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SAGE Journal Articles

SJ-userguide.pdf

Article 1: Baldassare, M. (March 2005). The Role of Public Opinion on the California Governor's Recall in 2003: Populism, Partisanship, and Direct Democracy.  American Politics Research 33(2). 163-186.

This article examines the role of public opinion during the California governor Gray Davis’ recall in 2003 compared to partisanship and ideology. In using the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) statewide surveys, the authors find that public support for the recall was consistent over time and related to negative political attitudes.

Questions to Consider:

1. What was the significance of the political climate on voice choices in the recall?

2. What are the origins of direct democracy?

3. Identify the three tools of direct democracy. Which one is the most popular in your state?

4. What led to the negative political climate during the recall?

Learning Objective(s): 10.2 Describe the ways public opinion can be measured; 10.4 Discuss to what extent public opinion is meaningful; 10.7 Discuss the influences and limitations of public opinion in American politics

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Article 2: Lewis, D.C., Wood, F. S., and Jacobsmeier, M. L. (September 2014). Public Opinion and Judicial Behavior in Direct Democracy Systems: Gay Rights in the American States.  State Politics and Police Quarterly. 1-22.

This article examines whether direct democracy institutions have a similar effect of enhancing the impact of public opinion on judicial behavior and reducing the likelihood of judges voting in favor of minority rights. The author’s study provides evidence that the institution of direct democracy does in fact increase the effect of public opinion on judicial decisions.

Questions to Consider:

1. How can the direct democracy institutions influence elected officials?

2. What is the primary criticism of direct democracy? Do you believe that it restricts minority rights?

Learning Objective(s): 10.2 Describe the ways that public opinion can be measured; 10.4 Discuss to what extent public opinion is meaningful

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Article 3: Rothschild, D. and Malhortra, N. (July-September 2014). Are public opinion polls self-fulfilling prophecies? Research and Politics 1(2). 1-10.

This article discusses the limited research on the bandwagon effects of the polls. In order to address the gap, the authors conduct an experiment using a diverse sample of people. The authors find that opinions expressed through polls affect individual-level attitudes.

Questions to Consider:

1. Discuss the three different policies that were used in the poll.

2. Do you believe that polls can be self-fulfilling prophecies?

3. What are bandwagon effects and how do they affect polls?

Learning Objective(s): 10.2 Describe the ways that public opinion can be measured; 10.4 Discuss to what extent public opinion is meaningful; 10.5 Summarize the role of consensus in politics and policy issues

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CQ Researcher

Logic7eCh10-politicalpolling.pdf

McCutcheon, C. (February 2015). Political Polling. CQ Researcher 25(6). 121-144.

This article discusses the gathering and measuring of public opinions in this current technological age. An emphasis is placed on smart phones, social media and the Internet and how they have made it easier for people to make their views known. However, new technology can also make it harder for political pollsters to gather and measure public opinions with precision or consistency.

Questions to Consider:

1. How has the polarized political climate affected polling?

2. How did Obama’s campaign use new technologies? Do you believe that they helped Obama win the election?

3. Discuss the evolution of polling.

Learning Objective(s): 10.2 Describe the ways that public opinion can be measured; 10.6 Relate the role that group difference such as gender and race can have on public opinion; 10.7 Discuss the influences and limitations of public opinion in American politics