This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by ADLER, K. P. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Polling the Attentive Public

Public opinion as reported by polls can be misleading when it concerns issues about which the general public knows or cares little. On such issues the views of those most interested or involved deserve special attention. Survey data show that those who follow the news about a particular issue or issue area very closely—the "attentive public"—differ in personal characteristics and often in their opinions from both the general public and from the best-educated. Further, opinions of the attentive public are often better informed and more predictive of policy trends than are the views of the general public. By reporting attentive public opinion separately, pollsters can encourage policy makers to pay greater attention to it.

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 472, No. 1, 143-154 (1984)
DOI: 10.1177/0002716284472001013


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?