POL 310 Public Opinion

This course examines the role of public opinion in politics and best practices in conducting survey research. A fundamental assumption of democratic governance is the accountability of government to the governed. Yet government responsiveness to public opinion is shown to vary across issue areas, time, and developed democracies. Contemporary debates in public opinion scholarship involve different explanations for this variation, as well as attempts to identify the precise mechanisms by which public opinion influences (or fails to influence) policy, the psychological structure (or lack of structure) that contributes to individuals’ policy preferences, and the impact of elite manipulation. While most research on public opinion is confined to the United States, this course will approach public opinion and its accompanying debates in comparative perspective. Attention is also given to survey design and alternatives to the use of surveys in the measurement of public opinion. Prerequisite(s): (or concurrently) POL 105 or POL 202 or permission of instructor. 3 hour(s).