Political Polling: Strategic Information in Campaigns / Edition 2

by Jeffrey M. Stonecash

Overview

Information is crucial for candidates in political campaigns. This book, written by someone who has polled for 23 years, first focuses on the process of acquiring information during a campaign through polling. The book describes how to write questions, draw samples of voters, and conduct calling. The second major concern of the book is how to analyze results, and then interpret and present results in a way that will contribute to forming a strategy for a campaign. The book deals with the issues of biased questions and results, and why it is of no value to candidates to engage in such practices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742561328
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/17/2008
Series:	Campaigning American Style
Edition description:	Second Edition
Pages:	188
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Jeffrey Stonecash is professor of political science at Syracuse University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Campaigns, Democracy, and the Need for Information
Chapter 3 Purpose, Limited Budgets, and When to Poll
Chapter 4 What Kind of Poll?
Chapter 5 Writing Questions: Language and the Script
Chapter 6 Pulling a Sample: Who Votes, Sample Size, and Representativeness
Chapter 7 Callers and Calling
Chapter 8 The Crucial Part: Analysis and Developing a Campaign Plan
Chapter 9 Reports and Recommendations
Chapter 10 Tracking Polls and the Undecided
Chapter 11 A Final Note on Polling and Democracy
Chapter 12 Appendix: A Sample Report
Chapter 13 Bibliography

Editorial Reviews

A good resource for learning how to analyze results and then intrepret and present them to campaigns in a way that will help inform strategy....Useful to those just starting careers in politics.

Campaigns & Elections

Stonecash covers the practical aspects of polling in election campaigns, especially those for local office. The emphasis is on analytical approaches as much as on data collection, content that will be useful for those who want to understand better how candidates use data in deciding whether to run and in the organization of their strategy. Readers, especially students, will understand campaign polls better after reading this book.

Mike Traugott

A good resource for learning how to analyze results and then intrepret and present them to campaigns in a way that will help inform strategy....Useful to those just starting careers in politics.

January 2009 Campaigns & Elections