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Title: American Public Opinion in the 1930s and 1940s: The Analysis of Quota-Controlled Sample Survey

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2006

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Abstract: The 1930s saw the birth of mass survey research in America. Large public polling companies, such as Gallup and Roper, began surveying the public about a variety of important issues on a monthly basis. These polls contain information on public opinion questions of central importance to political scientists, historians, and policymakers, yet these data have been largely overlooked by modern researchers due to problems arising from the data collection methods. In this article I provide a strategy to properly analyze the public opinion data of the 1930s and 1940s. I first describe the quota-control methods of survey research prevalent during this time. I then detail the problems introduced through the use of quota-control techniques. Next, I describe specific strategies that researchers can employ to ameliorate these problems in data analysis at both the aggregate and individual levels. Finally, I use examples from several pubic opinion studies in the early 1940s to show how the methods of analysis laid out in this article enable us to utilize historical public opinion data.

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Authors: Berinsky, Adam J.

Periodical (Full): Public opinion quarterly

Issue: 4

Volume: 70

Pages: 499-529

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Methodology and Data Collection

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