Routledge People and Their Opinions: Thinking Critically About Public Opinion

Utilizing both a critical thinking approach and a comparative perspective throughout the text, Sobel and Shiraev provide comprehensive coverage of public opinion while also teaching students the basic skills necessary for measurement, understanding, and interpreting. Written in an accessible and engaging manner, this text provides a unique and practical introduction to the field of public opinion. The book begins by “schooling” the reader in how to think critically and then helps students apply those techniques as they encounter the concepts of public opinion. The text also employs a comparative perspective, demonstrating the effect and nature of public opinion in other countries while also placing American public opinion in context. From the Back Cover Utilizing both a critical thinking approach and a comparative perspective throughout the text, Sobel and Shiraev provide comprehensive coverage of public opinion while also teaching students the basic skills necessary for measurement, understanding, and interpreting. Written in an accessible and engaging manner, this text provides a unique and practical introduction to the field of public opinion. The book begins by "schooling" the reader in how to think critically and then helps students apply those techniques as they encounter the concepts of public opinion. The text also employs a comparative perspective to demonstrate global events' profound impact in public opinion. About the Author Eric Shiraev took his academic degrees at St. Petersburg University in Russia and completed a post-doctoral program at UCLA. He is an author, co-author, and co-editor of fourteen books and numerous publications in the fields of international relations, political psychology, Russian, cross-cultural, and comparative studies. He develops a distinct multi-disciplinary approach to government, social, and political behavior and emphasizes the role of identity and culture in politics and international relations. Besides his teaching and scholarly work, Eric Shiraev writes policy briefs and opinion essays for government, nongovernment organizations, and the media. Richard Sobel explores the relationships between citizens and governments as a Senior Research Associate in the Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Harvard Medical School, and a Senior Research Fellow and Policy Director at the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research in Storrs, CT. His work includes the policy analysis of privacy and confidentiality issues, particularly on constitutional and political questions about governmental databanks and identification schemes. Previously, he was a Fellow at the Berkman Center on Internet and Society at Harvard Law School and a Fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics and Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government.