Public Opinion Websites

An extremely useful compilation of websites on public opinion put together by librarians Gary Thompson and Sean Conley is published in the October 2006 issue of College & Research Library News, a publication of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL)of the American Library Association. Internet Resources Guide to Public Opinion Poll Web sites: Polling data from around the world "focuses on significant Internet sites concerning general public opinion polls, especially those providing polling results in usable formats."

As a Penn student, if you're searching major United States public opinion turn first to the Roper Center's preeminent database ipoll from the main Library webpage. With ipoll you can search most of the media polls listed in the first section of the ACRL compilation in one fell swoop, as opposed to visiting individual organization sites. But the ACRL list is great for state and regional polls not in ipoll; also check out the section on blogs and electronic lists on polling. Remember, this listing comes from the web so if you're clicking into sites that require a subscription be sure to check Penn holdings as there's a good chance we subscribe. Also, not to be overlooked, Penn Libraries has their own Public Opinion Polls-Research Guide (recommended in the ACRL guide!) of available resources at the University.

With these two guides at your fingtips you have access to a lot of opinion!