Trends in Public Opinion: A Compendium of Survey Data

(Hardback)

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Polls are at their best as indicators of public opinion when they allow comparison over extended periods of time. Yet all too often changes in question working and in questionnaire content make over-time comparisons impossible. This works aims to overcome this difficulty by bringing together a compendium of results using identically worded questions on a range of social, political and economic topics of importance to the American people. Chapter introductions summarize trends in the various areas surveyed and discuss problems of interpretation. The chapters on political behaviour and attitudes present findings on party identification, political tolerance, voting, civil liberties, international affairs and related issues. Chapters on work, the family and sexuality cover such topics as job prestige and satisfaction, the role of women, divorce, family size, sex education, abortion, premarital and extramarital sex, homosexuality and pornography. Other issues addressed include crime and violence, race, death and dying, life style and general attitudes toward life. Trend analysis based on general social surveys conducted regularly by the Nation Opinion Research Centre of the University of Chicago since 1972 is supplemented by data from 25 other sources extending back to the 1930s. The questions chosen are standardized and have been asked in interviews over a significant period. Survey results are displayed in a readable format that facilitates comparisons over time.

Reviews

. . . In short, the volume provides one-stop shopping for polls amendable to trend analysis and will prove useful reading for social scientists, journalists, and the trendy "person in the street" alike. An excellent selection for most research, academic, and public libraries. . . . the convenience, scope, and attention to methodologic issues will make this volume useful to scholars, while the information itself will be attractive to others.-Preview
Books that claim to describe American public opinion often generalize well beyond the data (e.g., into grand malaise' theories), fail to provide comparisons over time that place findings in a meaningful context, and describe the contents of tables whose meaning is obvious. Niemi and Mueller (both University of Rochester) and Smith (National Opinion Research Center, Chicago) overcame these common problems to produce a splendid book. For each of their 15 chapters, they present a two-to-four page summary of attitudes over time in an opinion domain (e.g., role of women) and several pages of tables. For once, less' really is more' as the reader is free to pursue particular concerns among the tables and to ignore material of less personal interest. Although the tables have much rich information, the book is also worthwhile for readers who just want a quick written summary of what the American people think. The readable text does not repeat each table's findings but cogently synthesizes the information. The authors write unusually well with scholarly standards of precision. Essential for college and university libraries.-Choice
The data reported in this book represent as much as fifty years worth of polling in the United States. The authors provide easy access to a large collection of survey questions that have been repeated in exactly or nearly exactly the same wording over an extended period of time. The centerpiece of the collection is the data from the General Social Survey (GSS), begun in 1972. Because the GSS adopted many previously used questions, the authors have extended the time series back much further in many cases. Furthermore, they have added time series data from 25 other sources, such as Gallup and the National Election Studies. In some cases, one can see that valuable survey questions have not been asked in some time. Perhaps this book will stimulate survey researchers to incorporate some of these questions in their future work.-International Journal of Public Opinion Research
The terse title of this book does not convey the fascination of its contents. . . . it describes close to 50 years' worth of public opinion. Much of the data are taken from the General Social Surveys, which have been conducted annually by the National Opinion Research Center since 1972. . . . the compendium offers insights into how Americans' attitudes have changed, and in some cases, how they have not. For example, nearly half of Americans have said they are very satisfied with the work they do since the question was first asked in 1962. And the share of Americans who say they are very happy with their lives has remained at a solid third since at least 1957.-The Numbers News
Trends in Public Opinion is a richer compendium in that it reports data from a broader time span, sometimes as far back as the 1930s and frequently over a forty-year period for a single issue. These issues are treated in fifteen chapters covering topics such as politics, crime, race relations, religion, and family. . . . The difference between this and any one of the annual Gallup Poll volumes is like the difference between a videotape and a still photo. Both have their uses and where one is available in a reference collection, the other ought to be also.-Wilson Library Bulletin
." . . In short, the volume provides one-stop shopping for polls amendable to trend analysis and will prove useful reading for social scientists, journalists, and the trendy "person in the street" alike. An excellent selection for most research, academic, and public libraries. . . . the convenience, scope, and attention to methodologic issues will make this volume useful to scholars, while the information itself will be attractive to others."-Preview
"The data reported in this book represent as much as fifty years worth of polling in the United States. The authors provide easy access to a large collection of survey questions that have been repeated in exactly or nearly exactly the same wording over an extended period of time. The centerpiece of the collection is the data from the General Social Survey (GSS), begun in 1972. Because the GSS adopted many previously used questions, the authors have extended the time series back much further in many cases. Furthermore, they have added time series data from 25 other sources, such as Gallup and the National Election Studies. In some cases, one can see that valuable survey questions have not been asked in some time. Perhaps this book will stimulate survey researchers to incorporate some of these questions in their future work."-International Journal of Public Opinion Research
"The terse title of this book does not convey the fascination of its contents. . . . it describes close to 50 years' worth of public opinion. Much of the data are taken from the General Social Surveys, which have been conducted annually by the National Opinion Research Center since 1972. . . . the compendium offers insights into how Americans' attitudes have changed, and in some cases, how they have not. For example, nearly half of Americans have said they are very satisfied with the work they do since the question was first asked in 1962. And the share of Americans who say they are very happy with their lives has remained at a solid third since at least 1957."-The Numbers News
"Trends in Public Opinion is a richer compendium in that it reports data from a broader time span, sometimes as far back as the 1930s and frequently over a forty-year period for a single issue. These issues are treated in fifteen chapters covering topics such as politics, crime, race relations, religion, and family. . . . The difference between this and any one of the annual Gallup Poll volumes is like the difference between a videotape and a still photo. Both have their uses and where one is available in a reference collection, the other ought to be also."-Wilson Library Bulletin
"Books that claim to describe American public opinion often generalize well beyond the data (e.g., into grand malaise' theories), fail to provide comparisons over time that place findings in a meaningful context, and describe the contents of tables whose meaning is obvious. Niemi and Mueller (both University of Rochester) and Smith (National Opinion Research Center, Chicago) overcame these common problems to produce a splendid book. For each of their 15 chapters, they present a two-to-four page summary of attitudes over time in an opinion domain (e.g., role of women) and several pages of tables. For once, less' really is more' as the reader is free to pursue particular concerns among the tables and to ignore material of less personal interest. Although the tables have much rich information, the book is also worthwhile for readers who just want a quick written summary of what the American people think. The readable text does not repeat each table's findings but cogently synthesizes the information. The authors write unusually well with scholarly standards of precision. Essential for college and university libraries."-Choice

Author Bio

RICHARD G. NIEMI is Professor of Political Science at the University of Rochester. He is coauthor of Generations and Politics, The Political Character of Adolescence, Vital Statistics on American Politics and has published articles and chapters on voting behavior and other topics in political science. JOHN MUELLER is Professor of Political Science at the University of Rochester. His publications include War, Presidents and Public Opinion, Astaire Dancing, Retreat from Doomsday: The Obsolescence of Major War, and numerous articles and commentaries on politics, foreign policy, and related topics. TOM W. SMITH is Research Associate and Director of the General Social Survey at the National Opinion Research Center, University of Chicago. He has published numerous articles, chapters, and reports dealing with social change, public opinion, and trend analysis.