Polling and the Public: What Every Citizen Should Know

How can a public opinion poll of only 1,500 Americans accurately represent the entire population? Asher demystifies this and other polling issues with clear descriptions, colorful anecdotes and such up-to-date examples as polls concerning doctor-assisted suicide and NATO expansion. He explains how the wording and ordering of the survey questions, and the interviewer's techniques profoundly affect the response the pollster gets.

Public opinion polls are pervasive, influencing discourse and de...