LibGuides: Public Opinion and Social Attitudes Data: Home

What are polls?

Polling Fundamentals
An overview by Roper of how polling works.
Poll & Survey FAQ
The information here is designed to help you wade through the massive amount of data presented in the news and on the Web as polls and surveys. Learn how to tell if research is valid. Find out what information every story about polls should contain.
20 Questions A Journalist Should Ask About Poll Results
For the journalist looking at a set of poll numbers, here are the 20 questions to ask the pollster before reporting any results. This publication is designed to help working journalists do a thorough, professional job covering polls. It is not a primer on how to conduct a public opinion survey.

Caveat

Only a fraction of polls are published and an even smaller fraction are easily attainable. For example, when you see 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.

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 This link opens in a new window
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.

Research Associations

Background Information

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

Polling America by Samuel J. Best; Benjamin Radcliff
Call Number: MSU Main Library, HN90.P8 P645 2005
ISBN: 0313327122
Publication Date: 2005-06-01
Public Opinion and Polling Around the World by John G. Geer (Editor)
Call Number: HM1236 .P83 2004
ISBN: 1576079112
Publication Date: 2004-07-21
Polling and the Public by Herbert B. Asher
ISBN: 1568028334
Publication Date: 2004-01-01

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.

Gallup Brain This link opens in a new window
Providing eight decades of insight, the Gallup Brain is a searchable, living record of public opinion dating back to 1935.

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.

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.

Pew Global Attitudes & Trends
A series of worldwide public opinion surveys that encompasses a broad array of subjects ranging from people’s assessments of their own lives to their views about the current state of the world and important issues of the day. More than 175,000 interviews in 55 countries have been conducted as part of the project’s work.

Finding Articles

CQ Researcher Plus Archive 1923-present This link opens in a new window
This web file provides 48 reports a year on current, hot, and controversial topics such as "Embryo Research," "Rethinking Ritalin," "Drinking on Campus," and "Subsidized Access to the Internet for the Poor." Among the file's beauties are its balanced introductions to these issues; others include its generous selection of cross references to past reports, excellent tables and graphs, and clear instructions on how to cite the resource. A full text product.
ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Research Library contains over 2,000 periodicals (nearly 1,000 of them in ASCII full-text or full-image formats) in a wide range of subject areas. In addition to general interest publications, ProQuest Research Library covers titles in the following areas: Arts, Business, Children, Education, General Interest, Health, Humanities, International, Law, Military, Multicultural, Psychology, Sciences, Social Sciences, and Women's Interests.
International Political Science Abstracts This link opens in a new window
1951-
This database contains over 282,000 records from over 1,000 journals published throughout the world from 1951 to the present. Approximately 8,000 new records are added to the database each year. The abstracts summarize the source articles. Articles in English are abstracted in English; those in other languages are abstracted in French, with all titles translated into English.

Subject Guide

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Public Opinion and Social Attitudes Data: Home