Database Use Tip: Finding Surveys and Polls

Sawyer Library subscribes to three electronic sources of information on surveys and polls:

1. Polling the Nations (1 simultaneous user only)
2. LexisNexis Academic's 'Polls & Surveys from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research'
3. CQ Press Political Reference Suite's "Vital Statistics on American Politics."
   

Polling the Nations (1 simultaneous user only):

Polling the Nations contains over 14,000 surveys conducted by more than 1000 organizations located in the United States and internationally, from 1986 to the present. Organizations conducting the polls include:
Harris International, the Pew Center, universities, newspapers (e.g., New York Times, Los Angeles Times), television news organizations, and special interest groups. Each record in the database reports a question asked, the responses given, the organization that conducted the work, the date of the interviews, the release date of the information, the sample size and the universe of participants.

[FIND Polling the Nations on the "Databases by Subject" list, under the General Resources section.]

LexisNexis Academic's Polls & Surveys from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research:

The 'Reference' section of LexisNexis Academic contains a survey file from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, a non-profit and leading institution in the field of public opinion. This file includes sources from organizations such as: Gallup, Harris, Roper; ABC, CBS, CNN and NBC; the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.

[FIND LexisNexis Academic on the "Databases by Subject" list, under Business and Management, Social Sciences, and General Resources. Lexis is the first option on the General Resources list.]

CQ Press Political Reference Suite's "Vital Statistics on American Politics:"

Vital Statistics on American Politics provides data on American politics dating back to 1788. The section "Public Opinion and Voting" presents survey data regarding partisan self-identification, ideological self-identification, presidential and congressional approval, public confidence in the government and the economy (consumer confidence), and specific topics such as Roe v. Wade, capital punishment, and U.S. military interventions in foreign affairs.

[FIND CQ Press Political Reference Suite on our "Databases by Subject" List in the Social Sciences category]