Traugott and Lavrakas have done an outstanding job in this primer on election polls. Written in clear, easily accessible style, it should be in the required reading list of any undergraduate course that deals with public opinion and polls—and many graduate courses as well. All journalists who report poll results, including those who considering themselves to be highly experienced will find it worth their while to use this guide when reading the poll releases that come across their desks.
Traugott and Lavrakas have written a much-needed election survey primer. It provides a clear and concise exposition of the purposes, practices, and pitfalls of modern polling.
Without a doubt, this is the best treatment of polling and its consequences that has been written in the last forty years.
This guide should help readers become not only more informed consumers of information, but also more informed, involved citizens. Recommended.
Traugott and Lavrakas provide exceptionally clear, refreshingly concise, and uniformly accurate answers to a series of citizen-inspired questions about the use of polls in election campaigns.
Without a doubt, this is the best treatment of polling and its consequences that has been written in the last forty years.--Sidney Kraus, Cleveland State University
Traugott and Lavrakas have written a much-needed election survey primer. It provides a clear and concise exposition of the purposes, practices, and pitfalls of modern polling.--Andrew Kohut, The Pew Research Center
Traugott and Lavrakas provide exceptionally clear, refreshingly concise, and uniformly accurate answers to a series of citizen-inspired questions about the use of polls in election campaigns.--Thomas E. Mann, The Brookings Institution
This guide should help readers become not only more informed consumers of information, but also more informed, involved citizens. Recommended.
This guide should help readers become not only more informed consumers of information, but also more informed, involved citizens. Recommended.
This highly accessible guide offers a comprehensive overview of the good, the bad, and the ugly of election polling. The book clearly explains foundational concepts necessary to understand current controversies in political polling. It is a classic source for any course in public opinion or campaigns and elections. Traugott and Lavrakas’s years of experience shine through these pages.
The Voter’s Guide to Election Polls is an accessible text that stands as a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding how polling works and the role it plays in informing electoral politics. It is notable that the authors discuss essential terminology and concepts using timely examples that help readers make connections to modern electoral politics while also illuminating the practice of survey research generally, since it has applications beyond the political sphere. Consequently, this text efficiently traverses many academic domains as well as being of potential interest to the discerning non-academician who wants to know how polling works.
In a political environment where anyone can run a ‘poll,’ public trust in survey research has declined. The Voter’s Guide to Election Polls offers a comprehensive review of survey research and practice in a way that is accessible and useful to consumers of polls. Traugott and Lavrakas’ book is a powerful tool to clarify misconceptions about the science of polling, especially in the context of political campaigns.
A simple fact about survey research and polling is that journalists, students, and citizens alike need to know how survey data were gathered and analyzed to accurately judge their quality. The science of survey research and polling has advanced rapidly over the years as researchers have adjusted to changes in the telephone system, people’s communication habits, and expectations of privacy, among many other things. The authors present a clear guide to these matters. Mike and Paul—now in their sixth edition of this very useful book—are world-class experts who have vast professional experiences related to the issues they discuss.
