National Surveys of the Role of Polls in Policymaking
Three companion surveys by the Kaiser Family Foundation, conducted in collaboration with Public Perspective magazine, give new insight into how the public, policy leaders and media professionals view public opinion polls. The surveys show that while policy leaders and journalists see polls as an effective tool for giving the public a voice in the policymaking process, the public itself is more skeptical. The discussions of the surveys in Public Perspective also explore the extent to which the public feels it actually has input in the policymaking process. The polls are featured in the July/August 2001 issue of Public Perspective along with expert commentary on the subject.
