Reviews for American Public Opinion: Its Origins, Content, and Impact (Update Edition)

The average rating for American Public Opinion: Its Origins, Content, and Impact (Update Edition) based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-06-02 00:00:00 James Glaser This edition was published in 1991; thus, it is somewhat dated. Nonetheless, in its time it was a fine textbook on public opinion in the United States. I used this once as a textbook in my political science class on public opinion. Students seemed to appreciate the book, and that is always a plus if you are teaching a class! The book begins with some theoretical discussion. For instance, what are the ways that public opinion might affect policy decisions in a democracy? The book addresses that issue. The work also considers how one would study public opinion (survey research is the dominant mode of study). After that, chapters on a variety of aspects of public opinion, such as ideology, party identification, position on the issues; political socialization (how we come to learn about politics); group differences in public opinion; the role of the media regarding public opinion; how public opinion might affect decision making by government. All in all, a satisfying work. A key plus: linking public opinion with actual decisions made.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-10-14 00:00:00 Sharon Craig When I taught a graduate course in program evaluation, I used an earlier edition of this book. It served as a text very nicely. It explores such key issues, at the outset, as planning an evaluation, developing good measures of program performance, and ethical issues involved. Then, three key elements of evaluation--assessing need and planning programs and assessing if the program is being implemented as desired. Ultimately, evaluation is about assessing whether or not a program is having desirable (or undesirable) effects. Part III considers how one might go about that task. Finally, Part IV speaks of how one can apply finsings effectively. All in all, a nice introduction to program evaluation.