2. What is Public Opinion
Research?
• Public opinion research is a field that studies
the relationship between public opinion and
policy. It involves using surveys, focus groups, or
interviews to determine how people feel about
specific issues and policies.
• Public opinion research, sometimes referred to
as opinion polling or public opinion research, is
the process of collecting data on public
attitudes and opinions.
• A survey is a type of public opinion research
where participants are asked to answer
questions about their opinions or behaviors.
3. Surveys can be done via phone calls, email surveys, web surveys,
paper-and-pencil surveys, in-person interviews, and more. Surveys
are typically done by phone or online using automated dialing
machines (ADM).
This method allows for such rapid deployment that it has become an
established industry standard. The ADM operator calls the
respondent at home or a place of business and asks them questions.
4. The results are recorded by the ADM operator and later sent to researchers for analysis. Public opinion
research can be used by researchers to study how people think about an issue or policy and what they want
it to look like.
Public opinion research is also useful for making decisions about which issues to address in public debates
and campaigns. It can be done by asking people directly and by doing surveys, which are group interviews
where interviewers ask participants questions and record their answers on paper or electronically.
Usually, this is done through a computer program that records responses from individual participants or from
multiple respondents in response to the same question.
5. Importance of
Public Opinion
Research
Public opinion research is the collection and analysis of information
about public attitudes and beliefs.
Public opinion research is also a way to get an understanding of the
opinions and attitudes of people who are not directly involved in a
topic. Public opinion research can help us understand what people
think about a particular issue or event.
Public opinion research is an important tool used in public policy and
political research. Public opinion research can influence individuals
to make decisions that they would not otherwise have made.
The data collected from public opinion research can then be used to
help inform policies and decisions that affect society as a whole.
6. Factors Influencing Public Opinion
The factors that influence public
opinion include economic conditions,
new scientific findings, technological
change, interest groups, political
activities, and NGOs.
Economic Conditions: Economic
conditions influence public opinion
through changes in consumer
spending patterns. When consumers
feel more confident about their
financial situation, they are more likely
to purchase goods and services that
support their preferred political views.
7. New Scientific Findings: New scientific findings influence public opinion by
providing new insights into an issue. These insights can cause people to feel
concerned or angry about a particular issue, which will then lead them to
be more likely to support a particular political party or candidate.
Media: Public opinion is influenced by media and mass communication
which plays an important role in shaping public opinion.
