PUBLIC OPINION Essential Question How is public opinion

PUBLIC OPINION Essential Question: How is public opinion measured and how does it impact policies?

LEARNING OBJECTIVES I will… We will… • Understand how and why public • Create a poll about lunch options opinion is measured to poll students at your campus

TAKE THE POLL • https: //linkto. run/p/6 DJBP 5 K 7 • Results: https: //linkto. run/r/6 DJBP 5 K 7

PUBLIC OPINION • Attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics • Politicians make policy based on public opinion

PUBLIC OPINION POLLS • Devices that attempt to collect information about people’s attitudes

SCIENTIFIC OPINION POLLS • Polls that use random sampling and statistical weights to make them representative of the target population

FIVE-STEP POLLING PROCESS 1. Define the population to be polled 2. Construct a sample. 3. Carefully create questions. 4. Interview the sample group. 5. Analyze and report the findings.

OPINION POLL SAMPLING • Sampling – The group of people that is to be studied • Random Sampling – A technique in which everyone in a group has an equal chance of being selected

OPINION POLL SAMPLING • Sampling Error – Difference between sample result and true population result

ASKING QUESTIONS • Phrasing can influence people’s responses and poll results • Do you support a proposal to bring home all American troops from Vietnam before the end of the year? • Do you agree or disagree with a proposal to withdraw all U. S. troops by the end of the year regardless of what happens in Vietnam after U. S. troops leave?

INTERPRETING RESULTS • Things to consider: – Sampling error – Who paid for the poll? – Who responded? – How well were the questions written? • Never completely accurate • Pollsters cannot be sure people are being honest

STRAW POLLS • Do not use scientific procedures to choose the respondents • They are often a biased sample of the population – Ex. Newspapers, TV shows, radio stations, and websites ask audiences to vote on different questions (“Should the mayor run for reelection? ”)

PUSH POLLS • Poll in which the questions “push” respondents toward a particular answer – “If you knew that candidate X had 72 unpaid parking tickets, would you support his run for mayor? ?

EXIT POLLS • Polling that involves interviewing voters as they lave the polling place and asking them for whom they voted – Networks use exit polls to predict who has won a particular state – Projections made before polls close in western states (voters in west may not vote) – Projections sometimes turn out to be wrong (2000 election)

USES FOR POLLING DATA • Public Officials – May prompt lawmakers to introduce a bill or vote a certain way on a bill – Help them decide where to campaign and advertise – Help candidates tailor their messages to appeal to voters’ needs and concerns

USES FOR POLLING DATA • Media – Report poll results as news – Shape audience’s views • People may decide not to vote if one candidate has a huge lead in the polls

EXIT TICKET • Create a three questions about lunch options to poll students at your campus. Make sure the questions are well-developed and not leading the respondent to answer in a particular way.