Includes bibliographical references and index.

Pt. 1. History, Philosophy of Public Opinion and Public Opinion Research -- Section 1. The Nature of Public Opinion -- Ch. 1. The Public and Public Opinion in Political Theories / Vincent Price -- Ch. 2. The Deliberating Public and Deliberative Polls / Peter Neijens -- Ch. 3. The News as a Reflection of Public Opinion / Thomas E. Patterson -- Ch. 4. Advocacy: Alternative Expressions of Public Opinion / Kurt Lang & Gladys Engel Lang -- Ch. 5. Studying Elite vs Mass Opinion / Ursula Hoffmann-Lange -- Ch. 6. The Internet as a New Platform for Expressing Opinions and as a New Public Sphere / Bernhard Debatin -- Ch. 7. Popular Communication and Public Opinion / Debra Merskin & Jonathan David Tankel -- Section 2. The Development of Public Opinion Research --
Ch. 8. The Historical Roots of Public Opinion Research / Anthony Oberschall -- Ch. 9. Mass-Observation and Modern Public Opinion Research / Murray Goot -- Ch. 10. The Start of Modern Public Opinion Research / Hans L. Zetterberg -- Ch. 11. Public Opinion Research in Emerging Democracies / Robert Mattes -- Pt. 2. Theories of Public Opinion Formation and Change -- Section 1. Formation of Opinion -- Ch. 12. Knowledge and Attitudes / Penny S. Visser, Allyson Holbrook & Jon A. Krosnick -- Ch. 13. Conceptions of Attitudes and Opinions / Roger Tourangeau & Mirta Galesic -- Ch. 14. Theories on the Perception of Social Reality / William P. Eveland Carroll J. Glynn -- Ch. 15. Pluralistic Ignorance and Nonattitudes / Patricia Moy -- Section 2. Dynamics of Public Opinion -- Ch. 16. Spiral of Silence Theory / Dietram A. Scheufele -- Ch. 17. Public Opinion and the Third-Person Effect / Albert C. Gunther, Richard M. Perloff & Yariv Tsfati -- Ch. 18. Effects of the News Media on Public Opinion / Hans Mathias Kepplinger -- Ch. 19. Agenda-Setting, Framing and Priming / Patrick Roessler -- Pt. 3. Methodology -- Section 1. The Design of Surveys -- Ch. 20. The Methodological Strengths and Weaknesses of Survey Research / Herbert Weisberg -- Ch. 21. The Uses and Misuses of Polls / Michael W. Traugott -- Ch. 22. Face-to-Face Surveys / Jennifer Dykema, Danna Basson & Nora Cate Schaeffer -- Ch. 23. Surveys by Telephone / Paul J. Lavrakas -- Ch. 24. Self-Administered Paper Questionnaires / Don A. Dillman & Nicholas L. Parsons -- Ch. 25. Internet Surveys / Vasja Vehovar, Katja Lozar Manfreda & Gasper Kore -- Ch. 26. Different Survey Modes and International Comparisons / Yang-chih Fu & Yun-han Chu -- Ch. 27. Sampling / Colm O'Muircheartaigh -- Ch. 28. Survey Non-Response / Adam J. Berinsky -- Ch. 29. Split Ballots as an Experimental Approach to Public Opinion Research / Thomas Petersen -- Ch. 30. Panel Surveys / Jochen Hansen -- Ch. 31. Focus Groups and Public Opinion / David L. Morgan & Collin E. Fellows. Ch. 32. Content Analyses and Public Opinion Research / Winfried Schulz - Section 2. Measurement of Public Opinion -- Ch. 33. Designing Reliable and Valid Questionnaires / Kenneth A. Rasinski -- Ch. 34. The Psychology of Survey Response / Norbert Schwarz -- Ch. 35. The Use of Scales in Surveys / Michael Häder -- Ch. 36. The Use of Visual Materials in Surveys / Thomas Petersen -- Ch. 37. Validation Studies / Michael W. Traugott -- Ch. 38. Identifying Value Clusters in Societies / Hans L. Zetterberg -- Pt. 4. The Social and Political Environment of Public Opinion Research -- Section 1. The Status of Public Opinion Research -- Ch. 39. The Legal Status of Public Opinion Research in the World / Wolfgang Donsbach & Uwe Hartung -- Ch. 40. Attitudes of the Public Toward Public Opinion Research and Polling / Anne Hildreth -- Ch. 41. Attitudes of Journalists Toward Public Opinion Research / David H. Weaver -- Ch. 42. Codes of Ethics and Standards in Survey Research / Tom W. Smith -- Ch. 43. Archiving Poll Data / Wolfgang Jagodzinski & Meinhard Moschner -- Section 2. Uses and Effects of Public Opinion Research -- Ch. 44. The News Media's Use of Opinion Polls / Frank Brettschneider -- Ch. 45. The Use of Surveys by Governments and Politicians / Robert M. Eisinger -- Ch. 46. The Use of Public Opinion Research in Propaganda / Michael Kunczik & Eva Johanna Schweitzer -- Ch. 47. The Effects of Published Polls on Citizens / Sibylle Hardmeier -- Pt. 5. Special Fields of Application -- Ch. 48. The Use of Surveys as Legal Evidence / Anne Niedermann -- Ch. 49. Public Opinion and the Economy / Lutz M. Hagen -- Ch. 50. Marketing Research / Humphrey Taylor -- Ch. 51. Social Indicators and the Quality of Life / John P. Robinson, Kenneth C. Land & Steven Martin -- Ch. 52. Assessing Long-Term Value Changes in Societies / Ottar Hellevik -- Ch. 53. Exit Polls and Pre-Election Polls / Kathllen A. Frankovic -- Ch. 54. International Comparative Surveys: Their Purpose, Content and Methodological Challenges / Marta Lagos -- Ch. 55. The Use of Voter Research in Campaigns / Fred Steeper.

Public opinion theory and research are becoming increasingly significant in modern societies as people's attitudes and behaviours become ever more volatile and opinion poll data becomes ever more readily available. This major new Handbook is the first to bring together into one volume the whole field of public opinion theory, research methodology, and the political and social embeddedness of polls in modern societies. It comprehensively maps out the state-of-the-art in contemporary scholarship on these topics.

With over fifty chapters written by distinguished international researchers, both academic and from the commercial sector, this Handbook is designed to:

- give the reader an overview of the most important concepts included in and surrounding the term 'public opinion' and its application in modern social research
- present the basic empirical concepts for assessing public opinion and opinion changes in society
- provide an overview of the social, political and legal status of public opinion research, how it is perceived by the public and by journalists, and how it is used by governments
- offer a review of the role and use of surveys for selected special fields of application, ranging from their use in legal cases to the use of polls in marketing and campaigns.

The Handbook of Public Opinion Research provides an indispensable resource for both practitioners and students alike.