Public opinion polls are a relatively recent development in politics
to try and track American public opinion about particular issues.There
are two major pollsters that are generally seen as conducting legitimate
scientific polls and have gained credibility among most people for the
accuracy (or at least representativeness) of their surveys. To get
credit for this post you must perform the following tasks.
Go to Gallup and/or Rasmussen Reports
and find a politically relevant poll (that no one else has used so far,
this will be easy, there are literally hundreds of polls) that
interests you. In the first line of your response, write the name of
the site you accessed and the exact name of the
poll you chose as it appears on the site, so no one else can choose it.
Be sure to answer in reference to the particular poll you selected. I
do not want to see generalizations or you will not receive credit.
Answer the following questions:
a. Why did you pick this poll? How is this poll politically relevant?
b. What general concepts (the Constitution, freedom of speech,
legitimacy, political parties, media, elections etc.) does this poll
relate to in class? How might it help us better understand those
concepts?
c. In a sentence or two, describe the main
findings of the poll. Are the results of the poll surprising to you? Why
or why not?
d. Is there any part of the poll that you would
consider biased? (in how they ask the questions, how they present the
results, research methods they used, etc.) Why do you consider it
biased? If it is not biased, explain why you think so.
e.
Why might politicians be interested in using these particular statistics
from your specific poll? In what ways might it benefit their campaign
strategies or voter outreach programs?
90 comments:
I chose Gallup.com and the poll was Reports of depression treatment higher among baby boomers.
A) I chose this one because my grandparents are part of the baby boomers, and sometimes they do feel depressed. It is politically relevant because the medicare and Medicaid are basically for the baby boomers that are in there 70's.
B) It ties in with the constitution, it will help us better understand those concepts because of how much tax will we be paying, and how much the Government will add on to what we are already paying.
C)The main findings in the poll were that Baby boomers had the highest diagnosis for depression with 14%, followed by generation X 11%, Traditionals 9%, and Mellanialists 7%. No they were not surprising to me because the baby boomers seem like they would be diagnosed more because of the fact the might feel unaccomplished in life.
D)No I didn't think it was biased at all, because the way they asked the questions they would get an exact answer from whoever they are asking, and in most cases that person would tell the truth.
E)They might uses to get the attention of elderly voters, by providing more healthcare programs to treat there illness. They also might try to have a big deduction in health care cost so that it could be more affordable to go to the doctor.
Daily Presidential Tracking Poll - Rasmussen Reports
a) I chose this poll because it's interesting to see how many people agree or disagree with Obama's performance. This is politically relevant because he is the president and if the people are happy or unhappy with some things, that could effect how the next president will perform in office.
b) This poll relates to the political parties that we have discussed in class because you can see a clear and dramatic difference in the percent of people that agree with Mr. Obama's actions based on which party there are in. 49% percent of democrats "strongly approve" while only 8% of republicans approve. This can help give me a better understanding of the concepts of political parties because it's a real life representation of the opposing views of each side.
c) The main findings of this poll do not surprise me because Mr. Obama's term has been tricky the whole time in regards to how the people react. His actions help some and upset others, (mostly republicans) but can also turn others to see a different view and grow to agree with his moves. During the last election it was really close, because when it comes to president Obama the votes always seem to be split down the middle. 49% agree with the performance and 50% disagree, which makes total sense to me.
d) I may consider a small part of this poll to be somewhat biased because they asked if you "strongly" agreed with Obama's performance. Which, if some people are not totally crazy about his actions or only dislike a few then that would sway them to choose a different answer such as disagree, when in reality they agree just not strongly.
e) Politicians that are planning on running in the next presidential campaign can definitely use this poll to give them some ideas of what they should mention in their campaigns or even plan to do as president if they were to be elected for the position.
Gallup.com- Gallup Student Poll: Job Confidence Lower in Higher Grades
a) I picked this poll because I find this very intriguing that students in elementary and middle schools are more optimistic about their future than high school students. I witness this situation among my peers who lost their motivation to find success in their future. This is politically relevant because there are several regulations, including state and national tests that are involved with student’s performances that are administered by the U.S. education departments.
b) This poll ties with the media, you can get a better understanding of the concept by stating the current events that are happening that can make an impact on us.
c) The main finding of this poll were that high school students are less optimistic about occupying jobs are college in their future, also to be specific about the gender, girls are less optimistic than guys, due to the statistics of each grading level of high school students. This poll surprise me because it’s unfortunate that numerous students has loss their motivation and optimism to succeed in life.
d) No, I do not think that the poll is biased because their statistics on their study proved their point that high school students are less optimistic about their future than middle and elementary students.
e) With using the statistics on this study, politicians can attract educational departments all across the states who students participated in this study to fix this ongoing problem. Politicians can ensure to initiate education programs that will help students, especially high school students, to get them on the right track and motivate them for college readiness or the labor force.
Gallup.com- Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana Most Conservative States
a. I picked this poll since it clearly shows how politically divided the country is, based on each state’s political ideology preference.
b. This relates to the concept of political ideology. Conservatives are people who think no change is needed. The poll shows what part of the nation is more prone to being conservative or liberal.
c. The poll shows that most of the Southern states think no change is needed, while most of the coastal states are liberals. The results of the poll is not surprising to me since the South has usually been seen as being more, as seen in the civil war conflict.
d. I believe there is little bias with the poll since there are certain precautions taken to assure every demographic is accounted for and to have a large sample size.
e. Depending on what side of the spectrum the politician is on, he/she might use the poll to see what states to focus his/her future campaign or policies on. It shows what state is most likely to support his/her ideas depending on whether the politician is a conservative or liberal.
I used Gallup.com and the poll I chose was U.S. Flu Reports Decline in January.
A)I picked this poll because it's flu season and its a good thing that the amount of flu cases is dropping.
B)The general concepts help us to understand where it says in the constitution preamble to promote general welfare of the human population.
C)The main findings in this poll are that the flu season peaked early this year and the number of reported cases have decreased significantly from last years.
D) I would consider the results to be biased because they only collected data from a part of the population. They only asked adults and left out everyone in the age groups from 17 to new born meaning that the results are skewed.
E)Politicians might be interested in these statistics because they could talk about improving the health care system as a campaign strategy or voter outreach program. It might benefit their campaign because health care is an important issue and there has been major emphasis in the past 6 years.
Gallup.com - 2014 U.S. Approval of Congress Remains Near All-Time Low
A. I chose this poll because in class Mr. Sharpe was explaining how polarized Congress was and this article caught my eye to supporting that idea. This poll explains how Americans are not satisfied with the actions of the Congress they voted for.
B. This poll shows the effects of political parties and hyperpluarmism. With political parties both trying to advocate their ideology, they enter a form of policy gridlock; such a gridlock is shown by low approval rates towards the divided Congress.
C. The poll found that only 16% of Americans approve of Congress's actions. Although lower than I'd think, it does not surprise me the numbers are this low given how divided both the House and Senate are.
D. The main issue I have with the sampling method is that they conducted it over a telephone with the rather broad question "Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?" I think a much better way would of been to ask about their approval on specific issues, allowing them to consider how Congress has taken action in those specific issues first before deciding if they approve or disapprove with Congress as a whole.
E. Politicians could use approval ratings to urge voters to vote in a certain way so as to create a majority in Congress. This would benefit politicians because with a majority Congress can begin taking some form of action rather than being at a policy gridlock.
Rasmussen Reports – Do Democratic Voters Like Their Party Leaders?
a. I chose this poll because it is interesting to see how the voters view their party leaders, who are supposed to represent their interests. It is politically relevant because parties are linkage institutions that allow people’s opinions to be heard, and play critical role in Congress.
b. The general concepts that this poll relates to are political parties and linkage institutions (as stated above). It helps us understand the concepts of linkage institution and political parties because this poll directly asks the people “have Democrats in Congress done a good job representing Democratic values?" and highlights how the parties are supposed to represent people’s values.
c. The poll’s findings state that 46% believe Democrats are doing a good job in representing Democratic values in contrast to 24% of Republican voters who believe their representatives are reflecting their values well. Relatively low percentages do not surprise me because US is made up of people who possess wide range of values, and it would be hard for party representatives to reflect all the people’s values without conflict.
d. I believe the wording of the question was a little biased in that it did not seem to allow the answers to venture into the ‘gray-zone’. It was either a yes or no question, which may create skewed data since there must be some people who are indifferent or ambivalent.
e. Politicians may be interested in using this statistics to find out about their own parties relationship with the people, and perhaps use the statistics in order to shape their agenda to appeal to more voters. It can also be used to criticize opponents who by citing a relatively low percentage rate.
Gallup.com- After Holidays, January U.S. Consumer Spending Falls to $81
a) I picked this poll because the title initially intrigued me, and because it was reported in January that unemployment was at an all-time low since Obama was in office. The relevancy that I deduced was that I thought that unemployment and the rate at which consumers were spending would have some correlation.
b) I believe a general concept that can be loosely tied to this poll is the Constitution, and how it’s stated that the financial well-being of the United States is the responsibility of the government.
c) The main findings of the poll are that typically in January, consumer spending goes back down after the holiday spending that occurs in December, but despite drop, this January was one of the highest in consumer spending since 2008. This doesn’t surprise me that there is a drop to begin with because after the holidays, people are spending less money. But, the fact that they’re spending more on average this January despite drop also doesn’t surprise me for the simple fact that the economy has shown positive signs in improving and has given consumers confidence to be less discretionary with their money.
d) I don’t believe any part of the poll is biased because the researchers attempted to get an accurate representation of the American public by conducting the poll on both cell phones and land-lines (since some people have one or the other, or both) and conducting the poll in all states, including the District of Columbia.
e) Politicians might be interested in this poll because it may or may not support their stance on where the economy is currently and where they could see the economy going (with or without their methods or ideas of improving it).
gallup.com - Americans Less Interested in Two Major Political Parties
a.) I picked this poll because it was a topic Mr. Sharper talked about in class before we wrote the ideology paper. This is politically relevant because now, more than any other time in history, more Americans are choosing to go independent rather than choosing a political party.
b.) This relates directly to political parties as the poll was about people not choosing one or the other. It's helps to under stand why people aren't choosing them as often as they used to. Frank Newport, the author of the article, reasons this it is because people do not like how the government functions, so they choose to not pick a party as a consequence of that. He also says that because we have a two-party ruled government, changes in the political system move very slowly. Because the two parties control the government, it's hard to change the basics, even when 43% of Americans do my label themselves as one of those two party members. This will help to understand why the two parties are still in control of the government even though almost half of American voters don't choose one of those two parties
c. The findings of this poll explain why people are choosing to be independent and not choose a party. They also explain that although there aRe quite a few Americans that do not goose a party, the government will still be controlled by these two parties. The results are not surprising. When people choose to label themselves, I think there is a misconception that they 100% support anything that party may do, but in reality, that isn't true. You can still be a democrat and not believe in something the Democratic Party is trying to push. The fact that the government will not be changing from a two party rules government isn't surprising either. It's been functioning with two parties for so long that I don't think people would know what a government with three dominant parties would be like.
d.) I don't think the poll is biased in anyway. The question was straightforward and the participants chose what they believed - they were either a democrat, republican, or independent.
e.) Politicians would be interested in these statistics because people tend to vote with their party. But now with 43% people choosing to be independent, it is unknown which party they tend to go with. The article also says that though they choose to be independent, they do have a tendency to lean toward one party or another. This is important to politicians because they should know who they have supporting them when they campaign.
Massachusetts, Maryland Mosr Democratic States Gallup.com
a) I chose this poll because it shines a light on the divide in America between just the democrat and republican parties.
b) In class we are discussing political ideologies. This poll asks Americans to choose which party they identify with most which reflects their own personal ideology. The independents and those with no preference choose the party that their beliefs lean more towards. This shows that in politics, it's not just one or the other, there's a lot of gray area where most people's ideas and beliefs are.
c) The poll found that Massachusetts and Maryland are the most Democratic states while Wyoming and Utah are the most Republican states. The Democratic Party shows to keep up a small advantage in the more populous states, although there has been a movement aways from the democratic party in the past few years. This does not surprise me that there's a movement away from the Democratic Party starting in 2008, because recently there have been more Republican elected officials.
d) This poll is not biased. The question is worded so that the person being asked will not be swayed in any direction. The Democratic and Republican Parties are given a fair chance.
e) This would interest politicians because they'll want to know which states will give them their vote and it helps planning and setting up their campaign.
Gallup: Happiness in Short Supply in Iran
a) I chose this poll because it caught my attention by the video it provided of people in Iran singing to the song “Happy”. The people involved in the video were arrested and this is politically relevant because Iran is one of the highest countries having the highest negative emotions due to the unemployment, inflation and other conditions occurring.
b) This poll relates to media since those in Iran casted a video of them singing to the song “Happy”, and it is well known because the people got arrested for trying to express themselves. This concept is better understood through the consequences others might have to embark unlike Americans who have the freedom of speech.
c) The main findings of the poll include Iran being number 57 out of 138 countries to have the highest amount of negative emotions in the world, which was found by asking people about their emotions the previous day. Six Iranians were arrested for dancing to the Pharrel Williams song, “Happy” and expressing feelings of joy. The results are surprising to me because based off the video, the people appeared happy despite their difficult political circumstances. Also, the poll states that Iran is 93 out of 138 countries for rankings of having positive emotions, which is peculiar considering they are also, ranked fairly high for having negative emotions, which is surprising. It would make more sense if they were ranked lower for one of the two.
d) In my opinion, it is biased more towards adults who may find it difficult to find jobs for instance. Children may not necessarily be able to respond properly to these questions yet should be included effectively. The poll asks people, “whether they experienced a lot of anger, stress, sadness, physical pain, and worry the previous day”, which would not entirely answer if someone has the highest amount of negative emotions. If someone were stressed about a job, it is most likely they would be angry but not necessarily negatively sad. For instance, many people have families and those with families could feel less stressed and happier. Other factors besides the questions asked could have contributed towards those negative emotions. In my opinion, it is not entirely biased, I just believe that it has under coverage and needs to specify more relevantly to how they feel on an overall basis not specifically the previous day because people could have had a good day out of several awful ones or vice versa.
e) These statistics would be beneficial for politicians to adjust the citizen’s comforts and needs. For instance, since Iran is highly ranked for having negative emotions, politicians will be aware and be able to assist in helping address their stress and discomfort. Politicians would be more sympathetic towards statistics since they are on a worldwide scale and address all of the countries in this case. If politicians specifically addressed the concerns discussed in the poll, it would bring more awareness to others and spread concern and help for them. It would benefit their campaign also, by having a topic of interest to address, which would lead voters to become aware and more likely to help assist and benefit the countries that need it most.
Gallup.com In US 60% Satisfied with Ability to Get Ahead
a) I chose this poll because of our recent subject area of studying having to do a lot with the people and political participation. This poll is relevant because it specifically addresses the desires of the people regarding distribution of wealth along that Obama has decided on.
b) This poll could be said to have a lot to do with political parties because of the distinction between what each political party is satisfied with. According to this poll almost half of the Democrats are satisfied with the economic opportunities there are yet they are dissatisfied with the distribution of wealth. Since Obama has increased taxes on wealthy this could help us to further understand that democrats are typically inclined to desire more wealth distribution and equality among the people.
c) This poll tells us that there is a positive correlation between our economic confidence and the success of our economy; in such this case implying that since our confidence is increasing our economy is moving away from recession. Despite this economic increase, more people are concerned with inequality rather than their chances of improvement.
d) I believe that there is a subtle amount of bias in this article because of the way the writer conveys that people would prefer to increase taxes on the wealthy rather than working for their own success, almost implying the laziness of Americans.
e) Politicians might want to use this poll to decide whether or not they want to increase taxes on the wealthy because if they do, they will most likely receive more votes than the latter.
Gallup.com- The Education Economy: America's Next Big Thing
A. I chose this poll because it deals with the youth and that is relevant to me. it is politically relevant because education is the most important thing in the world.
B. This ties in with political parties because if you are well educated and know what you stand for, you ultimately know concerns you have and can express them to the media and choose a political party that best fits your concerns.
C. The gist of this article is that unless we get education and the economy working together more effectively, America will lose its role as leader of the free world. that we need to get educated and create an economy based of education. these results are not surprising because we need better education and more educated people in America
D. There is a some bias in this article because all the questions ask and all the research done is negative, there is nothing in this article that was set up to be positive. The wording of the questions made the participants answer what they felt was wrong.
E. They could use this information to help get the votes of the youth and to talk about how important education is and how important it is for society as a whole to be better educated so we wont lose dominance in the world, so the president could bring the people together, both republican and democrat.
I chose Gallup and the story that I selected was: U.S. Obesity Rate Inches Up to 27.7% in 2014.
A.) I picked this poll, because I find it particularly interesting that these numbers are being recorded, yet it seems like no one is making a true effort to fix anything about it. I believe that this is politically relevant, because it shows how the government does close to nothing about obesity in the country. This disease is killing people and it is something that can be stopped, but no one is fighting it.
B.) The general concepts that this relates to is the agenda. Obesity isn’t something new to Americans. It has been here, in our country for a while. But what has any one done about it? There are plenty of single issue groups about Obesity that never seem to make it on the policy agenda. Not that the government can tell people what to eat or how much, but isn’t it their job to educate the undereducated about what being obese really means and how they can prevent this from happening. I believe that it is the also believe there needs to be higher regulations on food industries that could be the direct result of this disease. To summarize, it’s not so much that people are eating way more than they should, but rather that they are eating unnatural chemicals that harm their bodies and cause them to gain weight.
C.) The amount of obese people in America increased 2% since 2008. This honestly does not surprise me considering that the government hasn’t done much to prevent this.
D.) I do think some of this report could be biased, because there was a small sample compared to the large population of America that was taken, and the BMI test is what measured the fact on whether or not the person was obese, which has shown to be slightly inaccurate.
E.) The fact that obesity increased could attract many politicians, because it will show that there is a problem with people getting bigger in America and this could spark a revolution on the food industry.
www.Gallup.com- My poll is title Americans' Views on 10 Key State of the Union Proposals
A)I picked this poll because it is politically recent and I also agreed with Obama's proposals and I wanted to see how many other people also agreed
B) This poll is related to the checks and balance system we learned in class that is illustrated in the constitution , because this data shows how even though people agree with Obama he is limited in law making due to the checks and balance system.
C) The main finding of the poll was that people agreed with Obama on his policies such as increasing infrastructure spending to create jobs( about 77 % agreed), raising minimum wage , ect. These findings are not a surprise to me because they are good ideas for one but also Gallup is a more liberal polling site so it would make more since for it to reflect liberal views.
D) No I do not think the poll was done in a biased way because Gallup chooses large enough sample sizes so that the views of the American population are represented by the data.
e) Politicians might be interested in this data because for future president candidates it shows them the views of the American people, and gives them ideas for what to base their platforms on so that they can get elected
Gallup.com- in US, standard of livings ratings improving in 2014
A.) I picked this poll because it directly relates to me in a way. The standard of living is something that I have to be worried about so when I get to be living on my own I know how my standard of living my be. This relates to politics because depending on who we vote and elect for office, we get different actions and policies toward our standard of living. Based on election and political parties we judge how we view our standard of living and how much change we want.
B.) some general policies that this relates to is for starters media. The media is a great way for people to figure out how the standard of living is for everyone because all over the news we gather how different places among the US are with their standard of living, and through media we educate ourselves on what needs to be done. Another general policy would of course be congress and our economy. The standard of living has a direct correlation with our economy. Our standard of living is increasing with the increase of our GDP. As our product increase our living does and so do jobs. So by this occurring, jobs are being created helping the standard of living. This helps us in class because coming from macroeconomics it's a gateway to help create a bridge between two ideas between government and macroeconomics. It helps us look at the bigger picture.
C.) the main findings of this poll include that more Americans are saying that their standard of living has increased(58%) which is close to the highest monthly value in 7 seven years. This kind of does surprise me because coming from a recession it's a little shocking to see growth like this.
D.) there could be a little biased in who they asked. Because I know for sure that not every American has increased standard of livings and to be honest it seems like the majority aren't. So there can definitely be bias on who they asked.
E.) they benefit from using this strategy and outcomes because it shows positive growth under their campaign. So although they aren't showing it all, they are showing what the people want to see and showing stuff that will help them get elected even if it all isn't there. This data helps re election.
Gallup.com – Taking Regular Vacations May Help Boost American's Well-Being
a. I chose this poll because my parents work extremely hard, about 10-12 hours a day, running a business so I can live a better life and I think they need to look at this to see how vital even a mini vacation can be. This is politically relevant because it effects how Americans live and act everyday (their well-being) which is what politics is about; political parties' goals are to keep the people pleased.
b. This poll has a slight relation to the first amendment because the freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition are all factors that contribute to an American's well-being. This can help us better understand the concept of the first amendment because when a student thinks of summer vacation and spring break, he is learning and understanding his well-being is effected by this poll and by the first amendment.
c.The poll states that Americans that make time with friends and family to go on vacations have a generally higher well-being than those who don't. These results are not surprising at all because stress can cause people a lot of pain so to lower stress levels and ease the pain, trips and vacations can really help out, even if they are just small breaks.
d.I would not consider this poll biased because when asking the question, they asked people that make different annual incomes and people of different ethnicities so I believe that they got a wide variety and range of results.
e. Politicians could be interested in using these statistics because they would know what kind of people to reach out to and what their main focus group would be. This could benefit campaign strategies because the politicians could say that they will provide more vacation days to working Americans.
I used Gallup.com to look at the poll "Fewest Americans Satisfied With Abortion Policies Since 2001."
a) I chose this poll because it is a topic that has been receiving much criticism and close observation within the past few years, between the pro-life and pro-choice debates, and it is definitely an issue that is complex as there are multiple sides to each argument and therefore requires much attention. It is politically relevant because our main political parties -- democrats and republicans -- chose certain sides and stances when it comes to abortion, becoming one of the main things that sets the two parties apart.
b) This relates most closely to political parties, as again, it involves a choice that varies between democrats and republicans, or liberals vs. conservatives. It covers a policy that is one of the main distinctions between the two political parties and is an issue that has been advocated and put forth constantly by the people in hopes that the government will follow through with a satisfactory decision (also relating to the policy-making cycle.) Looking at one of the key issues that splits the parties will allow us to characterize each party as either liberal or conservative. It will allow us to form conclusions on the expectations and characteristics of each party and what they advocate.
c) The poll finds that, although people are generally unhappy with the current abortion policies (with 34% of Americans only pleased,) the democrats are the most satisfied, followed by the independents, and finally the republicans. 21% of Republicans are pleased, while 46% of democrats are. I am not surprised, as the republicans are not satisfied with the apparent lack of strictness within our abortion laws, and would rather steer it towards their ideology where no abortions would be made. Democrats, as they advocate a choice, are expected to be happy as the laws aren't as strict right now.
d) I do not believe the poll is biased, especially since they phrased the question in a very neutral way. They merely referred to abortion as "the abortion issue." Had they stated something more abrasive such as "terminating unborn babies," they might have gotten a much more different response.
e) Politicians might use the results of the poll I chose in order to reshape their policy to cater to the people and what they prefer. Polls give a sense of what the people want, so this poll could be used to determine whether or not abortion laws should be stricter or more lenient. They would thus advocate this change in policy to the masses through their campaign and attract people that align with their views, and thus it would benefit them, politically.
Gallup- "The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment"
A) I chose this article in particular because of the title, "5.6% unemployment." The numbers caught my attention which made me want to read more. This is politically relevant because it involves the media, the white house, and the people-which could tie into a form of linkage institution.
B) This concept relates to media. This gives us a better understanding of the concept because it shows the people directly how media interferes with our daily lives and how it can shape our way of thinking.
C) This poll shows that the Department of Labor is significantly wrong in their study. The department of labor does not count the following as "unemployed" : " a family member or anyone is unemployed and has subsequently given up on finding a job -- if you are so hopelessly out of work that you've stopped looking over the past four weeks." Consequently, this is a big surprise to me because of how many Americans are not being counted with the 5.6%-making our nation look good-when it's really not...
D)This may be a bit bias due to the fact that it's impossible to gather a census with everyone in the country participating in. If they did gather a census with everyone in it, it might skew the results significantly.
E) Politicians may be interested in these statistics because they could argue to the public how the Department of Labor isn't really counting the "unemployed" as they should be. Which gives their campaign an argument to attack. They may also favor these statistics to see how it reflects with the current economy.
"Fewest Americans Satisfied With Abortion Policies Since 2001" -Gallup.com
A.) I picked this poll because abortion is an issue that is very debated right now and the Republicans and Democrats are very divided on it. Republicans are Pro-Life while Democrats are Pro-Choice and it is interesting to see how people view the progress with either viewpoint.
B.) This poll relates to the general concept of policy-making and the process of doing so. People determine what goes on the policy-making agenda and so it would make sense that they would be pleased when a policy is passed, yet that is not the case for everyone.
C.) The main findings of this poll include that 34% of all people are satisfied with abortion policies as of now, and also that 21% of Republicans, 36% of Independents, and 46% of Democrats are very/somewhat satisfied with these same policies. The results are not surprising because the decrease in satisfaction stems from the Republicans with the Pro-Life attitude's difference in opinion to the Pro-Choice Democratic president.
D.) I don't think there's any part of this poll that is biased. They completed the poll in a fair manner and presented the data including all 3 political ideologies.
E.) Politicians would be interested in using the data from this poll in order to create, or at least promote, policies that the people agree with/are more pleased with. It would benefit their campaign because they would be able to evaluate the policies being disputed now that most people are unsatisfied with, and formulate new policy ideas that more people will be satisfied with.
Rasmussen Reports:
Americans Trust News Media Less
1. I picked this poll because I think its funny how we get most of the information we know today from the media but now people are saying they don’t trust it, at least not as much as they used to. This poll is politically relevant because many politicians use the media as a way to get their point across.
2. This poll directly relates with media as discussed in class. It would help us better understand media by demonstrating that not everything is believable simply because people can say what they want the public to hear.
3. The findings of the poll included that more people believe the news media is “at least trustworthy”, a little less “do not trust the news media”, fewer “don’t find it trustworthy at all” and even fewer find it “very trustworthy.” This was not surprising at all because people always tell you not to believe everything you hear or read.
4. I think it may be slightly biased because they state new reporter’s names and basically call them out. And since they call them out they make people actually think about weather or not they actually like the reporter or not.
5. Many politicians use the media now-a-days in order to show people who they “truly” are. And now that there is a chance that people wont believe what they see on the news media they will have a harder time getting to the people. It may benefit a campaign because if someone likes a certain politician then when they see the other on the news media they wont believe anything that is being said.
Gallup Poll - Fewest Americans Satisfied With Abortion Policies Since 2001
(a)I chose this poll because it talks about a very controversial issue. This poll is politically relevant mainly because Democrats and Republicans have opposing views on this matter (Democrats = Pro-choice, Republicans = Pro-life).
(b)This poll relates to political parties and their opposing ideologies when it comes to abortion. It helps us understand the influence that each party has on the nation's overall annual "mood".
(c)Republicans were satisfied(44%)when George W. Bush was president. However, President Barack Obama in office, no more than 29% of Republicans have been satisfied with the nation's abortion policies. This isn't surprising since the poll tells us that satisfaction with abortion policies is influenced a lot by republicans. Bush was a republican & Obama is a democrat, which pretty much explains t.
(d)In parenthesis, "asked of those who are dissatisfied" is stated bore the question. Obviously only people who are dissatisfied(republicans) are being looked at, which could be biased.
(e) For example to help with those who are dissatisfied, it might help if president Obama were to look at these polls, and create stricter laws on abortion. This in turn would favor the all-republican congress and lessen the heat between them both.
Gallup- Brian Williams Situation Plays Out in Context of Already Low Trust in Mass Media
A. I picked this poll because it discusses about how the media influences the American people and how a situation regarding a very famous reporter, Brian Williams is not making matters any better. I watch Brian Williams on the evening news, so when I found out about the the situation surrounding him, it interested me to know how that controversy was affecting people today. This poll is politically relevant because it highlights the issue surrounding mass media and how Americans do not trust it.
B. This poll relates to media and legitimacy. The media has a profound effect on the public, but now always in a positive manner. Americans doubt how accurately and fair media representation is regarding political events. This poll might help us better understand the concepts by illustrating how little the American people trust the media at the moment and its legitimacy. We can then explore and develop new ideas on how the media could be used as a more positive outlet to create better enlightened understanding.
C. The main findings of the poll are that Americans have little confidence in the media's reports and it has been this way ever since Gallup started measuring this. This isn't surprising to me because the media chooses what it wants to air. FOX News is primarily a conservative news station, so someone who is a liberal watching the station will clearly not agree with the views and report they don't trust the media.
D. I believe the poll wasn't bias since it has been a poll that has been used for a long time now, increasing its legitimacy in my eyes. They asked the questions in a specific manner and presented them in a way where you could see all the results.
E. Politicians would be interested in these statistics from the poll I chose since they could then reevaluate their strategy when it came to campaigning. Since so many Americans now aren't trusting the media, the politicians might instead try to reach their audience personally by going out and speaking and creating a better connection. That way the voters can see what the politician is like as a person too and get a better understanding of the person they will be voting for to represent them.
Samantha Foss
1B
Gallup: Fewest Americans Satisfied With Abortion Policies Since 2001
I picked this poll because I find the topic interesting, also when reading the title I caught that they created this time frame that the reader can picture who was in office at the time etc. This is politically relevant because they think the low numbers are based upon the fact that we have a Democratic pro-choice president in office right now compared the the Republican pro-life idea that has been in office most of the time.
This poll relates to the Constitution because we have the right to do what we want with our bodies just as we have the right to vote, right to speak our minds. This also relates with the two political parties, Democratic and Republican. The low satisfaction rate could be based off of the Republican party who is pro-life. This is because as of right now our president is a Democrat so he believes in pro-choice, these conflicting views and the fact that there is a Democrat in office now can relate back to the poll and our class. This poll helps us understand these concepts better because it puts into perspective an issue that we have right now in the United States and how each political party brings a different perspective to the table and how it can effect the American people and how satisfied they are with a policy.
The main findings of the poll were based off of the political parties. They found that Republicans are unsatisfied with the abortion policies, which makes sense because they are pro-life. To explain the low numbers that are associated with this poll, would be the fact that there is a Democratic president in office right now. So the majority of people must be Democratic and have the same pro-choice view. This isn’t surprising to me, it makes a lot of sense.
I don’t think this poll is biased because when the researchers were asking for the information they gave multiple options for the poll and answers that people could of picked for example, (total satisfied, dissatisfied- want stricter, dissatisfied- want less strict, dissatisfied- remain same, no opinion.) They gave different levels of dissatisfied which was a good idea so the researchers could get a good prediction of what the people want done. They also provided a “no opinion” option which is beneficial as well because it extends to those who do not know much on the issue
This could definitely benefit the Democrats and whoever decides to run for president because by the numbers and statistics it appears that the numbers are low because everyone is satisfied with the policy, it wouldn’t help the Republicans because it looks as though nothing is being done.
Gallup.com – Obama Approval Ratings Still Historically Polarized
a) I picked this poll because it is really interesting how divided the two parties are on recent issues and how the President is handling the issues. Considering our Constitution was written without the idea for political parties, I think it is intriguing how much political parties motivate peoples’ opinions. This is politically relevant because the survey evaluates peoples’ opinions on politics and the citizens’ involvement is a significant part of our government.
b) The article relates to our discussions about citizens being involved in politics. It also relates to linkage institutions, specifically political parties. This helps us better understand the power of political parties. The poll sampled over 100,000 people and there was a clear polarization of their opinions based on which political party they identify with. 79% of Democrats approved of Obama’s presidency, while only 9% of Republicans did.
c) The main finding of the poll is that Obama is one of the most polarized in approval ratings along party lines in the past 60. Bush’s presidency was also largely polarized. These results are not surprising to me as mush of Obama’s presidency has been surrounded by controversial topics which the two parties tend to take opposing sides on. These topics include health care, war, national security, abortion and gay marriage.
d) A recent Gallup poll article stated that a record high of Americans, 42%, identify as independents. I thought it was interesting that the article only polled Republicans and Democrats. They clearly missed a large chunk of Americans by not polling Independents, which could potentially lead to a little sampling bias/error. I would be interesting to see the statistics on their approval ratings.
e) Politicians may use these statistics in their campaign positioning. Considering how polarized the American citizens currently are it would be difficult for a Republican, for example, to win over a large amount of Democrats in the polls. They may uses these statistics when deciding if they want to have a more moderate campaign or a strongly liberal/conservative campaign.
Gallup.com- Satisfaction with Acceptance of Gay People Plateaus at 53%
a. I picked this pole because I have strong feelings for the legalization of gay marriage all throughout the United States. This poll is politically relevant because it represents the voice of the people and shows how they are likely to vote in the upcoming elections on gay marriage.
b. This poll related to the Constitution. Many people not only believe that gay marriage is against their religion, but that it is also unconstitutional. There are still 14 states that have not accepted gay marriage, and the likely reason is because they think that the states should constitutionally prohibit it. This spring, the Supreme Court will decide on whether or not to stop the issue of this constitutionality.
c. This poll states that within the past 15 years, the satisfaction with the degree of acceptance has risen and the dissatisfaction has dropped. The dissatisfaction is due to people wanting more acceptance or less acceptance. The results of the poll are not surprising to be, because I already knew that the acceptance of gay relationships has greatly increased over the past few years.
d. I would consider the “satisfied” option of the poll to be biased. With the “dissatisfied” option, they allow the voters to choose between “dissatisfied- more acceptance” or “dissatisfied- less acceptance.” I believe that the “satisfied” option should have been broken into “satisfied- happy with the high levels” and “satisfied- happy that not all states have legalized gay marriage”. The satisfaction of the people could come from a variety of different aspects, and I believe that they should have clarified.
e. Politicians may be interested in using these particular statistics from this poll in order to predict the outcome of the future elections on the legalization of gay marriage in the rest of the 14 states. It could benefit their campaign strategies by allowing them to promote the legalization, since that is what the majority of the people want.
Rasmussen: voters less enthusiastic about legal pot
A. I chose this poll because it is something that has come up in conversation several times recently with friends, family, and classmates. I have also heard commercials on the radio about it. This is politically relevant because the legalization of medical marijuana was just denied recently.
B. This poll ties in with the media, as media has a lot of influence on people's decisions, and it has been in the media a lot. Not only on the news or radio, but also in a television show. This poll can help us to understand politics better because the majority of the things on television that we hear about it are negative, but the things heard on the radio are generally positive. This shows opposing views of both the left and right wing.
C. The outcomes of this poll are that 41% of people favor legalization in their state. This is a bit surprising to me because mainly the younger generation is supportive of this, and most voters are a bit older.
D. I do not find this poll to be very biased because the questions seem to be worded neutrally.
E. Politicians might want to use the statistics from these polls to try to plead their case of as to why or why not they believe that marijuana should be legal. This could benefit their campaign strategy by narrowing the group of people they are trying to get to vote for them down.
Gallup.com - More Than Six in 10 Americans Say Guns Make Homes Safer
a) I chose this because the argument over gun laws has been a widely discussed topic in recent years. It is politically relevant because the dispute over gun laws has created tension between the national and state governments. It is also an issue that generally is divided between Republicans and Democrats.
b)This relates to the concept of political parties because Republicans tend to be pro-guns and Democrats prefer stricter laws against it. It also relates to Amendment II which states that people have the right to bear arms. This can help us understand these concepts because it is a current example of how people will vote for a party that best represents their beliefs.
c)This poll shows that since 2000, the number of Americans who believe owning a gun makes a home safer has risen to 63%, and that more Republicans agree with this idea than Democrats. Many people now view owning a gun as a form of self-protection. This is not surprising to me because many people now feel like the world is dangerous and you cannot trust anyone, which is opposite to what many believed 50 years ago.
d)I do not think this poll was biased. The way the questions were phrased did not appear to try and influence the respondents in any way and were very straightforward.
e)Politicians that support the ownership of guns could use this poll to back up their positions and gain more voters. By knowing that a majority of Americans believe a gun makes the home safer, it could help them know which stance to take on the position to gain more votes.
I used Gallup, and the name is "Heart Attacks and Depression Closely Linked."
a.) I picked this poll because both cardiovascular disease and depression are two of the largest and fastest growing medical problems in the US. This poll is politically relevant because cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the US, and depression as showed in the Gallup poll can be directly related to it.
b.) This poll can relate to the class because the affordable care act or Obama-care has come under a lot of scrutiny by many right-wing politicians and some center-left wingers. The affordable care act would help cover medical costs for Heart Disease and Depression, which are "two of the most costly diseases in the U.S." According to the article, the addition of public paying for these diseases will create an "enormous burden on the U.S. healthcare system and economy."
c.) The poll asked whether or not people polled were diagnosed with depression. The results found that people were twice as likely to be depressed if they had previously suffered from a heart attack. This wouldn't seem surprising to me because after having heart attacks many people become depressed due to them almost dying, large amounts of medical bills, and a possible reduced lifetime.
d.) I do not think that this poll is biased because it seems to be based on mostly scientific facts and questions.
e.) Politicians could use this if they wanted to attack the affordable care act because the increasing cost of healthcare due to more people becoming depressed after having a heart attack. This could help give conservatives attacking Obama-care some evidence from a real poll.
I used Gallup.com
U.S. CONFIDENCE IN POLICE ABOUT AVERAGE FOR WEALTHY COUNTRIES
1.Why did you pick this poll? How is this poll politically relevant?
I choose this poll because it shows the confidence gap in police protection, between wealthy and less fortunate communities, in several countries. This is politically relevant because wealthier communities can provide themselves adequate police protection, as opposed to less fortunate communities. This is relevant in wake of the situation with the two white police officers, who were not charged with the murder of the unarmed black males, had the situations occurred in wealthier communities, there is a higher chance the officers would have been reprimanded.
2.This poll relates to The Constitution, because The Constitution states that it provides “Protection from unreasonable search or seizure,” to all citizens. Also, in the 14th Amendment it states that citizen rights are given to all born in the U.S. and provides equal protection of the national and state laws to all citizens. But in recent events, it appears, these laws are not being extended to all communities equally.
3.The wealthier communities are provided with more protection from police officers, and have higher levels of confidence in law enforcement, than in poorer communities. These results are not surprising; there has been a recent trend in media concerning inequality in police actions in poorer economic communities.
4.The poll is biased towards those with lower confidence in police, because it only focuses on the negative actions from officers, and includes no additional info to defend or justify officer actions. The article only discusses situations with negative outcomes that show the officers at fault.
5.Politicians might be interested in using these particular statistics to bring more attention to the unjust in communities, based on wealth, and devise a plan to improve community protection, regardless of economic situations. This would benefit voter outreach, because it affects a large portion of society, specifically poorer communities, and would insure that campaigner a group of supporters to promote their political views.
Rasmussen Reports "68% say there are too many unnecessary laws in the U.S."
a.) I chose this poll because I thought it was an interesting one regarding what we have been learning in class and how the government's policy agenda manages to make laws that it seems Americans don't approve of. The fact that over half of Americans interviewed for this poll believe that many of our laws are unnecessary is astonishing and it should send a message to our government. This poll is politically relevant because it surfaces the issues Americans feel as though the government continues to handle poorly.
b.) This poll relates to the ideals of the constitution and freedom of speech. It refers back to the constitution regarding the judicial system, in this poll Americans suggested that having these unnecessary laws have created more opportunities for people to be thrown in jail for no reason. Our judicial system is responsible for overseeing the court system, and if not already they should realize that making these unnecessary laws will create more issues among people and the courts. As far as freedom of speech we see this prospect being exercised by Americans just being able to participate in this poll and say that they in fact don't agree with our laws and at some points are justice system.
c.) The results of the poll concluded that 68% of Americans think that are laws are unnecessary while the other 32% either disagreed with the statement that “too many laws are unnecessary” or were just completely undecided. The results to me were not surprising because in America we have a various amount of laws which cover a lot of areas and unless you’re a lawmaker you probably wouldn’t even know half of the laws that our government makes.
d.) I wouldn’t say my poll had any biased aspects in it, it was pretty straightforward and the wording of the questions were not misleading or prompting you to answer in a certain way.
e.) Politicians or government officials who are apart of the policy making institutions would find this poll interesting because maybe they could reform the issues they put into making the policy agenda and determine what is truly important in an easier manner. This could benefit them in many ways by being able to accomplish more for the American people and not occupying space in jails and prisons.
More Voters Say U.S. Needs to Spend More on Defense-Rasmussen Reports
A) I chose this report because I am part of a military family so issues dealing with the military are important to me. This poll is politically relevant because the military is very important and political parties have different views on the military.
B)This poll relates to the two main political parties because generally, republicans support a lot of spending on the military while democrats want little spending on the military. The different views of the parties allow us to better understand how each party feels about the military.
C)The poll found that 46 percent of U.S. voters believe there should be more spending on the military. The results of the poll do not surprise me because while a lot of people who believe the military should be a priority, there are also a lot of people that believe other areas of the government are more important.
D)I don't think the poll is biased because both parties were included in the poll also the confidence level of the poll was 95 percent.
E)Politicians would be interested in the statistics from this poll because they can see if they should promote more military spending or not. If politicians promote what the voters want, they could get more votes.
Gallup- Why Great Entrepreneurs Must Build Strong Relationships
A) I chose this poll because I plan on taking over the family business in the near future and it is important that I learn the importance of building relationships in the business world. This poll explains how important this is and why it is essential to running a business. This is politically relevant because America thrives on a strong middle class that is made up of innovative business owners. The stronger the middle class of America is the better off we will be as a whole.
B) Relationship building is an important part to business. Relationships also have a huge effect on elections because in order for politicians running for office to win in the polls, they have to build relationships and promote their ideals. Relationships allow for people to connect on an emotional level, which will ultimately lead to more people that will vote for you. Understanding relationship building will help us better understand how politicians gain support for their campaign and attract voters.
C) After analyzing hours of interviews and examining several successful entrepreneurs Gallup composed a list of the ten most important talents needed to start or grow a business. I agree with the findings because anyone who is a successful businessman has a combination of these talents and that is why they are successful.
D) This poll is not biased because it is simply stating what qualities someone needs in order to be a successful businessman. The results came from extremely successful businessman that already have he important quality of relationship building.
E) Politicians may be interested in the poll because it will help them with their campaign. If politicians were to acquire the skills told in the poll they would be able to easily spread their ideas and gain support behind them. With these skills, campaigning would be less of a hassle because they acquire the necessary skills u=in relationship building.
Gallup- What’s ahead for Americans in 2015?-by Frank Newport
a. Why did you pick this poll? How is this poll politically relevant?
I choose this poll because I was interested in what is to come in 2015 containing actions Obama that he might make that would potentially affect me. It is politically relevant because it discusses how Obama is most likely going to run his campaign for these next two years.
b. What general concepts (the Constitution, freedom of speech, legitimacy, political parties, media, elections etc.) does this poll relate to in class? How might it help us better understand those concepts?
This article included political parties thinking about running for President in 2016. It also discusses how Obama plans to use his executive power to influence policy to work around Congress. This relates back to what we discusses in class on how the 3 branches were made to check each other and even out the power.
c. In a sentence or two, describe the main findings of the poll. Are the results of the poll surprising to you? Why or why not?
The main result of this poll was that nobody really knows what is to come in Obamas seventh year in office. Very few Presidents had made it to their seventh year like Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W Bush. All three saw their approval ratings drop.
d. Is there any part of the poll that you would consider biased? (in how they ask the questions, how they present the results, research methods they used, etc.) Why do you consider it biased? If it is not biased, explain why you think so.
I did not think this poll was bias at all, the facts were strictly presented and to the point. I could tell in a way he could have been “attacking” Obama but all the information was supported by true statistics and occurrences so I do not think there is bias.
e. Why might politicians be interested in using these particular statistics from your specific poll? In what ways might it benefit their campaign strategies or voter outreach programs?
Politicians would be interesting in this poll because of the strategy Obama used to get a higher approval rating. By taking action on immigration in November, he earned Hispanics approval.
Gallop-U.S Satisfaction With Religion Setting at Lower Levels
a. I chose this poll because I thought that religion was the most important part in some people's lives, and for the polls to be at a lower level is surprising. This poll is politically relevant because it shows how much people are influenced by their faith to go and chose policies, and who they vote for.
b. The general concepts that relate to this poll is freedom of religion, and, freedom of speech. It helps us understand that people are being less influenced by religion and maybe more influenced by facts, or what others think.
c. The main findings in this poll are the percentage of people influenced by religion, and the effects it contains on the social and cultural aspects. The results are surprising because normally people look toward their religion in a time of need.
d. I would not consider this poll biased, because it doesn't sway towards one opinion, there aren't any key words or signals that would suggest so.
e. Politics might be interested because they are figuring out that people aren't being influenced by their religion rather than the facts at hand.
I chose Gullup.com and the poll I chose was "Many U.S. Smokers Say Higher Cigarette Taxes Are Unjust"
(a) I chose this poll because I think that the selling, distribution, and use of cigarettes is wrong. I believe this because cigarettes have been proven to be one of the main reason for cancer in America. I think this poll is politically relevant because it addresses worldwide health issues such as cancer and simple well being. It is also relevant because it's use has a huge effect on our economy. The tobacco industry makes about $35.1 billion each year. Most smokers are also beginning to believe that the taxes imposed on cigarettes is related to the discrimination of smokers which can also relate to a few of our political beliefs.
(b) I think the concept that this poll most relates to is our freedom to not be discriminated against because of what we do or believe. It can also relate to our freedom to petition. I feel this poll about tax on cigarettes can help us better understand this concept because it shows how cigarette smokers have voiced their opinion about how they feel that they are being discriminated against. Another point made in the poll that we have talked about in class is out pluralist based system. All though the government is not allowed to tell people to stop smoking because that is their basic right, they can impose taxes and other things to reduce the amount of smoking.
(c) The main findings of the poll show that most American smokers think that taxes on cigarettes is unjust and deprives them of their basic rights. To be completely honest, I found this quite shocking. I found it surprising because as a non-smoker, I didn't realize how many people actually do discriminate against those who smoke. I also found it shocking that people still want to smoke knowing its many health concerns. So, when the poll shows that 58% of people think that the taxes on cigarettes to reduce smoking and improve health is unjust, it blew my mind. I also think it surprised me because I thought that the smoking rate declined more significantly now than ever before.
(d) Yes, I do feel that the way they worded the survey questions to acquire their results were slightly biased. I think this because they asked "As a result of increased taxes on cigarettes, do you feel unjustly discriminated against as a smoker, or do you think these tax increases are justified?" I think this created a huge bias because they put in the mind of the smokers being surveyed that the tax imposed is unjustified. The "or do you think these tax increases are justified" portion of the question, makes it seem like unjustified is what the majority of the people are thinking, and justified is the remainder. I think they could've worded the question a little bit differently and said something like "How do you feel about the taxes imposed on cigarettes" and could have received completely different results.
(e) I think that politicians would want to use these results in a campaign to promote non-smoking. They would probably do this because most Americans think that smoking is unhealthy and they want to vote for someone who also thinks that. This would benefit them because they are going to be gaining votes from a majority of the people who also think smoking is bad.
Gallup- ISIS, Terrorism, Seen as Graver Threats than Russia, Ukraine
a. I choose this poll because it stood out to me the most and seemed liked the most intriguing, especially considering with all of the media that keeps constantly broadcasting news about ISIS as updates on the situation. This poll is politically relevant by the close threat that the extremist group pose on America as well as other nations in the world.
b. ISIS is formed by freedom of religion to the extreme. They are fundamentalist Muslims that desire to have a Muslim state of their own that they can basically rule. They want to practice their religion, which freedom of religion allows; however, they are opposed to every other religion and believe that everyone should follow them. This should show that freedom of religion should only be carried out to an extent, where the boundary is when the religious group becomes violent.
c. The main findings of the poll was to display how the majority of Americans view ISIS as a more critical threat than other conflicts, such as Russia and Ukraine, which was one with the lower percentages. The results are not surprising to me because of all of the media coverage on CNN and other networks that are showing ISIS footage pretty much every day; this persistence embeds the terrorist group into Americans’ minds more the more frequently it is being showed.
d. I think that part of the labeling of the categories for the list of critical threats may have been a little biased. This is because the category with the highest percentage of people viewing it as a critical threat had more detail added to it and the second highest had potent words such as “nuclear weapons” that could make Americans more inclined to vote for that one as a critical threat rather than the categories that were solely described as “military power” or “conflicts”. However, I do not think that their research methods were biased because they conducted a random sample that would be able to include all demographics (that are 18 and over) and used a large amount of people for their sample.
e. Politicians might use these statistics to show that there needs to be more focus on ISIS and how to lessen its power to make it less of a threat. It can benefit them by contributing their stance on the issue and what their resolutions are, showing that their agenda consists of the majority of Americans’ concerns and that they care about what the people think.
Gallup : Majorities in Five States Approved of Obama in 2014
I chose this poll because I found it interesting to see specifically which states support President Obama during his election. This poll is relevant because it shows which states approve President Obama's performance based on the changes he has made within his presidency.
This poll is relevant to the topics of elections and politics that we are discussing in class. It will help us better understand the correlation with political parties and the President's "success" within his term(s). It wi also help us to understand why certain states have a Democratic majority and why others have a Republican majority.
The main results I found in this poll was that Hawaii, California, and New York are some of the top states with the high approval rate of President Obama. However, Wyoming's approval relate has been repeatedly disapproving of President Obama's overall performance. This does not surprise me because California, New York, and Hawaii are larger states with stringer economies. Smaller states like Wyoming may not benefit from the changes President Obama is making.
I don't think this article is biased because it entails a lot of factual information. There aren't many sentences that sway my opinion, and the high among his of factual info keeps it from favoring one side.
Politicians might be interested in using the statistics from this poll Id they are trying to assess Obama's Presidency after his 2nd is up. These stars can give specific information for states and their approval or disapproval of President Obama. These pills can benefit the voter outreach program by showing the rates of approval for certain political parties and how their performance affected the state they live in.
a. The poll I chose is from Gallup, and it is, “Most Company Wellness Programs Are a Bust”. I chose this poll because I would like to examine more social issues; politics can wear you out. However, this issue is still relevant to this class, since, as the poll indicates, current programs focus solely on physical well-being, and not enough on financial well being, etc., which is key to having a stable life. A stable life means that people can focus more on politics and less on personal woes.
b. This poll has to do with the concepts of patriotism and political participation, especially volunteer work for campaigns. As Gallup puts it, “Money woes (Financial) can drain you physically while also perhaps undermining your desire to participate in volunteer or charitable activities (Community).” This shows that financial well being is one of the ingredients to increasing pride and duty to community, which can lead to political participation. (Such as helping with campaigns.) This poll helps us better understand these concepts by breaking them down into things we are familiar with (money, charitable activities), and showing how they are connected.
c. The main findings of the poll are that 1. Few Americans take advantage of their companies’ health programs (24%) and 2. Companies need to cover all five aspects of well being: 1. Purpose (Enjoying what you do and demonstrating motivation) 2. Financial well-being 3. Social (Having someone there for you) 4. Community (Being proud of your neighborhood and hometown) and 5. Physical well being (Which companies unsuccessfully cover.) The results are not surprising to me; many of us think of physical health as most of what pertains to overall health; I tend to think of it that way myself. Also, obesity is a big problem (no pun intended) in the U.S.
d. The way in which the results are presented are biased. The poll mostly discusses how companies and managers can improve their health programs, with very little attention paid to what they are already doing well. (There is only one section titled “How Your Company Culture Supports Well Being”.)
e. Politicians might be interested in these results because businesses and jobs are big issues in politics; employee health is important to success in both of these issues. These results may bode well for their campaign strategies because politicians can use the emotional aspects of the poll (24% of Americans taking advantage of physical well being programs and therefore only them striving to be healthy) and use these aspects in their campaign promises. (“If you elect me, I will help curb the obesity problem in America”, etc.)
Rasmussen Consumer Index-"34% Consumers, 43% Investors Rate Economy Excellent or Good"
a. I picked this poll because it is really interesting to see the public’s view toward the US economy. It is politically relevant because economy and politics are interrelated. Therefore, the public view toward economy also demonstrates the public view toward the US government and its policies.
b. This poll relates to political party and ideology because the public view toward the economy often corresponds with its view toward the political ideology and political party’s ideology it follows. It helps us better understand the concepts since it shows that increasing percentage of American people are confident about the economy, supporting President Obama’s STOU that our economy is experiencing prosperity.
c. The poll describes that 34% consumers and 43 % investors described they have confidence for the improving US economy. And the percentage has increased compared to last month which shows the increasing confidence of the public feels toward US economy. The results are not surprising because based on the GDP and US net income data, the US economy is improving which also means the public’s comment about the US economy is leaning toward the positive side.
d. I think the poll might consider biased in terms of its use of the descriptive word “excellent” and “good” because the definition can be different for each taker. For example, some may use GDP as a factor while others the tax rates. The vague comments about the US economy do make the poll biased to some degrees.
e. The politicians concerning about the future elections will be interested in using the statistics because the well-being of economy plays a major role in the public view toward a certain party or leader. When knowing the public view toward the US economy policies can benefit campaign and voter outreach program because they will know what economic policies to advocate, thus increasing the public support for the group of politicians.
Americans Feel Slightly Better About Finances than a Year Ago- Gallup.com
a.)I picked this poll because I find it interesting to know why people are more confident in their finances compared to a year ago. It is politically relevant because their increase in confidence could be a direct effect of new policies or policy changes, or new people being elected for different positions that have impacted them in a positive way.
b.)I think this poll relates to political parties and partially the constitution because it is the governments' job to ensure economic security in the U.S. and those who are in office are largely in control of this. This helps me understand that different political parties advocate for different things, including economic changes/well-being and how they implement changes can affect how people feel about their finances or what they think might happen to their finances.
c.)In the poll I found that 50% of Americans are feeling better about their financial situation. This is the highest since 2013. I am slightly surprised only because in January 2014 only about 43% of Americans said they were feeling better and over the past year it has risen 7 percent.
d.)No I do not believe the poll was biased at all because the way it was worded was very direct and straight-forward. It was a simple yes or no answer to "Are you feeling better about your financial situation these days?"
e.)Politicians should be interested in this poll because they should recognize that only half of Americans are satisfied with their finances, and they need to find out and focus on what policies they can add, remove or change to possible increase this confidence in Americans.
Rasmussen Reports - Voters Prefer Federal Budget With Spending Cuts, No New Taxes
a) I picked this poll because I was interested in Congress' work in budgeting. It is politically relevant because "federal spending" is highly politicized by the Republican and Democratic Parties.
b) It relates to political parties and the part of the Constitution that gives Congress economic powers over the budget. It can help us better understand those concepts by showing the American people's general opinion of recent budget issues.
c) 54% prefer reduced spending, 16% favor increased spending, and 21% want spending to remain constant. The results are not surprising because the connotations attached to "federal spending" are so negative that they would be received unfavorably.
d) The survey does a good job of not being biased, but federal spending may carry a connotation that may bias those who are surveyed.
e) Politicians would take heed that increased federal spending is viewed negatively, so those in opposition of the upcoming budget would emphasize it as an increase in federal spending and its proponents would seek to avoid that label.
Gallup Daily: US Unemployment
A) I choose this poll because unemployment and underemployment in the United States are both increasing. I wanted to read more about it. It is relevant because it is showing that there are a percentage of our population that cannot be employed for more than 30 hours a week and are really bringing our employment population rate down.
B) Unemployment relates to the Constitution like we talked of in class. Because everyone has a right to insurance and social security and all that is gained through money which is in turn earned through a job.
C) Unemployment has increased to 7.1 percent. This is very surprising to me because really it is not very hard to be qualified as employed. You just work 30 hours a day. If a 18 year old can manage it then an adult could definitely do it, and its mostly grown adults who are unemployed.
D) I do not this is biased because it is simple facts that it is stating. I agree with its simple facts and also it is stating how unemployed has increased to 7.1%.
E) It is statistics that for you to be qualified for a pay roll you just need to be working 30 hours a week and so many people are not using the opportunities they have. There are at least 16% that are underemployed and 7.1% that are unemployed. That’s not much compared to other countries but still it is quite a bit.
U.S. still split on abortion: 47% pr-choice , 46% pro-life
A) I chose this poll because its something many argue over today. The statistics from the poll that included the results over the yeas shows that the statistics for pro-life vs pro-choice is ever changing
B)This poll relates to the constitution. The argument of whether or not abortion should be unconstitutional or whether the decisions to abort is left to the person. Elected officials are constantly under pressure because of the opinions of people classified as pro-choice or pro-life. The media expands the issues at hand to a wider audience. Te poll lets us better understand the opinions of the people and proves that regardless of any law passed, one group of people will be unsatisfied.
C)The split between pro-life and pro-choice changes every year with this poll showing how America is divided on the issue. 50% of Americans say abortion should be legal under some circumstances. The results are not surprising because people's opinions will always change on issues and policies.
D) I don't find the poll biased at all. The poll showed the differences in opinions between men and women also republicans, democrats and independents. One group isn't left out.
E) This Poll might be used for politicians in campaigning because it shows what people think about certain issues. It brings the politicians on the same level as voters because the politicians are able to communicate with them about certain issues. People will see that certain issues are being heard.
I used Gallup.com
Gallup Poll- “Americans' Satisfaction With Federal Taxes on Low Side”
a. I chose this poll because I favor higher tax rates; I predicted that this poll would reveal that Americans disagree with higher taxes. I thought, since I favor socialized medicine and higher tax rates, I would take a look at the findings and try to find some reasoning behind citizens favoring lower taxes. This is politically relevant because I think Americans feel pretty strongly about this issue, since they typically do not like the government taking larger sums out of their paychecks. I understand a lot of citizens also believe that higher taxed harm small businesses. Although this poll is in the “economic” section, I believe the “economic” section and the “politics” section intertwine because money runs both politics and the economy.
b. This poll relates to the economy and political parties in the nation. It deals with economics because taxes are a source of revenue for the federal government. It deals with political parties because the poll reveals how Democrats, Republicans, and Independent feel about tax rates; unsurprisingly, the poll reveals that the Democrats and Republicans are polar, with Republicans favoring tax cuts and Democrats not. This poll helps us to understand what the Democrats and Republicans favor and demonstrates how polar they are.
c. Most Americans now are dissatisfied with the amount of taxes they have to pay; only 4% stated that they would like to pay more taxes, which is the category I would fall into. Many more Republicans favored tax cuts, while Democrats were more likely to state that they were okay with how much they pay in taxes, or that they would like to pay more in taxes. It’s not surprising to me that the democrats and republicans are polar-opposites because I know that republicans favor less government involvement, which would cause them to disagree with the government taxing more. Democrats typically favor larger government, with more government involvement, which would lead them to not call for tax cuts. It makes sense that about half of the citizens who participated in the poll were dissatisfied and wanted lower taxes because half of the nation is republican.
d. I don’t think this poll is biased because the questions are very straightforward and I trust that Gallup Poll eliminates bias by randomizing their polls. I think this poll represented the nation accurately, ensuring that they got data from republicans, democrats, and independents.
e. Politicians may be interested in these statistics because they could pull more votes by claiming that they will not allow taxes to increase. For example, when George H. W. Bush stated, “Read my lips: No new taxes”, this allowed Bush to gain more republican votes because many people, like now, favored tax cuts. This poll could be especially important to republican candidates because it shows that many of their voters want tax cuts; they could include tax cuts or “no new taxes” in campaign speeches or outreach programs in order to appeal to the majority of republicans.
Gallup.com : More Still Say Health Law Has Hurt Instead of Helped Them
A.) I chose this poll because it caught my attention that ever since this law was passed everyone had to get health insurance (like my family) and it hasn't really done much for us. Furthermore, I wanted to see what others opinion on this matter was.This poll is related to politics because it's a law that was passed by our nation's leader, President Barack Obama.
B.) This poll relates to the things we learned in class for it directly relates to our president who's in the Executive branch of our government. This poll also relates to our government because it has connections to our Legislative branch which writes the laws and then it goes to the Executive branch for the law to be passed. This law is called the Affordable Care Act but, is better known as Obamacare. This law is named after President Obama himself and if this law doesn't do better it may go down as one of the bad thing Obama has done for this nation and also hurt his reputation. This significant law can help us learn more about the process of how law is being passed and how laws are created. This poll also helps us understand that not all laws that are passed helps all.
C.) The main thing that I found out about this poll is that there are more people that the majority of Americans says that it has no effect and that the percentage of this law hurting them has gone up from 16% to 27%. Yes, the results from this poll was surprising. Because I never really about this law besides that my family now has health insurance for the first time in maybe 6+ years and now that I think about it. It has caused us more problems money wise then it has helped us. Also, finding out that our lifestyle is the same and that we as a family are still safe and haven't gone to the hospital or done anything health insurance related since the law really upsets me.
D.) I don't really think there's a part in this poll that seemed biased. Because it's very statistic heavy and it mainly talked and described the results shown in the graphs and tables presented throughout the poll.
E.) Some politicians might be interested in this poll for their campaigns. They can propose a better law that would hopefully help more Americans with health insurance. And use the statistic to either propose the idea of removing this law because majority says that it had no effect and that the percentage of the law hurting Americans have gone up more than it helping them. They can use these statistics to refute President Obama's statements towards the usefulness of this law.
Gallup.com- Graduating College Later in Life doesn’t hamper income
a.) I picked this poll firstly because the title caught my attention as those who decided to pursue professional career at a later age may make just as much money as those who started at a younger age and have had more experience. This is politically relevant because many people believe that you have to graduate from college while still young to be considered “successful”, but this poll proves otherwise.
b.) This poll relates to the general concept of political ideology as earning a degree at a certain age in your life is an ethical set of ideals. It may help us better understand these concepts as the results of these polls seemingly oppose these specific prior beliefs.
c.) The results are a little surprising to me because it seems as though people with more experience will have a greater income but these results make sense because regardless of the graduate’s age, they have still earned their degree with the same value.
d.) I do not think that this poll was biased because the way they gathered their results seemed to be as accurate and detailed as possible. Researchers used a random sample of 29,560 respondents with a bachelor's degree or higher, aged 18 and older, with Internet access, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in order to use this sample as a representation of the total population of interest.
e.) Politicians may be interested in this because they can advocate citizens to go back to school to increase their level of education. This may benefit their voter outreach programs as they could promote specific programs that target citizens who are over the “traditional” college student age in order to increase the education and pay of the overall community of citizens.
a. I picked the poll “ISIS, Terrorism Seen as Graver Threats Than Russia, Ukraine.” This is politically relevant because it gives us an indication on how Americans feel about foreign affairs.
b. This general concept is the threat against terrorism in the United States. The poll gives a sense of how Americans feels about terrorist threat in general and in particular the terrorist threat against ISIS.
c. This poll shows that the majority of people find ISIS and International terrorism a threat. This is not surprising to me because of the recent stories such as the beheading of the individuals they captured.
d. I would not consider this bias because it’s just asking a general question with no underlying message.
e. They use data like this because it can help them depending on where they’re from and it can aid them in that way.
Rajita Chakrabarti
I chose "35.8 Million Adults and Children in Slavery Worldwide" from Gallup.com
a. I chose this one because the title grabbed my attention. I feel that it is politically relevant because here in America we have rights that we the people and the government abide by, so things like this seem unjust or cruel because we aren't used to it. The fact that it is world wide makes it politically relevant to almost everyone.
b. I think we can relate our lack of knowledge on this topic to the fact that the media doesn't really show this side of the world. We mainly focus on OUR issues in OUR country. It shows that media really does have a huge impact on how we get our news and how it spreads.
c. The polls showed that most of the slavery is most prominent in India and other places. It's other main point is that modern slavery isn't only amongst the poor and that most of the slavery going on isn't seen or known to most people.
d. I do not think this poll was biased because it got a fairly wide spectrum. They didn't just focus on a certain part of the world, the viewed different parts which allowed for everyone to be heard from. They also used facts and statistics to verify their information instead of just asking the people that lived there.
e. I feel that a politician might use facts like these to make them seem more in touch with global political issues. People might see the politician as someone they want in office because they take everyone into concern. This could get them more votes because people want a well rounded person.
Rajita Chakrabarti
I chose "35.8 Million Adults and Children in Slavery Worldwide" from Gallup.com
a. I chose this one because the title grabbed my attention. I feel that it is politically relevant because here in America we have rights that we the people and the government abide by, so things like this seem unjust or cruel because we aren't used to it. The fact that it is world wide makes it politically relevant to almost everyone.
b. I think we can relate our lack of knowledge on this topic to the fact that the media doesn't really show this side of the world. We mainly focus on OUR issues in OUR country. It shows that media really does have a huge impact on how we get our news and how it spreads.
c. The polls showed that most of the slavery is most prominent in India and other places. It's other main point is that modern slavery isn't only amongst the poor and that most of the slavery going on isn't seen or known to most people.
d. I do not think this poll was biased because it got a fairly wide spectrum. They didn't just focus on a certain part of the world, the viewed different parts which allowed for everyone to be heard from. They also used facts and statistics to verify their information instead of just asking the people that lived there.
e. I feel that a politician might use facts like these to make them seem more in touch with global political issues. People might see the politician as someone they want in office because they take everyone into concern. This could get them more votes because people want a well rounded person.
Krestina Merko Period 1B
I chose the Rasmussen poll with reports of votes still cool with Obama's Immigration Plan.
A) I chose this one because I can relate to this poll and my mom was an immigrant. I also fully support the immigration plan that President Obama has come up with. This is relevant because immigration is being talked about especially with over 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. It' a big topic and one big thing on the Presidents agenda before he is out of office.
B)This will help the people better influence them in who they might want to vote for in the next upcoming election. this ties in with political parties because majority of the people who actually approve of Obama's immigration plan are democrats or people who are not republicans.
C)In the poll it was found that 37% are in favor of the the plan and 51% are opposed and 12% are unsure. The poll is kind of a shock because I don't really see why people are opposed to the plan.
D)I feel like it is biased because they did a telephone survey where they called people's telephones but, only 800 people were surveyed.
E)This could benefit the republican campaign for office for the next election they could campaign that not so many people are in favor or the plan. even people in house right now fighting the plan could use this poll to make sure the plan doesn't get passed but, the poll being so biased and not that many people were surveyed its not really reliable.
I used the site Gallup.com and the poll entitled U.S. Baby Boomers More Likely to Identify as Conservative
1.) I chose this poll because both of my parents were born into the generation of baby boomers. This poll is politically relevant because it shows how age can impact political views and beliefs.
2.)This poll relates to political parties. It shows how the votes are divided between political parties and how that is influenced by age
3.)The main findings of the poll was that 73% of baby boomers identify as conservative. The results of the poll are not that shocking because I know that most older adults have conservative beliefs.
4.)I believe that the sample was not biased because they conducted the sample randomly, and that they made sure that 50% of the phone calls were for landlines and the other 50% were for cellphones, meaning that all types of people had a chance to be interviewed.
5.)Politicians would want to use the information from my poll because it tells them which age group to target in their campaign. Politicians would know that they have to either increase their conservative votes in the younger generations or decrease the conservative votes in the older generation therefore they would not spend time focusing on the wrong age group, when they already have their votes.
Rasmussen Reports: Voters Are Less Supportive of Government-Imposed Levels of Health Insurance
a) I picked this poll because it demonstrates clearly opinions for and against government control of services. With the emergence of obamacare, many people convey that the government should leave the healthcare market to private owners because they specialize in health care and because of the adverse effects that may come from operating obamacare.
b) Opposition against Government-Imposed Healthcare shows the importance of political parties, since the topic is very polarized. Republicans remain largely against the Affordable Care Act while Democrats approve of it. Opposition also shows the debate between whether services should be privately or publicly owned. The Obamacare debate provides an example for these concepts and a general understanding of where the people stand on the underlying issue.
c) The poll shows many do not approve of government controlled healthcare and that public healthcare will not be better than private healthcare. This opinion does not surprise me because it is only logical that people would prefer helathcare to be controlled by those who specialize in it and are not influenced by government and political affairs.
d) The presentation of the poll results may be slightly biased because Rasmussen does not present opinions of those who are optimistic of public healthcare.
e) The Republican party may be interested in this poll because it supports their opposition against the Affordable Care Act. It shows that the public's opinion and outlook on public health care is consistent with their opinion. They may use this to their advantage in recruitment or campaign strategies.
Rasmussen Reports- "What America Thinks: Illegal Immigrants and Citizenship"
A. I picked this poll because I've heard a lot of talk on the news concerning illegal immigrants in Southern California, which is where I as born. I wanted to see what real citizens thought. It's politically relevant because it's a major controversy especially with the notion of Obama passing a policy that allows 5 million illegal immigrants to become citizens.
B. This relates to the constitution and elections. The fact that less than half of the people polled agree with Obama should reveal what is important to Americans for soon to be candidate. As for relation to the constitution, citizenship is mentioned with specifics in the constitution, so as America changes and amendments happen, it's important to know how the people feel about new policies concerning citizenship.
C. In the poll, majority of the people felt that citizenship was important, that immigrants should adopt american culture, and that Obama's policy to allow citizenship for 5 million illegal immigrants is not ideal. I'm not surprised, American's love America, and the notion of outsiders "exploiting" our culture is undesirable.
D. I don't think it's biased because it's about a general topic. However, it does seem to be disapproving of Obama, but it's just how the polls turned out.
E. This information is valuable for people campaigning because they can see how Americans feel about current policy changes, so they can use that to their advantage for sure. This topic is so controversial, so knowing how people feel about it is pretty important.
Gallup.com: Urban Blacks in U.S. Have Little Confidence in Police
a. I selected this poll because it somewhat reflects the conversations that my parents have had with me over the last few months, including how to act in situations when I interact with police, like if I am driving a car and get pulled over. This poll is politically relevant because the African-American male vs. law enforcement agent altercations have sparked changed in court rooms across the country. Additionally, those running for political offices such as Attorney General of the US or local circuit court judges, could campaign on the basis of improving relations between policeman and black people or restricting the authority and abusiveness of police in certain situations with civilians.
b. This poll relates to the media, in that the four most publicized race relations polls of the last three years (Gardner, Martin, Brown and Davis) were viewed differently depending on the medium, including certain newspapers, websites and television stations. If someone began reading about Eric Gardner in New York Times in December 2014, the article may reflect the need for reform of the law enforcement department and the criminal justice system. However, if someone turned on Fox News on their television concerning this same case, the perspective may echo the need for black people to respect authority and stop being aggressive. This class has taught me that every source, with the exception of government-sponsored ones such as NPR, most likely has some bias. However, it is up to the viewer to form their own opinion and viewpoint towards situations in their community and world with as little outside bias as possible.
c. This poll finds that black people, especially those living in urban, inner-city environments such as Detroit, are less likely to be confident in police officers when compared to white people or Hispanics. The results of this poll are not surprising to me at all, considering the vast number of media-covered cases in the news over the last three years that involve altercations between African-Americans and the police, including those of Eric Gardner, Treyvon Martin, Michael Brown and Jordan Davis.
d. A possible bias could be the wording of the question that the interviewers asked the poll participants. By asking “do you have a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the police”, this may sway the participants to vote that “yes”, they have confidence in the police because the question is worded in a way that may encourage them to agree.
e. Politicians, more specifically Democrats whom are aiming to target minorities, may use these expected statistics as their perspective in their campaigns and to create race relation goals within their communities, such as improving interactions between African-Americans and the police. Politicians may seek to improve the way that the justice system and police officers act in certain situations with citizens, which would attract more supporters to their campaigns, especially those who have been directly impacted by the violence.
Fewest Americans Satisfied With Abortion Policies Since 2001 gallop.com
a. Why did you pick this poll? How is this poll politically relevant?
I picked this post because abortion is a big issue especially when it comes to peoples religious views.
b. What general concepts (the Constitution, freedom of speech, legitimacy, political parties, media, elections etc.) does this poll relate to in class? How might it help us better understand those concepts?
This poll relates to the constitution because the option of abortion being constitutional or unconstitutional is a big discussion because some feel like killing an unborn baby is murder and wrong, while others believe they have a right to based on the situation of the pregnancy.
c. In a sentence or two, describe the main findings of the poll. Are the results of the poll surprising to you? Why or why not?
Some findings in this poll included in 2015, 34% satisfied with abortion policies, lowest since '01, satisfaction mostly lower since 2012 than it was from 2001-2008, republicans' satisfaction lower since 2012 than prior to 2008. These findings didnt really surprise me. With the very general research that I have done on abortion and tge debate over it. I have learned that republicans are not really for it and they wish that the rules were more strict then the democrats because the democrats are more pro-choice.
d. Is there any part of the poll that you would consider biased? (in how they ask the questions, how they present the results, research methods they used, etc.) Why do you consider it biased? If it is not biased, explain why you think so.
I honestly think this poll did a good job with staying neutral and giving information about both parties. It explained how the republicans felt, and how they want stricter laws. It also discussed the democratic side, and how they feel the rules are fine because its more of a choice for a person.
e. Why might politicians be interested in using these particular statistics from your specific poll? In what ways might it benefit their campaign strategies or voter outreach programs?
A politician would be interested in this poll because it could give them followers. With republicans dissatisfaction with abortion laws, and the want to make them stricter if a politician is running for office they can gain those people based off of their strategy on how to make the laws more strict.
I chose Rasmussen Reports : 46% think justice system fair to blacks, 39% disagree.
A) I picked this poll because its one of the major topics that is being discussed about racial inequality across America. This is relevant because in the upcoming 2016 Presidential Election, the case Ferguson vs. Michael Brown will determine how the future president will take action on this matter.
B) The general concepts of the poll relates to the Constitution (equality) and linkage institutions. It will help us understand these concepts in order to change and shape America differently in order to please the people and to represent the Constitution. Elections can end the racial inequality, since there were many interest groups to demonstrate this issue, as well as the media to spread the issue.
C) The main findings of this poll is that 84% of the blacks and 56% of the minority believe that the justice system is unfair while 54% of the whites believe it is fair to the minorities. But this was after the death of Michael Brown. Statistics from 2010 to now have showed a significant increase on the justice system being unfair to minorities. The results wasn't that surprising since many people were outraged about police cruelty on minorities.
D) I think this poll was to a certain extent considered biased. The poll in 2010 only collected opinions from Blacks, Hispanics, and whites. They left out the opinions from Asians. Also, even though the questionnaires asked the right questions, they seemed to be more focused on the African American opinions after the death of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and other African Americans.
E) I think politicians would be interested in using these statistics because it is now one of the biggest issues on the political agenda, since there were many protesters that acted against police cruelty. It will benefit their campaign strategies by diminishing police cruelty in America which would please many Americans.
I chose Gallup.com and the poll “Why Are Americans Less Involved in This Year's Election?”
a. I chose this poll because recently we were asked about our political ideology in an assignment in AP Government. My response included that I felt we should have a qualification test given to voters before they are allowed to vote, but this would further reduce the already low numbers so that brings up the question: why are so many not involved in elections and why more now? This poll is politically relevant because on the basis of a democracy, people have the right to vote, but they are not choosing to abide to that right.
b. This poll applies to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution as people are given the right to vote in multiple Amendments like Amendment 26 stating, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.” By looking at this poll, we can see how even with this right freely allowed to the American people, we still choose to ignore it.
c. Americans have not had the necessary motivation that usually accompanies a poll and their votes will not make a large amount of difference as Congress is already equally divided. The results of the polls do not surprise me as I assumed that Congress’ split would make it difficult for the voters to enact any real change and this is not a poll on a dramatic issue like abortion or the war of terror.
d. In reference to the recent poll “Voter Engagement Lower Than in 2010 and 2006 Midterms,” this poll may have had some skewness because it is a telephone survey so if the respondent did not like phone interviews or if the interviewer asked the wrong question, had the wrong tone, or miss recorded data, then the information could be off. Also, there is a 4 percent sampling error which is a lot for a professionally conducted poll.
e. Politicians may be interested in this data because if a majority of voters are Republican then they can take on more right winged views in their policy. Politicians can view these polls and see that people are not voting, especially Democrats, so if their methods to be elected are aimed towards one group, they can adjust them to befit the more appropriate group.
Gallup - North Dakota Has Highest State Payroll to Population Rate
a. I picked this poll because I was interested in the employment and unemployment rates in America. I wanted to see who continually has the highest employment and unemployment. I also wanted to see if Florida was on the top ten unemployment rate list. It is politically relevant because the employment rate might affect how the state population votes in elections. Depending on whether the state has faced an economic crisis and high unemployment, they might vote a certain way on policies and in presidential elections.
b. This poll relates to the concepts of political parties and elections. If the state has faced economic crisis, they might side with a particular party and presidential candidate that will help put their issue on the policy agenda. It helps us understand how certain issues, such as economic crisis, influence the way people vote and their political participation.
c. I found that states in the northern Great Plains and Rocky Mountains have the highest Payroll to Population employment rate and lowest unemployment rate. West Virginia, Florida, Arizona and Nevada had the lowest Payroll to Population employment rate and highest unemployment rate. The results from the poll aren’t surprising to me because the states with the highest unemployment rate were hit hard by the recession and contain more elderly people who are retired in their population. The states with the lowest unemployment rate have more jobs and have a bigger labor force.
d. I don’t think that any part of the poll was biased because they are essentially just stating facts. They give the polls for payroll to population rate and unemployment rate. The two rates share a relationship. If one is high, then the other is low. The poll gives reasons and supported facts as to why these states have these results.
e. I think the politicians might be interested in my poll because the payroll to population rate and unemployment rate affect how the majority of the state votes in elections and on policies. The politicians can use this information for their campaign strategies because they can appeal to the needs of people. By knowing which states have economic problems, politicians can make promises that will benefit these states and these states will be more willing to vote for them. Also, these politicians can tackle some of the concerns and issues these states face economically.
What America Thinks: Republicans Are Searching for a 2016 Presidential Candidate
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/what_america_thinks/2015_01/what_america_thinks_republicans_are_searching_for_a_2016_presidential_candidate
a.) I chose this poll because I am a republican that will be turning 18 soon and therefore will be able to vote. It is interesting to see who may represent republicans. This is relevant as a huge part of government is political parties.
b.) This relates to political parties as each party will soon have a new face to represent them. It is also interesting to see who Republicans wish to represent them. This article will help me better understand political parties as each political party has a number of representatives and the president is the Executive branch. This will help me understand who people want to have that power and who people want representing them.
c.) Republicans have many opportunities when it comes to who will represnt them in the upcoming elections. There are many different feelings about who should represent them but the majority are pulling for Chris Christie. I am somewhat surprised at how many directions Republicans wish to go but understand that they need a long runner to win the race.
d.) I do not think it is biased as it deals with what the republicans what and they polled republicans. It also covers many views and even tells some about what the country thinks in general (not specific to a certain party.)
e.) It would benefit Republican politicians to see who their competition may be in becoming the Republican representative and where they are being ranked. Democrats would also be interesting in who is running.
I chose Gallup.com and the poll was " Many Africans Not Reaping Job Benefits From More Education"
A. I chose this article because I was interested in finding out more about why they are not reaping benefits. This poll is politically relevant because we try to push higher levels of education particularly so that we can have better jobs.
B. I believe that it relates to the constitution because ultimately the government is getting our money for higher levels of education but essentially it isn't really paying off for some.
C. The main findings in the article where a lot of stunning statistics of how Africans have this education but it is not paying off for them. They are ultimately still struggling in their countries.
D. No, I don't think that it was bias because they had statistics and facts presented in the article to support what they where saying.
E. I think that they would be interested in the statistics from my poll because its just goes to show whether or not higher levels of education are really paying off as much as we would hope for.
Gallup Poll: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Extend Run as Most Admired
Link
a)The American Government runs under the assumption that the people get to chose whom they wish to represent them. This poll gives us an idea of not only of WHO the American people like, but what sort of policies they prefer too.
b)This poll definitely represents the use of media by politicians. Although both are extremely qualified candidates, both Obama and Clinton would not have been chosen had it not been for their expertise in controlling the media. They showed the people what they want, and in return they get the approvals ratings they so desperately crave.
c)The main findings of this article was just reinforcing the title- Obama and Clinton are the most respected individual from their respective gender. The results did surprise me though. At a time when the American people voted for Republicans to take control, it seems odd that both the most admired are Democrats.
d)Sample is a bit biased, not by the way the question is posed, but by the sampling method chosen. The problem with phone interviews is that it can only get a response from a small minority of the American population- those who are extremely passionate about politics.
e)For current politicians, it gives them a good idea on where they stand in the eyes of the American people. For future politicians, it gives them some good strategies that they could also use to win the support of the people.
Gallup.com- Nonwhites Less Likely to Feel Police Protect and Serve Them
a)I picked this poll because civil rights is a much debated topic currently and always has been. I think it’s a controversial topic and one that people tend to neglect because it’s so controversial but I like talking about it and being frank about it because it is a topic that needs to be addressed. This poll is politically relevant because a case of police brutality is now being reviewed by the grand jury. Federal laws may be drawn up regarding the states and therefore state laws would have to be compromised.
b)This poll relates to the Constitution specifically the tenth amendment where the power of police stems from. The tenth amendment to the Constitution, states the rights and powers "not delegated to the United States." It is because of this that states are granted the power to establish and enforce laws protecting the welfare, safety, and health of the public. This better helps understand those concepts because it gives an actual example (i.e. the police) of the states being able to establish their own laws. It also shows the extent of the constitution’s limitations in its interaction with the states.
c)The main findings of the poll were that the black community currently and has since 1985 had a lower confidence in police than the confidence level of white people. The results aren’t surprising, the reoccurring cases of death after death of black people being killed by police aren’t at all a reassurance of justice.
d)No, I don’t believe that the poll was biased. There was no demeaning diction, no blame no sympathy. No words that struck a chord with any emotion. Even in the appalling case of Michael Brown they relayed the tragedy by blatantly stating “The case stemming from the August shooting of black teen Michael Brown is yet another example of the strained relations between police and the black community in the U.S. With its mostly white police force in a largely black municipality and some citizens' allegations of prolonged police harassment, Ferguson has been at the center of conversations about the challenges many blacks face in their relationship with their local police.” They stated the incident only as what happened, the effects and nothing more.
e)Politicians may be interested in using this statistic to gain supporters in their campaign. To attract more potential votes a candidate might make civil justice a priority on their platform and appeal to people who’re passionate about civil rights.
1. No I don’t think any of them have a chance against Hilary Clinton. Clinton is a well-known politician and people are probably going to vote for her over any of the other candidates. The only other person I can see coming close to beating her would be Joe Biden because he is the vice-president so people know that he can be trusted and make sound decisions as a president.
2. The primary election is when democrats and republicans chose who they are going to have run in the presidential election. The 5 main state needed in order to win are California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania.
3. I chose Joe Biden’s sound bite because it is the one that stood out the most to me. This quote would illustrate a weakness because he seems uninterested in the primary. If he does decide to run then brushing something off because its “not the focus right now” is not a good quality to have.
4. If I had to see anyone run against Hilary Clinton it would be Martin O’Malley because they both seem to show good leadership qualities and it would be interesting to see them go head to head to see who would win out of the two.
I chose Gallup.com and the poll title was Same-Sex Marriage Support Reaches New High at 55%.
a) I chose this poll because I wanted to see the change of the opinions of people over same sex marriage over the years. I also wanted to see if religion would take part in this decision of allowing same sex marriage or not. This poll is politically relevant because it represents how the people have a voice on whether gay marriage should or should not be allowed in the country.
b) This poll relates to the freedom of speech and elections in the way that the people can have their voices and opinions heard and that what they believe in is of value for the final decision. The people express their opinions by having an election and voting on legalizing gay marriage or not. The poll helps give us an understanding of freedom of speech for the people by providing statistics of the votes from the people and whether they approve or disapprove of having same sex marriage in the states.
c) In this poll, the % of approvals of same sex marriage has steadily increased from the year 1996-2014. Among all age groups, the amount of approvals have reach all the way up to 55%. These results are not surprising to me at all, because i believe that religion is a huge factor to the majority opinion of same sex marriage. I believe that the # of religious people who oppose same sex marriage has gradually decreased, therefore the # of people who approve has gradually increased.
d) I dont believe this poll is really that biased, simply because they gave statistics on both parties and how many supporters they have obtained. Also, i dont believe this poll is biased because a survey was conducted in order to gather these statistics, these surveys were gathered from all 50 states and contained over 1,000 volunteers.
e) Politicians might be interested in using the statistics from this poll simply because of how it represents the people. The method of the survey conducted so that they interview people from every state gives an accurate idea of the direction that each state is directed towards. This may benefit the politicians campaign because a politician who supports same sex marriage could present accurate statistics and be able to show that he wants to legalize same sex marriage because it appeals to the majority of the people who also support same sex marriage. By appealing to the majority of the people, they are more likely to vote for the politician.
Gallup.com “In U.S., 37% Do Not Feel Safe Walking at Night Near Home”
A)I chose this because it seems as if the crime rates in places are going up and it has been said that people are attacked in a close radius of their home. This poll is politically relevant because the mayors of the different cities with high crime rates can bring it to the people’s attention so things can be done for this crime to stop.
B)I think the general concept of media relates to this poll. Media is said to have a great impact on the things people do. For instance if someone seems something violent on television they are likely to imitate this negative action which could meaning harming someone. Also social class and gender issues relate to this article because the people that typically get attacked are either women or people of a lower social class. The women don’t feel safe and the people of lower social classes feel like they don’t stand a chance of being safe due to the neighborhoods they live in.
C)The main finding of the poll is that since the 90’s crime has gone up tremendously and the victims of the crime are women and people of the lower social class. These findings aren’t surprising to me because this is typically how it is. Women are attacked when they are alone and people who live in dangerous neighborhoods tend to get attacked as well.
D)I feel that even though it’s true that crime is present in lower income neighborhoods than others the poll still focused on the crime in those areas. This biased could have been taken away by the poll getting more of the crime statistics of the higher income neighborhoods even though they might be low.
E)This might be useful to politicians because if someone is running they are going to say that they are going to make sure these incidents of people getting attacked while walking home and just crime in general won’t happen anymore. If the politician says these things they will more than likely get the people of the lower social class’ vote and women.
Rasmussen Reports: Boehner and Pelosi Still Have More Enemies Than Friends
A. I picked this poll because I constantly find myself disappointed in Congressional leadership, and wanted to both call attention to the issue of lackluster, sub-par candidates in our Congress and simply read about it. This poll is politically relevant because it pertains to two of the most powerful political players in the country—one of whom is second in line for the presidency should Barack Obama die or forfeit office, with only Vice President Joe Biden standing in the way of Speaker Boehner attaining the presidency.
B. This poll directly relates to political parties (Minority Leader Pelosi is a Democrat, and Speaker John Boehner is a Republican) elections, as both members of Congress are elected by their constituents, and the Constitution, because Pelosi and Boehner are members of Congressional leadership elected by House members, a clause outlines in the Constitution that is reserved for Congress itself. The poll might help us better understand these concepts if the congresspeople are researched individually to discover their party affiliations, the districts in which they are elected, and why they were elected in those districts—especially if they are so unfavorable (57% unfavorability for Pelosi, 58% for Boehner). The way that each congressperson was elected to their leadership position can also be researched, to better reinforce concepts learned in class.
C. This poll shows that over half of likely voters are unhappy with the performances of John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi and believe they are unfavorable politicians. The results of this poll are not surprising to me, as Nancy Pelosi is a snake in human clothing who consistently betrays the Democratic Party by failing to stand up to Republicans and their leadership and push Democratic agenda when it is needed, and the Speaker (I like to call him Cry-Baby Boehner, personally) is too moderate for the Tea Party Republican base that is taking the country by an unfortunate and rather disturbing storm.
D. I think that the fact that only 800 likely voters were polled in this poll is somewhat biased, as it is difficult to believe that polling only 800 people in a country with over 300 million citizens is indicative of the political opinions of the country as a whole. There is also no section in the poll for people who didn't know enough to answer the question or didn't care to answer, so this begs to question, are the 800 people all of those who answered favorable/unfavorable in the poll, or does the poll simply ignore those who did not provide a straight answer to the question? This shows bias in the survey.
E. Politicians may be interested in this poll because the subjects of the survey (though this is unlikely) see it as a wake-up call that they need to conduct themselves in a more favorable way in Congress. It also indicates to the political enemies of these congresspeople that Pelosi and Boehner are potentially weak, and could be toppled from their leadership positions, and possibly from Congress. This survey could benefit the campaigns of the aforementioned enemies if they showcase them in political ads in the distracts of Pelosi and Boehner during an election cycle, and could push Boehner and Pelosi to reach out to their constituents and the people of the United States to work more towards the goals of the people rather than just participating in partisan politics and fighting.
Rasmussen Reports - "Voters Have an Unfavorable View of the EPA"
a. I picked this poll because it is related to a topic that seems to be on the minds of many members of the general public nowadays. Environmental problems are becoming more and more of a concern as time passes. This poll is politically relevant as the topic it deals with the EPA, which attempts to compromise its environmental concerns with feasible solutions (many times in the form of amendments and/ or acts).
b. This poll relates to federal mandates and the relationship between public opinion and environmental legislation, concepts that we went over in class. The poll helps us better understand these concepts as it shows that more people are against the actions of the EPA, because its policies are interferring with individuals' economic prosperity. It forces us to consider the implications of federal mandates.
c. This poll discovered that only 32% of U.S. voters view the EPA in a favorable light, which is lower than it has been in the past three years. Yes, the results of this poll are surprising to me because I would think that as environmental threats that are associated with industrial pollution become more of a problem, people would approve more of the decisions of the EPA. In reality, the opposite is apparently true.
d. I would consider this poll biased because of the research method. It was conducted as a telephone survey, which means that people could have chosen not to answer. This means that a representative sample of the entire U.S. voter population was not used. I also noticed some wording bias in the poll, specifically in the second question, which asks "Is global warming caused primarily by human activity or by long-term planetary trends?" This makes sample members have to pick one of the two options, even if they believe some other factor contributes largely to global warming.
e. A politician whose platform rests on improving the economy would be able to use the information from this poll in order to realize that he/she would not do well to support the policies of the EPA while campaigning. Because the general public believes that the policies of the EPA will hurt the economy, the politician would know that supporting the EPA would make him/him lose his/her voter base.
Gallup: Black and White Differences in Views on Race
a.I picked this poll , because I felt that it would be very interesting to read what black and white differences in views on race. This is politically relevant because of the fact that it deals with race , which can tie to the constitution.
b. This relates towards the constitution, because it mentions how black Americans' and white Americans' views continue to differ in four crucial areas. Views of race relations in general, views of discrimination against blacks, views on the need for new civil rights laws and more government intervention and ,views of the police and justice system.
c. The main findings in this poll is that whites are more positive in finding race solutions, and that most blacks have said they have not experienced problems with the police. This is surprising because of what has been happening recently and in the past such as with Trayvon Martin.
d.I don’t think this poll is biased because it doesn't really lean towards one side it tells both sides from both perspectives.
e. Politicians might be interested in these statistics because it is something that is recent in our world today from many cases. This might benefit whether which side they choose to take which could lead to more bringing in more people willing to vote for them.
Amanda Rivera 1B
Gallup.com What's Ahead for Americans in 2015
a. I chose this as social issues are of great interest to me especially gay marriage and the legalization of marijuana.
b. It ties in with political parties albeit indirectly. Social issues are a deciding factor for most in what party they decide to align themselves with. So seeing these numbers shows a lot of which party more people in the country tend to agree with.
c. Views on gay marriage and legalization of weed have gone form majority opposing to majority supporting. Non-whites are growing at a very high rate at the moment. This is not surprising to me as media coverage has reflected these trends in the recent past. Media coverage is a good indicator of public opinion.
d. The actual poll itself is not biased but some of the background information given to put it in context puts the author's views into it more than a neutral piece should. Let the facts speak for themselves.
e. They would these stats to align their views with those of the majority of the public. This would definitely effect campaigning strategies.
Gallup.com - "In U.S., 6 in 10 Dissatisfied With Immigration Levels"
A.) I choose this poll because it seemed very interesting. I've always been interested hearing and reading about America's problem with national immigration. This poll is politically relevant because national immigration continues to be a heavy source of America's problems.
B.) This pole ties with our recent discussion of the constitution. This issue highlights the 14th amendment and its topic of natural and state citizenship. This poll could give the government an even brighter insight on what we may need to change in order to get immigration under control.
C.) The primary finding in those pole is the fact that the total dissatisfied rate of U.S immigration has steadily remained much higher than our satisfied rate. These results are not surprising to me because immigration continues to be a leading issue with the U.S and even though the government announces everything is under control, we have been forced to disagree concerning this issue.
D.) I believe this poll is unbiased because it has been been proven that immigration has continued to be one of America's leading issues. There is no reason to make any data bias. It continues to be an issue, we are promised a solution, and yet its practically the opposite. The government promises no more immigration, yet our immigration rates are higher than ever. We are more dissatisfied than satisfied. It all makes sense.
E.) A politician may find my statistics interesting because it concerns the numerical evidence that the government's handling of immigration has caused overall citizen dissatisfaction with immigration levels to be inevitable. This would surely aid any politician involving immigration issues in his/her campaign and it may even get the attention of many citizens who do not bother voting because it is known nationwide that immigration remains a leading problem in the United States.
Gallup-Americans' Personal Financial Assessments Up Sharply
a. I picked this poll because I did not see anyone else with it. It is relevant because it deals with the economy.
b. This would probably deal with economy. It helps me to see what the economy has been like in the past.
c. This poll shows that from 2014 to 2015 people of all ages and ethnicity's are better off for the most part. This does not surprise me because we are coming out of a recession and that should make the majority of the people better off.
d. I believe it is biased. Anytime you conduct a poll using telephone calls it will be biased because the people dont have to respond to your questions so you will be getting a certain type of person.
e. This would be a good subject for a politician because there is always a need to improve the economy. With the use of this poll the politician could reach out and target the people that were worse off in the previous year.
My poll of choice was about Americans’ top reason for the Death Penalty.
a.I picked this poll because I myself am against the death penalty and I was curious to know the main reason why other people supported it. This poll is politically relevant in that it is a controversial law in our country.
b.This poll relates to the concepts of single issue groups, the constitution, and media. It could help better understand in that it gives specific examples of single issue groups and further understand the 8th amendment.
c.Majority of people who support the death penalty do based on the believe “an eye for an eye”, and the second most common reason was that it “saves tax payers money”. The results of the poll do not necessarily surprise me because I already assumed those would be reasons to support the death penalty.
d.I feel like the poll was a little biased in that the title of the questionnaire was “Reasons why to support death penalty”. I feel like wording the title this way assumes that the person already believes in the death penalty and has to chose why based upon what options they are given, when in fact they could not have any reason to support it whatsoever.
e.Politicians can use these statistics in order to better understand how the majority of American citizens feel about death penalty. That way, they are able to campaign in a manner that is pleasing to the majority on this opinion, thus be more likely to get their votes.
Rasmussen Reports- "Right Direction or Wrong Track"
A - This poll is interesting because it shows the eagerness of the citizens of our country. It shows how involved we think we and other are. It asks if our country is going in the right direction. As a broad statement, this poll can be interpreted many different ways; however, it is largely inclusive of satisfaction with policy - which is indicative of the political relevance.
B - This poll relates to the policy making cycle, particularly, the transition from people to linkage institutions. Since the people are the ones that directly impact policy, it can be assumed that they are the ones that determine the "direction" of our country. The advertisement of the issues through linkage institutions is what ultimately determined how the citizens view the country. If they are happy, they are probably in favor of the countries current position.
C- The poll showed that 34% of the population think that the country is going in the right direction. The percentage has consistently been in the low 30s for the past 7 weeks. This number is not surprising because Americans generally always want better, so they will never fully be satisfied.
D - There is not much bias in this poll because it is a pretty straightforward question and there is a lot of randomness including in the sample size. However, like mentioned before, individuals might always seem to want better so they might let one thing headed in the wrong direction influence their entire outlook on the "direction" of our nation.
E- Politicians would find this poll very helpful because they could use it as a tactic to gain more votes. They could say that since 58% of voters think the nation is headed in the wrong direction, then there needs to be some kind of change in policy.
I choose Gallup. Com. Survey : US Employee Engagement
A) I picked this poll because it shows and proves how UNhappy AMericans really are in the work place. We've always known that rolling out of bed and not having all the money in the world is a very undatisfyimg feeling ; but now we get to see really how undatisfying it is. This poll is
Politically relevant because becuase "We the people" are what make up the the United States and since we are not apart of the "wealthy 1%" then almost everything that happens on Capitol hill affects the working class. Becuase of this , I belive it affects working engagement.
B) this poll includes the general concept of the Declaration of Independence because Americans are constantly in "the pursuit of happiness". This poll will help us understand the concept of the pursuit of happiness because as students with working parents we see our parents working everyday and even our teachers and with that we can connect it back to our lives.
C) the poll basially says that 70% of Americans are generally are not engaged in the workplace moreover meaning they are not happy. Only about 30% of people in the US are engaged at the workplace . These findings were not surprising because for the most part adults are going to jobs to make money and support for their family ; engaging or being happy isn't necesserily apart of the job for most so they just do what they have to do to get by .
d) polls are always going to be biased : but yes this poll is biased because every working person in the nation didn't answer this question . Only the ones that cared to look on Gallup.com and take the survey.
E) politicians might wanna use this poll to make the workplace more engaging by maybe passing laws to increase minimum wages for those that apply and decrease taxesthat are taken out for each check . This will give americans something to look up to because they'll have more money in the end. Increasing their happiness and engagement for the workplace . My poll will help campaign strategies because the politicians will know to directly hit the people of the working class and get them on they're side.
^ sorry for all the typos
Obama's Job Approval Reaches 48%, Highest Since August 2013 –Gallup.com.
A) I choose this article because the idea that the president’s approval rating could have gone up wuth hius recent actions such as the contraverial talking and appesament with Cuba, and his blatant willingness to allow illegal become legal without going through legal channels, and so it intrigued me to how is approval rating went up. This is politically relevant because it is the mass opinion of the political agenda of the president.
B) The general concepts of the article that relate to the class are the roles of the president and his publicity with the masses. It helps us understand that the masses can contribute to the publicity of the president.
C) My finding are that the white supporters for Obama have decreased due to his actions and the number of Hispanic supporter has increased. To be honest this is surprising yet it’s not because it is surprising that so many white supporter are appalled is surprising in itself. And the fact the many Hispanics are supporting Obama now is not surprising at all because Obama is bringing more Hispanics into the country and they are supporting him.
D) From what I can see there is no biased information, just a list of facts that are pertaining to the subject of the poll.
E) Politicians might be interested because it shows the favoritism of the masses to the certain party. And this might benefit the democratic campaign because Hispanics are routing the democratic president and this might in turn help the democrats win the 2016 elections.
gallup.com i choose the poll Black and White Attitudes Toward Police.
A. i choose this poll because many black fear the police after the situation in Ferguson Missouri where a innocent young black boy was shot at the hand of a police officer. Whites don't fear police because they are not use to being judged on their actions. This poll is politically relevant because the states need american to feel confident in who is protecting them.
b. This poll relates to the media and freedom of speech. This poll relates to the media because it was many news organizations that broadcast the story in ferguson world wide and freedom of speech where many powerful blacks gave speeches, which spread more hate for white police officers. social media can help show america the problems that americans still face and freedom of speech can let americans speak out on problems they are facing.
c. In this poll i found that 59 percent of white americans has a lot of confidence in the police. only 37 perfect of blacks have confidence in the police. these results are some what surprising because i expecting the whites to have well over 75 percent more confidence in the police.
d. This poll was conducted in june of every year since 2011 and the situation on ferguson didn't happen yet so i feel that if americans had heard about the situation that the results would be different. the results would mainly not favor the police in any way. The poll wasn't bias in any way they asked simple questions on if blacks or whites have confidence in the police and the response was either a yes or no.
e. Politicians will be interested in using the poll i choose in benefiting their campaign strategies. politicians will use this data to target the people who doesn't have confidence in the police and convince them that when he or she gets into office they will change that. this will gain votes from both the black and white americans who lack confidence in the police.
Gallup.com-U.S Flu Reports Decline in January
1) I picked this poll because I believe that the health of the people in our country is important. This poll is politically relevant because it will allow the demand for flu vaccines to eventually go down and money that was put toward making the vaccines can be put towards finding a cure to cancer or disease.
2) The general concept that the poll relates to in class is definitely the media. I feel this way because knowing that the flu has gone down will make Americans more comfortable with doing more things because they won't have to worry about the flu. It relates to the budget that the government uses for medicine because if they know now that the flu has decreased in our country, then they can out that money to better uses such as funding for labs to find cures to different sicknesses.
3) The average percentage of Americans that claimed to be sick with the flu has went down by almost 1%. This is the highest rate since Gallup has been tracking it since 2008. The results are surprising to me because I was hearing before how the rate had gone up and people needed to be careful but now all of a sudden it went down, but the average rate going down is still really good.
4) I do think the poll is bias because I feel as though it definitely depends on how you ask the question; like if you say do you have the flu that's asking about now but if you ask have you had the flu this year then to me that will give a better sense of who's had the flu because not everyone gets the flu at the same time.
5) I feel like they'd be interested to use these statistics because it will back up their notion if they want to put more funding in something else rather than flu vaccines. It'll benefit because they would consider it proof of why they should focus on something else.
Gallup-"Americans Increasingly See Russia as Threat, Top U.S. Enemy"
a. I picked this poll because I found it interesting that the that the jump in disapproval of Russia coincided with its attempt at annexing Ukraine. It may be indicative of the growing fears and tensions of Russia's attempts to expand.
b. This poll involves issues such as sovereignty, democratic processes, and the extent of the Putin's power. The US people are concerned over Russia attempts at expanding and annexing nearby countries such as Ukraine. Putin had sent troops into Ukraine, and a vote was taken in Ukraine on whether they wanted to remain independent or join with Russia. The US people believed that Russian attempts at expansion was illegitimate.
c. The poll found a jump from 2% of Americans seeing Russia as the top enemy of the US in 2012 to 18% seeing them as the top threat in 2015. They are now have the highest percentage out of any other country. I was not that surprised to much of the outrage and media coverage of Russia's attempts to annex Ukraine.
d. The way the question was asked looked to be fair and unbiased; however, the survey was taken in early February right before a cease-fire was agreed to help resolve the issue.
e. I believe that politicians will be very interested in this poll because it provides valuable information into what many Americans feel is pressing in US foreign policy. Politicians may find it in their favor to take a more assertive stance in their foreign policy agenda towards Russia.
Gallup: Americans Overwhelmingly See Iran as Enemy or Unfriendly
A.) I chose this poll because I am Iranian, so I searched Iran in the Gallup search bar. This poll is politically relevant considering that the U.S. has been in conflict with Iran ever since the Shah was relieved of his powers. Iran poses a nuclear threat to America if they are to gain the advancement in technology.
B.) This particular poll relates strongly to legitimacy and media. This poll is expressing the general American opinion of Iran as an “unfriendly” or “enemy” nation. This poll could be strictly based on bias and ignorance, but it still shows what most Americans are thinking. This poll could help us better understand these concepts because it would illustrate contrasting American opinions on foreign policy and threats.
C.) The findings of this poll show that most Americans (83%) see Iran as an “enemy/unfriendly” nation and only 10% see Iran as an ally. This poll was taken in 2013, so I am not surprised with the results of this poll, for the media chains have shown clips of Iranians burning American flags and threatening nuclear threats to our democracy.
D.) This poll is not biased in my opinion because it asked very straightforward questions that did not imply a suggested answer. Do you think Iran is an ally, an enemy, or do you have an opinion at all?
E.) This poll forces Obama to make diplomatic moves about Iran’s nuclear power in consideration of the fact that America is fearful of Iran and obviously sees the nation as a threat. This poll might help the republicans because they are more forceful on foreign policy and this particular scenario can make Obama look weak if he handles it wrong.
Gallup.com - Voters, Especially Independents, Lack Interest in Election
a) I choose this poll because i remember my group debating about how the amount of voters voting has decreased. This is politically involves the democracy aspect of our government because voting allows the selection of political experts to be representatives for the people on a local, state, and national level.
b) This directly effects elections. In class we learned that one of the many forms of participation is voting and the lack of voter turnout effects democracy negatively. This will help me better understand the election process. the main reason people are uninterested in voting is because they are uneducated.
c) The polls found that the amount of people do not plan to vote in the upcoming election has increased since 2010. Even the many of the independents voters who lean Republican, Democratic, or neither have decided not to vote this year.
d) I do not think that this poll is biased at all just from their neutral language that is uses. It is not very aggressive but neither is it passive and it also includes and uncertainty about the data. They mention things to express that these outcomes are only true if all they people who say that they would vote in the upcoming election actually will vote.
e) If politicians see this specific poll then they will update their campaign strategies to make them more about the people and less about their opponent. They should also strive more to educate the voters so they do not make the choice that will be a disadvantage toward them.
Gallup Poll - "More Than Six in 10 Americans Say Guns Make Homes Safer"
a) I picked this poll because of my personal interest in guns (as a hobby) and my political standpoint on the popular political issue of gun control-this being the poll's political relevance.
b) This poll in terms of the issue of whether guns are safe and whether there should be stricter gun control laws directly relates to the general concept of "the right to keep and bear arms", or the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution. One of the reasons for this amendment was to implement the ability to have efficient self defense and in relation to this poll, the idea of self defense directly relates to the poll's question of whether guns make homes safer or not.
c) The main findings of this poll show that a majority of Americans @63% believe that guns do make homes safer with the majority of those who believe that guns DO make homes safer are Republicans and those who think they DON'T are Democrats. These results don't surprise me considering things like the decreasing crime rate from 1993 to 2012 (as recognized in the article) as well as the possible correlation between this decrease being due to the increase in gun sales, this increase being due to the growing idea that guns do make homes safer.
d) I don't think the poll or the supporting article is biased. The poll evidently tries to examine both sides of the question and analyzes various factors that possibly contribute to the outcome of their poll. Statements like "While it may be a contentious assertion..." (referring to the drop in crime rates/increase in gun sales) show that they acknowledge the possibility of the audience interpreting bias.
e) Politicians that advocate the use of guns for self defense or are essentially "pro-guns" on the issue of gun control may definitely utilize polls such as this one to support their stance and campaigns on gun control. The growing belief that guns make home safer and the information provided by Gallup that shows this belief has nearly doubled amongst Americans represented by this poll can very much benefit any "pro-guns" campaign.
Gallup: New Congress Has Slightly Higher Ratings, Still Unpopular
A. I picked this poll because looking at the statistics for congressional job approvals, in 2015, the approval rate is 16%-20%, compared to 2002 which had 84% approval.
B. Organizations are made to help the GOP’s for next year’s election. The number one thing to do is to advertise through media, because GOP involves Iraq and Syria, and media can be broadcast internationally, to provide glimpse of GOP support for congress, which is very low.
C/D .The results didn’t surprise me because they are telephone interviews conducted with 18 or older people all in the U.S. There is some bias in this sampling due to age restrictions, 18-24 will tend to pick up their phones which contributes a lot in the 95% outcome for a confidence level.
E. I think politicians would be interested because the statistics are valid, it gives an idea of approval ratings for new and old congresses, we can differentiate the results between the democrats and the republicans towards approval rates in congress.
Gallup: 10 Discoveries About U.S. College Grads
a. I chose this poll due to the fact that i will be going off to college within the next few months. This poll is politically relevant because it kinda address the problem of debt and employment but from a stand point of coming out of college.
b. The general concept that this poll relates to the people of the policy making cycle.this might better help us understand the concept people in the policy-making process by allowing us to see where changes need and can be made.
c. The main findings of the poll were mainly about the chances of jobs, loan debt, and the after college effect. The poll was not really surprising to me due to the fact that I was already anticipating the outcomes of college for myself.
d. I do not think that any part of this was biased because it was in my opinion stating facts that are actually happening.
e. Politicians might interested in using the statistics of my poll because they could probably make some necessary changes or add something to the college network to make it function more effectively.
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