LibGuides: Public Opinion and Social Attitudes Data: Home

Background Information

Polling America: An Encyclopedia of Public Opinion
Call Number: HN90.P8 P645 2005
Public Opinion and Polling Around the World: A Historical Encyclopedia
Call Number: HM1236 .P83 2004

Search the library catalog for subjects such as "Public Opinion" and "Public Opinion Polls".

Polling and the Public: What Every Citizen Should Know by Herbert Asher
Call Number: HM1236 .A75 2007

Statistical Indexes & Databases

Major Statistical Indexes & Databases
Link to guide with descriptions of the major multidisciplinary subscription statistical indexes and databases at the MSU Libraries

Statista
Provides statistics and reports on a wide variety of topics including agriculture, advertising, health, hospitality, consumer goods and services, sports, technology, transportation, and much more.

Quick Picks - Favorite Resources

Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
One of the world's leading archives of social science data, specializing in data from surveys of public opinion. The data held by the Roper Center range from the 1930s, when survey research was in its infancy, to the present. Most of the data are from the United States, but over 50 nations are represented.
Polling the Nations
Polling the Nations is the most comprehensive collection of public opinion, with information from not only in the United States but also more than 80 countries around the world. Includes polls from local U.S. areas. The database includes the full text of the questions and responses covering a broad range of issues.
State of the State Survey
The State of the State Survey is the only survey conducted in Michigan designed to systematically monitor the public mood on important issues in major regions of the state. Administered here at MSU by the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research.
Gallup Poll News Service
Available from several resources, each covering a different time period.

Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
New interface for LexisNexis Academic. A comprehensive resource for U.S. and international companies as well as newspaper articles, transcripts and web news worldwide, along with legal materials from U.S. and international jurisdictions. Also includes Gallup Poll News Service.
Gallup Analytics This link opens in a new window
Gallup Analytics is an online platform that provides subscribers with access to nearly a century of U.S. data and a decade of global tracking data from the Gallup World Poll.

What are polls?

Polling 101: A tutorial on the fundamentals of polling from the Roper Center.

Poll & Survey FAQs: from the American Association for Public Opinion Research

20 Questions Journalists Should Ask About Poll Results: An article on how to distinguish between scientific and unscientific polls from National Council on Public Polls.

Caveat
Only a fraction of polls are published and an even small fraction still is easily attainable. For example, when you in the paper "according to a Gallup Poll published last week" it is not guaranteed that you will be able to find the poll in one of our services. Also, many marketing polls/surveys are prohibitively expensive and therefore in effect not available.

Scholarly Literature on Public Opinion

Where to look for topical journal articles? Try an index such as:

CQ Researcher Plus Archive 1923-present This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new window
International Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window

Try these journals:

Research Associations

Subject Guide

Julia Ezzo

Email Me

Contact:

517-884-6387

Subjects: Government Information, Law, Packaging, Political Science, Public Policy

More Info

Guide to public opinion poll websites: Polling data from around the world. Association of College & Research Libraries News article.
Public Opinion Polls Research Guide. Penn Libraries.
Especially useful for bibliography of historical polling print resources.

MSU Libraries

Research Guides

Public Opinion and Social Attitudes Data: Home