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George Mason University | University Libraries
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Find Data: Public Opinion Polls & Social Surveys

Use this guide to locate public opinion data and gather information on societal and cultural attitudes on a wide variety of topics. The guide points you to the most frequently used, relevant, and rich data sources for these topics.

Get Help

You can set up an appointment through my calendar for a research consultation. If none of the available times work for you, email me to schedule an appointment. To schedule a workshop or class presentation, email me.

Wendy Mann
Director, Digital Scholarship Center
wmann@gmu.edu
 

How to Interpret Poll Results

Wondering how to interpret poll results? Read, “20 Questions a Journalist Should Ask about Poll Results” for better understanding.  This is an excellent general overview and you don’t need to be a journalist to read it!  Very easy to follow.  Check out the Roper Center Polling Fundamentals page for background information on using polling data.

For further reading, search the Library Catalog using the keywords “public opinion” or “social surveys” to find more books and e-books on this topic.

DDSS Workshops: Check out Data Services' scheduled workshops for the fall and spring semesters.
 
More Information from DDSS: Get more specific information on best practices, software tools and "how to's."