I have an email question from a faculty member about surveys and polls in Lexis Nexis. She wrote that there used to be more surveys and polls there, but they seem to be gone now. I saw that the Gallup polls are there, but she said there used to be more than that.
Frank and Linda suggested the ICPSR and Tablebase databases as other places she could go. Does anyone else have suggestions?
If you search for “poll” in ICPSR, you will find ABC and CBS news polls, among others. I recall that we once had a subscription to a database that focused on polling data, but I can’t remember what it was.
A call was received with this question too, especially about the polling information that had once been available on Lexis-Nexis. So, I posted the question to the Lexis Nexis list, and received a response from L-N and some suggestions from other librarians across the country.
Here is the information that I sent the professor who made the telephone inquiry:
From the Lexis-Nexis Academic Product Manager:
The Roper Polls that used to be on LN Academic were removed by the publisher at the end of 2007 and is sorely missed. We have some Gallup sources and of course news media reporting on polls (try adding the “Polls & Surveys” index term to your search).
Best regards,
Alistair
Alistair Morrison | Product Manager, LexisNexis Academic & Library Solutions
LexisNexis, 7500 Old Georgetown Road, Suite 1300, Bethesda MD 20814
Telephone: 301-951-4529 | Switchboard: 800-638-8380 | Fax: 301-652-1273
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://academic.lexisnexis.com
The Lexis-Nexis listserv is open to academic librarians, and several responses were received:
“We are currently conducting a trial of Gallup Brain. Gallup Brain replaces Gallup Poll Briefing, Gallup’s print publication that ceased in December 2008. Gallup Brain includes answers to thousands of questions, and responses from millions of people interviewed by The Gallup Poll since 1935. This public opinion database also houses Gallup Poll and Gallup Management Journal articles that feature in-depth public opinion and management data analyses.
Kay Kelly
Electronic Resources Manager
Drake University Cowles Library
2507 University Avenue
Des Moines, Iowa 50311-4505”
I tried this site and I think it will be good for the type of assignment the professor described. The link is http://brain.gallup.com/. Students or any other users need to create a free account before using. The polls are arranged by decade.
From several CUNY Librarians from John Jay and elsewhere, the John Jay subject guide to information about polls and polling was suggested. The link is:
http://www.lib.jjay.cuny.edu/links/index.cfm?subid=204
however, some links need updating, for example:
new link for the General Social Survey is
http://www.norc.org/GSS+Website/
new link to the Guide to Public Opinion Poll Web Sites by Thompson, et al, is http://wikis.ala.org/acrl/index.php/Guide_to_Public_Opinion_Poll_Web_Sites (extensive resource listing)
I couldn’t find a resource at Yale regarding polling organizations that is available to the general public.
I looked at the Polling Report, http://www.pollingreport.com/issues.htm (You can pay for more access but this site for free has some valuable information), and in the issues, the results are by different polling organizations and seem to vary in the time period the responses are available. But the questions are provided.
“The iPOLL from the Roper Center goes back to 1935 and includes questions and responses. http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/data_access/ipoll/ipoll.html
Joline R. Ezzell
Librarian for Classics, Philosophy, Psychology, and Business
and Library Liaison to the Duke Institute for the Brain Sciences
Duke University”
I tried this iPOLL out and you need to establish an account for free and then you have a limited number of trial searches and results (results are limited to 10 responses). There is a charge for a subscription.
I suggested ICPSR to the professor and she took a look at it. I think she thought it too advanced for the needs of her students.
Please let me know if you have any comments or questions on the above information.
Rita