Suchergebnisse

In April 1978, after nine months of national debate, the Senate ratified new Panama canal treaties. Voting was apparently influenced by numerous opinion polls, which were seen as showing increased support for the treaties. Bur several analysts , however, have shown that public opinion consistently opposed the treaties

Over 400 poll questions related to the nuclear freeze debate 1980-1984 are analyzed, challenging conventional wisdom about public opinion on the freeze initiative. While the polls reveal general support for arms control & the concept of a "freeze," they also reveal that support for the freeze came heavily qualified: Americans expressed doubts about the verifiability of a freeze between the US & the USSR, whether an equal balance of nuclear forces could be "frozen" in place, & whether the USSR would live up to such an agreement. Also, the US public paid little attention to the freeze debate; few knew much about the freeze initiative, & fewer still had positive attitudes toward it. 1 Appendix, 27 References. AA

In Apr 1978, after 9 months of national debate, the US Senate narrowly ratified new Panama Canal treaties. Voting was apparently influenced by numerous PO polls, which were seen as showing increased support for the treaties; however, several analysts have shown that PO consistently opposed the treaties. Here, national poll results on the topic are examined, along with polling & reporting practices, in order to identify possible sources of misinterpretation. Analysis of poll questions reveals possible sources for the erroneous belief that PO changed from opposition to support of the treaties: (1) 40 of 51 questions were different, thus allowing partisan & naive observers to see illusory trends in their results; (2) 38 of 51 questions were erroneous, ambiguous, or biased; & (3) in 4 of 6 key polls, pollsters seriously misinterpreted their findings. Analysis of coverage of PO on the treaties in 6 national news media suggest additional problems: coverage on CBS News & in The New York Times was generally accurate & perceptive; ABC News did not cover poll results; coverage on NBC News & in Time & Newsweeek magazines exhibited numerous errors of fact & inference, all of which supported the erroneous claim of a change in PO. All 6 news media consistently omitted data required by standards of reporting developed by the American Assoc for Public Opinion Research & other organizations. Results strongly suggest the need for pollsters to ask series of identical questions, avoid attempts to inform Rs on the topic of interest, & insure that poll questions & interpretations match the complexity of the subjects they address. At a minimum, news media should report question wording, interview dates, & population sampled whenever poll data are discussed. 3 Tables, 29 References. Modified AA