Political Science 394RI - PoliticalPolling&SurveyRsrch

The class will examine how political scientists use surveys to measure and understand public opinion and election outcomes. A significant component of the course will be a class project to develop, conduct, and analyze an exit poll survey of voters during the elections. In the process of conducting this survey, students will learn valuable skills including how to write survey questions, how to properly sample and interview respondents, and how to analyze survey data. They will also learn what constitutes public opinion, where public opinion comes from, how it changes, and why it matters for our political system.

Open to junior and senior Political Science majors and minors. This course is being offered as part of the UMass Flex Initiative. That means students have the opportunity to attend class in person or online. For questions about modality please contact the instructor for more information This course fulfills the IE requirement for POLISCI majors.