1. Measuring Public Opinion

2. Non-Scientific Methods
Party organizations have traditionally provided reliable information on public opinion.
Letters, s, phone calls, and faxes provide elected officials with public opinion.
Straw polls provide a biased sample of public opinion.
Public opinion is also reflected on political websites, blogs, and social networking sites.

3. Scientific Polling
Scientific polling begins by determining a universe, or group, to be studied.
A representative sample of the group being studied is polled by random sampling.
Interpreting a poll requires knowing who paid for the poll, who responded, and the sampling error.
Writing questions which push a respondent to a particular answer is called “push polling.”

4. Uses of Polling Data
Politicians may use polling data to introduce a bill or decide how to vote on a related bill.
Media use of polling data may shape public opinion.