Atkeson Lonna Rae & Alvarez R. Michael (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Polling and Survey Methods

Oxford University Press, 2018. — 956 p.The Oxford Handbook of Polling and Survey Methods presents an authoritative and accessible state-of-the-art analysis of the social science and sociology literature on polling and survey methodologies. It is the definitive study of polling and survey methods for years to come. This book is the perfect reference guide for anyone who is working or interested in the areas of sociology, social science, political science, marketing, journalism, law, international relations. The methodologies used to study public opinion are now in flux. The primary polling method of the last half-century, the telephone survey, is rapidly becoming obsolete as a data collection method. At the same time, new methods of contacting potential respondents and obtaining their response are appearing, providing a variety of options for scholars and practitioners. Generally speaking, we are moving from a polling world that was largely interviewer driven over the phone and face-to-face to predominantly interviewer driven self-administered poll environments, New methods of data collection, however, must still deal with fundamental questions to polling methodology and total survey error including sampling, selection bias, non-response error, poststratification weighting, and questionnaire design features.The Oxford Handbook on Polling and Survey Methods brings together a unique mixture of academics and practitioners, from various backgrounds, academic disciplines, and experiences. In some sense, this is reflective of the interdisciplinary nature of the polling and survey industry: polls and surveys are widely used in academia, government, and the private sector. Designing, implementing, and analyzing high quality, accurate, and cost-effective polls and surveys requires a combination of skills and methodological perspectives. Despite the well-publicized issues that have cropped up in recent political polling, a great deal is known today about how to collect high quality polling and survey data even in complex and difficult environments. Divided into four main sections, the Handbook draws on the existing research and explores data collection methods. It then addresses data analysis and the methods available for combining polling data with other types of data. The next section covers analytic issues, including the new approaches to studying public opinion (ie social media, the analysis of open-ended questions using text analytic tools, and data imputation). The final section focuses on the presentation of polling results, an area where there is a great deal of innovation. A comprehensive overview of the topic, this volume highlights current polling trends provides ideas for the development of new and better approaches for measuring, modeling, and visualizing public opinion and social behavior.ContentsContributors
Introduction to Polling and Survey MethodsPart I Survey Design
Total Survey Error
Longitudinal Surveys: Issues and Opportunities
Mixing Survey Modes and Its Implications
Taking the Study of Political Behavior Online
Sampling for Studying Context: Traditional Surveys and New Directions
Questionnaire SciencePart II Data Collection
Exit Polling Today and What the Future May Hold
Sampling Hard-to-Locate Populations: Lessons from Sampling Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
Reaching Beyond Low-Hanging Fruit: Surveying Low-Incidence Populations
Improving the Quality of Survey Data Using CAPI Systems in
Developing Countries
Survey Research in the Arab WorldPart III Analysis and Presentation
Issues in Polling Methodologies: Inference and Uncertainty
Causal Inference with Complex Survey Designs: Generating Population Estimates Using Survey Weights
Aggregating Survey Data to Estimate Subnational Public Opinion
Latent Constructs in Public Opinion
Measuring Group Consciousness: Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Cross-National Surveys and the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems: When Country/Elections Become Cases
Graphical Visualization of Polling Results
Graphical Displays for Public Opinion ResearchPart IV New Frontiers
Survey Experiments: Managing the Methodological Costs and Benefits
Using Qualitative Methods in a Quantitative Survey Research Agenda
Integration of Contextual Data: Opportunities and Challenges
Measuring Public Opinion with Social Media Data
Expert Surveys as a Measurement Tool: Challenges and New Frontiers
The Rise of Poll Aggregation and Election ForecastingIndex