Skip to main content
Social Sci LibreTexts

10.6: Student Resources

  • Page ID
    141541
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

    \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\dsum}{\displaystyle\sum\limits} \)

    \( \newcommand{\dint}{\displaystyle\int\limits} \)

    \( \newcommand{\dlim}{\displaystyle\lim\limits} \)

    \( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

    ( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

    \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

    \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\)

    \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\)

    \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\)

    \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\)

    \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorA}[1]{\vec{#1}}      % arrow\)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorAt}[1]{\vec{\text{#1}}}      % arrow\)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorB}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorC}[1]{\textbf{#1}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorD}[1]{\overrightarrow{#1}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectorDt}[1]{\overrightarrow{\text{#1}}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vectE}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash{\mathbf {#1}}}} \)

    \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \)

    \(\newcommand{\longvect}{\overrightarrow}\)

    \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)

    \(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)

    Key Terms

    • Barometer (as used in comparative politics) refers to a survey that measures public opinion with a regional or global focus, encompassing multiple states.
    • Comparative public opinion is the research and analysis of public opinion across two more states.
    • Framing influences a respondent's answer to a survey question based on how the question is presented.
    • Margin of error is a statistical estimation of the accuracy of a sample.
    • Political socialization is the process by which an individual's political beliefs and values form, change, and solidify over time. 
    • Population is the entire group of individuals that a researcher is interested in studying and making inferences about.
    • Priming influences a respondent's answer to a survey question by pushing a respondent to think about a certain subject matter that they otherwise may not have been thinking about.
    • Polling is the scientific use of survey questions and instruments to gauge the explicit and implicit opinions of individuals about political issues and policy topics.
    • Public opinion is "an aggregate of the individual views, attitudes, and beliefs about a particular topic, expressed by a significant proportion of a community."
    • Randomization is when every individual in the population has an equal chance to be chosen as part of the sample.
    • Representative sample is a sample from a population that accurately represents the characteristics of that population.
    • Sample is a subset of the population used to gather data and then make inferences about the broader population.
    • Social desirability bias occurs when respondents give answers to questions that they think the broader society (or an interviewer) sees as "right" or answers that they think will make them look "good" in some way.
    • Survey is a set of questions that asks individuals, known as respondents, to share their beliefs, attitudes, and views on policy and political issues or individuals.

    Summary

    Section 10.1: What is Comparative Public Opinion?

    Public opinion is the views and opinions of the public at large, while comparative public opinion is the research and analysis of public opinion across two more states. Comparative public opinion is of interest because it helps inform our understanding of the beliefs, attitudes, and views of individuals across states or regions.

    Section 10.2: Public Opinion and Political Socialization

    Political scientists use public opinion data to study a variety of different research questions. The foundations of public opinion depend on how we are socialized. There are different factors, or agents, that impact our views and begin in early childhood. Family, education, and religion are some of the more dominant factors, but other agents can also influence us extensively. Once our views are established, they still can continue to change, but out of these views we derive our political ideology and our belief in the appropriate role and purpose government plays in our lives.

    Section 10.3: Measuring Public Opinion

    The most common way to measure public opinion is through public opinion polls. If the goal of the poll is to make generalizations to a larger population of people, the sample must be representative of that larger body, and subjects chosen to respond must be selected randomly. There are different types of polling techniques, which allow researchers to measure public opinion in a variety of ways. All polling has potential problems, and polilng in the comparative context can be especially fraught.

    Section 10.4: Comparative Case Study - Barometers Around the World

    There are at least eight barometers, or surveys, conducted throughout the world: Afrobarometer, Arab Barometer, Asian Barometer, Eurasia Barometer, Latino Barometer, Comparative National Elections Project, AmericasBarometer, and World Values Survey. Most barometers have questionnaires with a common, or core, set of questions that are asked in each fielding of the survey.

    Review Questions

    1. What is comparative public opinion?
      1. is the research and analysis of public opinion across two or more states
      2. is the research and analysis of public opinion across two or more continents
      3. is the research and analysis of elite opinion across two or more states
      4. is the research and analysis of elite opinion across two or more continents
    2. Which of the following best describes political socialization?
      1. where someone chooses to get their political information
      2. how someone is raised and views the world from an ideological point of view
      3. why someone chooses whether or not to vote
      4. what political organization someone chooses to work or volunteer with
    3. Which of the following is NOT a challenge of measuring public opinion?
      1. social desirability bias
      2. framing
      3. priming
      4. education
    4. What is the mission of the World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR)?
      1. promotes the highest professional standards, ethics, and techniques for polling around the world
      2. international membership represents the industry's most respected names in the survey and public opinion research field
      3. through publications, seminars, meetings, and educational initiatives we engage in a rich ongoing conversation about how best to collect data and maintain data quality not just in advanced democracies, but also in emerging democracies
      4. all of the above
    5. Which of the following is NOT a public opinion barometer?
      1. Afrobarometer
      2. Arab Barometer
      3. Meximeter
      4. Latino Barometer

    Answers: 1.a, 2.b, 3.d, 4.d, 5.c

    Critical Thinking Questions

    1. In September 2020, WAPOR hosted a webinar on Advances in Comparative Survey Methods and discussed the continuing development of multinational, multiregional, and multicultural (3MC) survey research methodology. Watch the webinar and write in five or more sentences what you found most interesting and/or most perplexing?
    2. Given the problems with polling, should we just stop polling individuals and trying to measure public opinion? Why or why not?
    3. Select a barometer you are most interested in, and if available, review its questionnaire. Within the questionnaire, identify at least two questions and compare and contrast them for similarities and differences.

    Suggestions for Further Study

    Books or Book Chapters

    • Aalberg, Toril. 2003. Achieving Justice: Comparative Public Opinions on Income Distribution. BRILL.
    • Dalton, Russell J. 2018. Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies. CQ Press.
    • Norris, Pippa. The Globalization of Comparative Public Opinion Research. The Sage Handbook of Comparative Politics. Ed. Neil Robinson and Todd Landman. Sage, 2009, 522-540.

    This page titled 10.6: Student Resources was last modified on Thu, 03 Jul 2025 17:53:54 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Dino Bozonelos, Julia Wendt, Charlotte Lee, Jessica Scarffe, Masahiro Omae, Josh Franco, Byran Martin, and Stefan Veldhuis (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .