Suchergebnisse

Based on Gallup surveys conducted in 1987 and 1988.

A review of a two-part TV program aired by NBC on 5-6 Sept 1989, called "R.A.C.E." (Racial Attitudes & Consciousness Exam), which utilized survey questions, panelist discussions, & dramatized vignettes to examine racial attitudes & contacts in work, neighborhood, school, informal social interactions, crime, & politics. Although about 13 million Americans viewed the series, questions remain whether their consciousness was raised & whether social science knowledge was effectively applied. Problems with the program are detailed, including theme constraints, response error & effects, & individual panelist bias. It is concluded that, in this particular case, social science did not adapt well to the mass medium of TV. M. Malas.

Conclusions reached by Howard Schuman & Jacqueline Scott in "Problems in the Use of Survey Questions to Measure Public Opinion" (Science, 1987, 236, 22 May, 957-959) are challenged. Schuman & Scott presume that all human communication is vulnerable to frame-of-reference effects, & conclude that using survey questions to assess anything more than changes over time is hopeless. It is argued that all communication does require some frame of reference to make sense, but that survey results do not differ from other types of communication in that need. The contexts are important whether one is interpreting the marginals of a single survey or trends over time. In Rejoinder, Schuman replies that while he does not disagree with the comments made, marginals should be deemphasized for two reasons: almost all meaningful interpretation requires some comparison, & seemingly unimportant changes in question wording can alter marginals substantially. Finally, marginals for factual questions, eg, number of rooms in the house, have more meaning alone than do marginals for questions about beliefs & attitudes. A. Waters

The presidential address at the 1988 annual meeting of the American Assoc for Public Opinion Research. After clarifying what kinds of problems will not be addressed, problems intrinsic to surveys as a research method are discussed, & some remedies that have been proposed for them examined. Alternatives to the survey method are considered, & some steps that might be taken in order to push back the limits to surveys are suggested. 25 References. AA