GV205-5-SP-CO:
Measuring Public Opinion
2019/20
Government
Colchester Campus
Spring
Undergraduate: Level 5
Current
Monday 13 January 2020
Friday 20 March 2020
15
07 January 2020
Requisites for this module
(none)
GV207
GV207
(none)
(none)
Public opinion is important. It is important to governments, to political parties, to
pressure groups, to pollsters, and to academics in political science as well as many
other areas. Public opinion is also interesting. People are more diverse,
unpredictable and hard to understand than political parties, trade laws, electoral
systems, and so on, and the fickle and elusive nature of public attitudes makes them
a challenging but rewarding thing to study.
This module is about how we find out what the public think – about policies, priorities,
party leaders, even about each other. Since the sample survey is overwhelmingly
the dominant method of measuring public opinion, understanding how to conduct
surveys and polls is the basis of the module. It will make it easier to understand the
material in other 'EPOP' modules, expand the scope of 3rd-year project work, help
you in future postgraduate study, and greatly improve your job prospects.
The aims of this module are to give students:
- a sophisticated conceptual understanding of public opinion;
- an understanding of how we know what we know about survey methodology;
- a detailed knowledge of the core tenets of survey research: questionnaire design, sampling, fieldwork;
- practical experience of those core tenets;
- an ability to collect and analyse survey data;
- the capacity to follow survey-based research published in leading journals.
The outcomes of this module will be:
- an ability to critically assess claims about public opinion by pollsters, journalists, politicians, family, and so on
- a completed and analysed survey which can be cited as an example of project work
- a CV enhanced with practical skills of questionnaire design and data analysis;
- experience of independent learning based on the project-based assignments
There will be a Moodle site assigned to this module, and all materials – lecture notes,
class exercises, datasets, assessment details and requirements, and also some of
the readings – will be placed there. Together, the students will decide in Week 16
whether the remainder of the module will be available on Listen Again.
1 x 2 Hour seminar (weeks 16-23) then 1x 2 Hour lab (weeks 24-25)
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Essay |
|
30% |
| Coursework |
Questionnaire Design |
|
35% |
| Coursework |
Analysis |
|
35% |
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Robert Johns, email: rajohn@essex.ac.uk.
Professor Rob Johns
Lecturer: Professor R Johns - rajohn@essex.ac.uk / Module Adminstrator: Lewis Olley - govquery@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
No
Dr Mohammed Rodwan Abouharb
University College London
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 16 (80%) hours available to students:
4 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s).
Government
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