GPOS 225: US Government
Assignment: Public Opinion Polls
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to prepare a table comparing how different polling organizations
measure public opinion on the president’s job performance and/or other concepts.
2. Students will be able to use their tables as a reference in a class discussion on polling
issues such as question wording, sample size, margin of error, and the timing of the poll.
Audience:
Undergraduate students of GPOS 225, the GENED course on US Government. Most of the
students are freshmen and sophomores. As a result, this and other assignments should focus on
basic concepts and processes. It also must account for the grading difficulties that accompany
large-enrollment classes (enrollment ranges from 70 to 85 students).
Assignment:
(Instructor Option 1: Presidential Popularity)
1. Go to Carrier Library’s “Polls / Surveys” resources:
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/resources/type.aspx?t=47. From this list of sources, find three
different polls that measured the president’s public approval rating at some point in 2007.
2. Referring to these three polls, answer the following questions by completing the table
below:
 Source: Who sponsored and/or conducted the poll?
 Question: Exactly how is the question worded?
 Date: When was the poll conducted?
 Sample Size: How many people were polled?
 Sampling Error: What is the margin of error (expressed in percentage terms)?
Source
Question
Date
Sample
Size
Sampling
Error
EXAMPLE:
Newsweek
EXAMPLE:
“Do you approve or disapprove
of the way George W. Bush is
handling his job as president?”
EXAMPLE:
5/2-5/3/2007
EXAMPLE:
1,001
EXAMPLE:
+/- 4%
% Favorable
or Positive or
Supportive
28 %
3. Find a different poll that measured the president’s approval rating at some point during
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006. Referring to these polls, complete the following
table:
% Favorable
Source
Question
Date
Sample
Size
Sampling
Error
or Positive or
Supportive
4. Turn in your completed handout at the end of the discussion. Be prepared to participate
in a class discussion on the following questions (see pp. *** of your text for a discussion
of these issues):
a. How is sample size related to the margin of error?
b. Compare the results of at least three different polls. Are the differences between
these results large enough to be statistically significant – that is, outside of the
margin of error?
c. How did the President’s support change over time? Which events may have
affected his approval rating? How did they affect his approval rating?
d. Was there any variation in how the question was asked? How might these
differences have affected the results?
(Instructor Option 2: Public Opinion on other political issues)
1. Choose a political issue from the following list:
Abortion
Global warming / Climate change
Gun control
Immigration
Same-sex marriage
Taxation
[Instructor may add to this list]
2. Go to Carrier Library’s “Polls / Surveys” resources:
http://www.lib.jmu.edu/resources/type.aspx?t=47. From this list, find three different polls
that include a question measuring public opinion on the issue you chose.
3. Referring to these three polls, answer the following questions by completing the table
below:
 Source: Who sponsored and/or conducted the poll?
 Question: Exactly how is the question worded?



Date: When was the poll conducted?
Sample Size: How many people were polled?
Sampling Error: What is the margin of error (expressed in percentage terms)?
Source
Question
Date
Sample
Size
Sampling
Error
EXAMPLE:
CNN
EXAMPLE:
"Would you favor or oppose
creating a program that would
allow illegal immigrants already
living in the United States for a
number of years to stay in this
country and apply for U.S.
citizenship if they had a job and
paid back taxes?"
EXAMPLE:
5/4-5/6/2007
EXAMPLE:
1,028
EXAMPLE:
+/- 3%
% Favor or
Support (or
similar)
80
4. Turn in your completed handout at the end of the discussion. Be prepared to participate in a
class discussion on the following questions (see pp. *** of your text for a discussion of these
issues):
a. How is sample size related to the margin of error?
b. Compare the results of at least three different polls. Are the differences between these
results large enough to be statistically significant – that is, outside of the margin of error?
c. Was there any variation in how the question was asked? How were they different?
How might these differences have affected the results?