GV917-7-FY-CO:
Public Opinion and Political Behaviour
2023/24
Government
Colchester Campus
Full Year
Postgraduate: Level 7
ReassessmentOnly
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 28 June 2024
30
12 August 2022
Requisites for this module
(none)
(none)
(none)
(none)
GV967
The module introduces students to the latest theoretical debates about the nature, significance, measurement and analysis of public opinion and political behaviour.
The course examines three broad issues:
1. How do we understand public opinion and political behaviour?
How do citizens acquire information and convert it into opinions?
Given that it is rational for individuals not to invest too much in acquiring political knowledge, how do they manage to learn what they know?
How does political information and public opinion influence political behaviour?
2. How do we design survey to measure public opinion and political behaviour?
Polls and surveys: How do the public understand questions in surveys and how can we go about measuring this?
Sampling theory: How do we select representative samples in order to understand what the public really thinks?
Measurement and Scaling: How do we measure opinion and political behaviour? What type of measurement scales are available to help us do this?
3. How do we collect and analyse public opinion and political behaviour data?
Survey administration: (online survey) questionnaire design and fieldwork
Descriptive analysis and visualization of data
Hypotheses testing: Bivariate and multivariate regressions, presentation and interpretation of results
The aim of this module is to introduce students to the latest theoretical debates about the nature, significance, measurement and analysis of public opinion. In addition it aims to provide them with the background knowledge and practical skills needed to undertake surveys of public opinion. These are required by anyone seeking employment in polling and market research industry or who wishes to conduct further research in the fields of political attitudes and behaviour.
By the end of the course, students should have:
1. A good working knowledge of the latest theoretical debates about the nature and dynamics of public opinion and political behaviour
2. An understanding of the processes of opinion formation, the nature of public reasoning about political issues and interpersonal influences on opinion
3. A sound understanding of the techniques used to measure opinion within a variety of settings
4. A working knowledge of the statistical theory required to select representative samples of the population
5. An understanding of the main multivariate techniques used to analyse public opinion and political behaviour data including data reduction techniques and regression analysis.
In the first teaching week of the autumn term the tutor will lead the discussion, presenting theoretical ideas and research findings relevant to understanding the nature and dynamics of public opinion. Each subsequent week in the autumn term will involve presentations of key readings by individual students followed by a class discussion. The purpose of the presentations is to allow students to critically evaluate theoretical arguments and research findings relevant to understanding the nature of public opinion.
In the spring term the organisation of the course will change, with lectures and discussions on statistical topics followed by student participation in computer laboratory exercises. These exercises are designed to give students practical skills in survey design and implementation, and data analysis of the type needed to understand opinion and behavioural data. The exercises use data from a variety of actual opinion and election surveys.
The key skills are:
1. Communications – oral presentations; writing clearly and working to a deadline
2. Collaboration – interacting with others in academic debates
3. Information Technology – online searching, word processing, statistical analysis
4. Problem solving – analysing quantitative and qualitative evidence, summarizing complex findings from surveys and identifying trends in data
5. Numeracy – Data analytic and statistical skills, interpreting bivariate and multivariate models
6. Work experience – students can opt to take a three week work placement with a polling agency, subject to availability.
The module is based around two-hour seminars in the autumn term and at the start of the Spring term. From week 20 in the spring term we will have classes in combination with computer laboratory sessions.
The seminar will engage students in interactive discussions and group study skills. It will foster critical thinking, problem solving, collaborative learning and oral communication. Essays will help develop the ability to organise facts and data and produce a logical, coherent and empirically supported argument. The seminars will also help to develop the capacity for critical judgement. The laboratory sessions will develop the skills needed for the quantitative analysis of polling data as well as information technology skills. They will also provide knowledge of the statistical methods and software needed for the analysis of surveys of public opinion.
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Berinsky, A.J. (2015) ‘The history and meaning of public opinion’, in
New Directions in Public Opinion. Available at:
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/universityofessex-ebooks/reader.action?docID=4219375&ppg=44.
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Sunshine, H. (2015) ‘The practice of survey research: Changes and challenge’, in
New Directions in Public Opinion. 2nd edition. London: Taylor & Francis Ltd, pp. 34–53. Available at:
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1132001&site=ehost-live&authtype=sso&custid=s9814295&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_34.
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Verba, S. (no date) ‘The Citizen as Respondent: Sample Surveys and American Democracy Presidential Address, American Political Science Association, 1995’,
American Political Science Review, 90(1), pp. 1–7. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2082793.
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Downs, A. (1957) An economic theory of democracy. New York: Harper.
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Colombo, C. and Steenbergen, M.R. (2020) ‘Heuristics and Biases in Political Decision Making’, in D.P. Redlawsk (ed.)
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Political Decision Making. Oxford University Press. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.974.
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Asher, H.B. (2017b) ‘The Problem of Nonattitudes’, in Polling and the public: what every citizen should know. Ninth edition. Thousand Oaks, California: CQ Press, an imprint of SAGE Publications, pp. 43–74.
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Ksiazkiewicz, A. and Hedrick, J. (no date) ‘An Introduction to Implicit Attitudes in Political Science Research’,
PS: Political Science & Politics, 46(3), pp. 525–531. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096513000632.
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Zaller, J.R. (1992) ‘Chapter 2: Information, predispositions, and opinion’, in
The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge University Press, pp. 6–39. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511818691.003.
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Arcuri, L.
et al. (no date) ‘Predicting the Vote: Implicit Attitudes as Predictors of the Future Behavior of Decided and Undecided Voters’,
Political Psychology, 29(3), pp. 369–387. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2008.00635.x.
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‘How Racist Am I? - YouTube’ (no date). Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho2IpTpgRUQ.
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Implicit Association Tests (IAT) (no date). Available at:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html.
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Clarke, H.D.
et al. (2009) ‘Chapter 2. The theory of valence politics’, in
Performance Politics and the British Voter. Cambridge University Press, pp. 30–52. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511596872.002.
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Denver, D. and Johns, R. (2022) ‘Chapter 10. Elections and Party Choice in Britain Today’, in
Elections and Voters in Britain. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 283–311. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86492-7_10.
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Lewis-Beck, M.S. and Stegmaier, M. (2000) ‘Economic Determinants of Electoral Outcomes’,
Annual Review of Political Science, 3(1), pp. 183–219. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.3.1.183.
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Anderson, C.J. (2000) ‘Economic voting and political context: a comparative perspective’,
Electoral Studies, 19(2-3), pp. 151–170. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0261-3794(99)00045-1.
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NIEUWBEERTA, P. and ULTEE, W. (1999) ‘Class voting in western industrialized countries, 1945-1990: Systematizing and testing explanations’,
European Journal of Political Research, 35(1), pp. 123–160. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.00444.
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Clarke, H.
et al. (2011) ‘Valence Politics and Electoral Choice in Britain, 2010’,
Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties, 21(2), pp. 237–253. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2011.562614.
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Hobolt, S.B. (2016) ‘The Brexit vote: a divided nation, a divided continent’,
Journal of European Public Policy, 23(9), pp. 1259–1277. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2016.1225785.
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The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
| Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
| Coursework |
Assigment 1 (Analytic Essay) |
|
35% |
| Coursework |
Assignment 2 (Take-home-test) |
|
40% |
| Coursework |
Written report on class presentation |
|
20% |
| Coursework |
Class presentation |
|
5% |
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
Dr Seonghui Lee, email: s.lee@essex.ac.uk.
Dr Seonghui Lee
Module Supervisor: Seonghui Lee, s.lee@essex.ac.uk
Yes
No
No
Dr Damien Bol
King's College London
Senior Lecturer
Available via Moodle
Of 28 hours, 28 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
Government
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