AP US GOV
Name: ____________________
Public Opinion
1. Go to Pew Research Center website (http://www.pewresearch.org/)
Click on the Tab “US Politics”  then “Methodology”
Read about the Survey Methodology (in particular the “Sampling” tab). Write a bullet-pointed summary
here.
Go to the Fact Tank link on the right side. Choose 3 articles that you are interested in and write a brief
summary about something new you learned.
Go back to the “US Politics” and select a Survey Report that you are interested in. Analyze the public
opinion information, read the accompanying article, and bullet-point a brief summary about the results
of the poll and what it tells us.
Choose one other tab on the top of the browser (Media, Social Trends, Religion, Internet, Hispanics,
Global). Select a Survey Report you are interested in. Analyze the public opinion information, read the
accompanying article, and bullet-point a brief summary about the results of the poll and what it tells us.
Note: choose something that you are interested in…not the first report you see.
2. Go to Gallup website (http://www.gallup.com)
Scroll to the bottom of the website and click on “Methodology Center”. Read and briefly summarize how
Gallup gathers its data.
Go to the “Presidential Job Approval Center”. What is President Obama’s job approval ratings? How
does it compare to the average of other President’s at a similar time in their terms?
Should a President monitor their approval ratings?
How should a President use public opinion polls in directing their leadership?
Go back to the Gallup homepage. Find one topic that is interesting to you. Analyze the public opinion
information, read the accompanying article, and bullet-point a brief summary about the results of the
poll and what it tells us. Note: choose something that you are interested in…not the first report you see.
3. Go to the website
http://www.cnn.com/fyi/interactive/news/10/election.special/teachers/bg.5.html (or Google
 Understanding Public Opinion Polls)
Read the article and answer the following questions…
1. Historically, why and how was The Literary Digest poll of 1936 and the Gallup Poll of 1948 flawed?
What lessons about polling were learned from these two polling mistakes?
2. In a poll, why must there be a clear and accurate link between sample and population?
3. What problems can be created by public opinion polls?
4. What are exit polls?
5. Why do most polls today rely primarily upon phone banks?
6. Could instantaneous polls via the Internet help or hinder American politics? Why?
7. What is meant by a poll's "sampling error"?