Analyzing Public Opinion & Voting Behavior

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Scholars, pundits, politicians, and citizens alike have begun asking questions about American democracy. Is the U.S. still a democracy? If so, how strong and stable is American democracy? The answers to those questions depend not just on politicians and political parties, but also on citizens. For democracy to work, citizens have to take an interest in politics, have clear opinions on political issues, make informed voting decisions, and be committed to democratic values. In this class, we will analyze American public opinion and voting behavior to assess the degree to which U.S. citizens live up to their end of the democratic bargain. We will do that in three ways. The first is normative: We will discuss the role that citizens should play in democratic government and what democracy requires of citizens. The second is through existing research. What have scholars of public opinion and voting behavior discovered about Americans’ success in fulfilling our democratic responsibilities over the last few decades? The third is through original research. Students will learn how to conduct their own analyses of American public opinion and voting behavior. We will discuss how surveys are conducted, how to write survey questions, and how to conduct statistical analysis of data from surveys on public opinion and voting behavior. Then students will conduct their own original research using data from the latest edition of the American National Election Studies, the preeminent academic survey of the American electorate.