Research Guides: Journalism: Polls & Public Opinion

Journalism Selector

she, her

Email Me

Contact:

MULN 417

(479) 575-2962

Subjects: Communication, Composition and Rhetoric, Dance, English and American Literature, Film and Television, Journalism, Literature, Public Speaking, Theatre

Chat with Us

Polling the Nations

Polling the Nations is the most comprehensive collection of public opinion, with information from 90 countries around the world. The database includes the full text of the questions and responses covering a broad range of issues from Gallup, Roper, Harris and other major news and marketing organizations. Users can search Polling the Nations by six search fields-- topic, question text, universe (area surveyed), date, polling organization, and response categories.

Guides to Opinion Polls & Surveys

Visit these sites for comprehensive lists of polling sources and data posted on the Web.

World Public Opinion--Other Poll Sources
Washington Post Data Directory
A guide to public opinion data published on the Internet by non-partisan organizations.

Polls and Opinions

Polls provide the best direct source of information about public opinion. They are valuable tools for journalists and can serve as the basis for accurate, informative news stories.

American Religion Data Archive
Contains national and international surveys, questionnaires, and reports focused on religion. Associated with the Pennsylvania State University.
Angus Reid Global Monitor
Since 2003 the Angus Reid Global Monitor website has tracked and made available a free-access online public opinion database that includes surveys from around the world. It tracks attitudes and perceptions concerning political, social and economic topics.
Arkansas Poll
Associated Press / Ipsos Poll
Contains polling data collected by the Associated Press and Ipsos from 2003 to the present.
Canadian Opinion Research Archive
Contains Canadian commercial and independent surveys from 1973 to the present.
Europa - Public Opinion
The Public Opinion Analysis sector of the European Commission makes survey results available from this website. Its surveys and studies address major topics concerning European citizenship: enlargement, social situation, health, culture, information technology, environment, the Euro, defense, etc.
Fox News Polls
Contains polling data collected from Fox News from 2005 to the present.
Gallup Poll
Contains recent polling data from the Gallup Poll. Archived polls are available with subscription.
The Harris Poll
Begun in 1963, The Harris Poll is a long running proprietary survey conducted by Harris Interactive measuring public opinion. The nationally representative polls, conducted both by telephone and online, measure, and trend, the knowledge, opinions, behaviors and motivation of the general public. Choose "topics" to see freely available reports on a wide variety of subjects including politics, the economy, healthcare, foreign affairs, science and technology, sports and entertainment, and lifestyles.
Iraqanalysis.org
The Iraq Analysis Group maintains a list of opinion polls carried out in Iraq. It aims to be a comprehensive list of significant polls available in English. The site provides analysis of the data and a link to the organization conducting the poll.
Kaiser Family Foundation - Kaiser Polls
Contains thousands of survey questions from the past 65+ years on health issues.
Latin American Public Opinion Project
Contains polling data about political viewpoints across Latin America.
New York Times Polls
Contains polling data collected by The New York Times from 2002 to the present.
NPR / Kaiser / Kennedy School Poll
Contains polling data from 1999 to the present.
Pew Global Attitudes Project Key Indicators Database
This interactive database allows users to explore public opinion trends in 55 countries on topics ranging from attitudes toward the U.S. to people's assessments of their own lives to views about globalization, democratization, extremism and other important issues. Data can be searched by question, topic or country - results can be displayed in map, table or chart formats. The findings are from 8 surveys conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project from 2002-2009 among 200,000 respondents.
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
This organization conducts polls on politics, the media and American perspectives. They also conduct the Pew Global Attitudes Project, "a series of worldwide public opinion surveys that encompasses a broad array of subjects ranging from people's assessments of their own lives to their views about the current state of the world and important issues of the day. More than 90,000 interviews in 50 countries have been conducted as part of the project's work"
PIPA: Program on International Policy Attitudes
PIPA conducts studies of public attitudes on various international topics. The website contains studies of U.S. opinion and studies of world opinion. They have also published a new website/webzine called WorldPublicOpinion.org, as a source of in-depth information and analysis on public opinion from around the world on international issues.
PollingReport.com
An independent, nonpartisan resource on trends in American public opinion. Contains frequently updated polling results and data.
Public Agenda Online
Public Agenda is a non-profit research organization that does opinion surveys on a wide variety of issues.
The Washington Post Polls
Contains polling data from The Washington Post from 1997 to the present.
World Public Opinion.org
This website, produced by the Program on International Policy Attitudes and launched in January 2006 provides articles on the results of opinion polls taken around the world. Articles are organized by region and topic. While there is no archive of past polls provided, the older articles will be listed farther down the chronological listing.

Survey Data

Use the links and resources to gain access to raw data from surveys.

General Social Survey
The General Social Survey is an ongoing regular personal interview survey of U.S. households conducted by the National Opinion Research Center. The survey measures the direction of American attitudes, experiences, practices and concerns. Since 1994 the GSS has been conducted in even number years. A cumulative data file covering 1972- 2002 is available on CD Rom at the Fairchild Library Reserve desk: 301.0723 N827. A General Social Survey FAQ is available for more information.
World Values Survey
Surveys conducted by a network of social scientists at universities world-wide to provide a worldwide investigation of sociocultural and political change in four waves 1990-1991, 1995-1996, 1999-2001, and 2005; the next set of data will be 2010-2012.

ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research This link opens in a new window
ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research) is the world's largest archive of computer-readable social science data. As a member institution, UA faculty and students have direct and free access to download data. The data resources include but are not limited to surveys of values, attitudes, health, race and religion, political exit polls and voting behavior, data on crime, and consumer income.