Overview

Every two years, exit polls become the most widely analyzed, written about and discussed data-set in the United States. Although exit polls are known for their use in predicting elections, they are in fact the best tool for explaining election results. Exit polls are taken from actual voters, whereas pre-election polls that tally people's intended votes are estimated to overstate the number of people who will actually go to the polls. Exit Polls: Surveying the American Electorate is a groundbreaking new reference work that explores for the first time the trends in longitudinal variables asked in the national Election Day exit polls from their beginning in 1972 to the present. The book documents comparable survey items that have appeared in multiple exit polls over time. Authors Samuel J. Best and Brian S. Krueger - both election commentators for CBS news and statistical experts - present more than 100 tables and 100 figures showing the changes in the electorate and its voting patterns over time. This work represents the first time exit poll data has been combined over time to show trends. Offering unique insight into the American electorate, this important new work is meant to serve novice and expert researchers alike.

Full Product Details

9781452234403

Table of Contents

Reviews

Polling experts Best and Krueger's meticulous longitudinal study synthesizes oftentimes elusive and ephemeral exit poll statistics from disparate sources over the past four decades...readers will also profit from the first three chapters, which offer a history of exit polls, explain the authors' methodology, and discuss the changing demographic and ideological composition of the electorate. -- David Ettinger Library Journal

Author Information

Samuel J. Best has conducted and overseen numerous surveys both as a scholar and as Director for the Center of Survey research and Analysis at the University of Connecticut. He has written numerous academic articles and books, including an earlier volume for the QASS series, entitled Internet Data Collection (#142). Samuel J. Best is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Research Director of the Center for Survey Research and Analysis at the University of Connecticut. Brian Krueger (Ph.D., University of Notre Dame, 2001) joined URI's political science department in December 2001. He has authored or co-authored books and articles dealing with political participation, political mobilization, the impact of new technologies on political behavior, government domestic monitoring and emotions. His latest book concerns U.S. exit polls from 1972-2010 (CQ Press, 2012) . Professor Krueger typically teaches undergraduate courses such as Introduction to Political Science Research, American Presidency, & Public Opinion as well as the graduate Research Methods Seminar.

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