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Find Responses to Any Topic from the Public Opinion Poll on www.lexis.com
(January 23, 2006)

Public Opinion polls are used to report on everything from the popularity of the president to the most highly used child-rearing method.  The results and statistics from these polls are constantly being cited for a variety of purposes.  Where does that information come from? Who are the authorities?  Sometimes it is hard to tell.  However, you have easy, reliable access to details from Public Opinion Online on www.lexis.com. 

The Public Opinion Poll is the most comprehensive full-text collection of public opinion in the United States, dating back to 1935.  It covers the full spectrum of public interest, including politics and government, public institutions, international relations, business, social affairs and consumer behavior and preferences.  The file includes actual data from a wide variety of sources in opinion polling, such as Gallup, Harris, Roper; ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC; Los Angeles Times, New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal.  The file is maintained by theRoper Center for Public Opinion Research, a non-profit education and research organization in the field of public opinion and public policy.

You can locate the responses and full-text to questions that have been asked on any topic covered in the polls plus full survey-level information, such as the name of the organization conducting the poll, demographic breakdown of the survey participants (statistics detailing: gender, age, race, education, income, geographic location, and party affiliation), the sponsoring organization (where applicable), the number of respondents polled, interview dates, and survey population.

Search Path:
/ Legislation & Politics - U.S. & U.K. / U.S. Campaign / Public Opinion Library Location or Public Opinion Online
OR
/ Market & Industry / By Industry & Topic / Marketing & Advertising / Public Opinion Library Location or Public Opinion Online
OR
/ News / By Industry & Topic / Government & Politics / Campaign News / Public Opinion Library Location or Public Opinion Online
OR
/ News / Individual Publications / P / Public Opinion Library Location or Public Opinion Online
OR
/ Reference / Business / Public Opinion Library Location or Public Opinion Online
OR
/ Reference /Statistics / Public Opinion Library Location or Public Opinion Online

The use of segments in this source is extremely powerful in getting precise results from the details in poll/survey data.  For example:

To retrieve a list of  surveys/polls concerning a particular topic:
Search: question(librarian)

To determine the number and type of surveys sponsored by a particular organization or company:
Search:  survey-sponsor (aclu or “American Civil Liberties Union”)