Title Silent voices : public opinion and political participation in America / Adam J. Berinsky

Published Princeton, N.J. ; Woodstock : Princeton University Press, 2005

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Description 1 online resource (240 pages) : illustrations Contents Frontmatter -- Contents -- Figures -- Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction. Representation, Public Opinion, and the Voice of the People -- One. Opinion Polling and the Silencing of Political Voice -- Two. The Search for the Voice of the People: Considering the Unspoken -- Three. The Dynamics of Racial Policy Opinion, 1972-1994 -- Four. Social Welfare Policy and Public Opinion, 1972-1996 -- Five. The Changing Context of Public Opinion Concerning the Vietnam War, 1964-1972 -- Conclusion. Public Opinion and Political Voice -- Appendix to Chapter 3 -- Appendix to Chapter 4 -- Appendix to Chapter 5 -- References -- Index Summary Over the past century, opinion polls have come to pervade American politics. Despite their shortcomings, the notion prevails that polls broadly represent public sentiment. But do they? In Silent Voices, Adam Berinsky presents a provocative argument that the very process of collecting information on public preferences through surveys may bias our picture of those preferences. In particular, he focuses on the many respondents who say they "don't know" when asked for their views on the political issues of the day. Using opinion poll data collected over the past forty years, Berinsky takes an increasingly technical area of research--public opinion--and synthesizes recent findings in a coherent and accessible manner while building on this with his own findings. He moves from an in-depth treatment of how citizens approach the survey interview, to a discussion of how individuals come to form and then to express opinions on political matters in the context of such an interview, to an examination of public opinion in three broad policy areas--race, social welfare, and war. He concludes that "don't know" responses are often the result of a systematic process that serves to exclude particular interests from the realm of recognized public opinion. Thus surveys may then echo the inegalitarian shortcomings of other forms of political participation and even introduce new problems altogether Notes Originally published: 2004 Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-194) and index Notes In English Print version record Subject Public opinion -- United States Public opinion polls. Political participation -- United States Representative government and representation -- United States Public welfare -- United States -- Public opinion Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- Public opinion public opinion polls. SOCIAL SCIENCE -- General. POLITICAL SCIENCE -- Political Process -- General. Political participation Public opinion Public opinion polls Public welfare -- Public opinion Representative government and representation SUBJECT United States -- Race relations -- Government policy -- Public opinion Subject United States Form Electronic book ISBN 9781400850747 1400850746 0691115877 9780691115870

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