Rodent Mighty
vs. Powerful
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Leading Questions
Questions that, in some way, lead respondents to
a certain answer. Dont you agree that Isnt
it true that Shouldnt
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Double Barrel Questions
Questions that are really asking two questions at
the same time Should students receive shorter
tests and more time to take them? Should felons
and non-felons receive more jail time for
misdemeanors?
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Double Negatives
Using a negative statement in your question will
create a double negative for responders who
respond negatively Do you agree or disagree?
Teachers should not be punished for hitting
students.
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Mutual Exclusion
All answer sets should be mutually exclusive,
participants should not be able to fall into
multiple categories What is your
age? 10-20 10-1920-30 VS 20-2930-40 30-3
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Exhaustive Answer Sets
Every respondent should be able to fit into at
least one answer set What is your age? 10 or
less11-2021-3030 or older
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Response Sets
Avoid groups of questions that are all arranged
with one ideology on one side and the other
opposite mix up the order.
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4.3 Assignment
Use the worksheet to create your own poll
questions. On the back explain how you believe
the results would differ between one of your
biased questions and your unbiased question.