Polling and the public : what every citizen should know / Herbert Asher.

Preface
1: Polling And The Public
Importance of polls
Pervasiveness of polls
Commissioned polls
Citizen as a consumer of polls
Citizens' views of polls
Polling and democracy
Exercises
2: Problem Of Nonattitudes
Example of nonattitudes
Use of screening questions
Nonattitudes and the middle position in survey questions
Response instability and nonattitudes
Implications for democracy and public policy
Conclusion
Exercises
3: Wording And Context Of Questions
Question wording
Question order and context
Conclusion
Exercises
4: Sampling Techniques
Nonprobability sampling
Sampling designs
Sample size and sampling error
Total versus actual sample size
Response rates
Weighting the sample
Conclusion
Exercises
5: Interviewing And Data Collection Procedures
Methods of collecting polling information
Interviewer effects in public opinion polling
Internet polling
Conclusion
Exercises
6: Media And The Polls
Standards for reporting results
Substantive interpretation of polls
Media, polls, and the news reporting emphasis
Conclusion
Exercises
7: Polls And Elections
Sponsors of election polls
Types of election polls
Uses of polls by candidates
Polls in the presidential selection process
When and why election predictions are wrong
How preelection polls affect voters
Conclusion
Exercises
8: Analyzing And Interpreting Polls
Choosing items to analyze
Examining trends with polling data
Examining subsets of respondents
Interpreting poll results
When polls conflict: a concluding example
Exercises
9: Polling And Democracy
How to evaluate polls: a summary
Polls and their effect on the political system
Conclusion
Exercise
Web sites
References
Index.