Public Opinion Quarterly

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Public Opinion Quarterly
Nancy Mathiowetz

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

James Druckman and Nancy Mathiowetz assumed editorship of AAPOR’s refereed journal, Public Opinion Quarterly (POQ), from Peter Miller in January 2009. Peter had served the AAPOR membership an extraordinary eight years as editor in chief, overseeing an expansion of the journal’s pages, the launching of a new section (Research Synthesis), and the institutionalization of an annual “special issue.” As the new editors, Druckman and Mathiowetz made a commitment to more timely editorial decisions as well as a more streamlined movement of accepted manuscripts to Advance Access, POQ’s online publication venue for papers that have been typeset and are awaiting hard copy publication. One of the more visible changes in the journal has been its redesign, to more closely align the visual image with AAPOR (note the AAPOR logo on the front cover). 

One of the major challenges facing POQ, as well as other peer-reviewed journals, is the need for timely, high-quality reviews. The reputation of the journal is harmed when editorial decisions take 6-12 months; we all know the journals that have such reputations. In addition, it is imperative for the health of the journal that reviews come from a broad, eclectic base of researchers active in the areas of public opinion and survey research. The quality of the journal suffers when reviews are completed by a select subgroup of our membership.   

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 2008-2009 AAPOR President Richard Kulka visits the Public Opinion Quarterly booth at the 2009 AAPOR Conference.

 

The special issue for Volume 73 (2009) will be devoted to an examination of the 2008 election, with Sunshine Hillygus, Duke University, serving as the editor. The volume received a record number of submissions (63) and Sunshine is working at a breakneck pace to produce an exceptional volume by the end of this year.  Look for your copy in the mail by early December.  And the call for papers is out for the 2010 Special Issue on Total Survey Error, to be edited by Paul Biemer, RTI International, and Lars Lyberg, Statistics Sweden. The journal hopes that the dedication of a special volume on TSE will be particularly attractive to those readers and contributors who have felt that POQ was not an appropriate venue for the more statistically-oriented methodologists among AAPOR members.   

A subscription to POQ is one of the major benefits of AAPOR membership. Members may search and retrieve the full text of POQ articles by logging in to the members-only section of the AAPOR Web site. One doesn’t need to be an AAPOR member or subscribe to POQ to download abstracts from the journal’s archives, however. 

The editors also wish to remind readers that POQ subscribes to the policy on data verification of the American Psychological Association, as promulgated in the Association’s Publication Manual (5th Edition, 2001, p. 354), which states, in part: 

"To permit competent professionals to confirm the results and analyses, authors are expected to retain raw data for a minimum of 5 years after publication of the research.  Other information related to the research (e.g., instructions, treatment manuals, software, details of procedures) should be kept for the same period.  This information is necessary if others are to attempt replication …"

TOP TEN DOWNLOADED ABSTRACTS FROM THE POQ WEB SITE IN 2008

10. Elite Revisionists and Popular Beliefs – 3372 downloads
Howard Schuman, Barry Schwartz, Hannah D’Arcy, Public Opinion Quarterly (2005), 69, 2-29

9. Trends: Public Opinion About Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning – 2366 downloads
Matthew C. Nisbet, Public Opinion Quarterly (2004), 68, 131-154    

8. What’s in a Name? –  2349 downloads 
 Lee Sigelman, Steven A. Tuch, Jack K. Martin, Public Opinion Quarterly (2005), 69, 429-438   

7. A Comparison of Web and Mail Survey Response Rates – 1981 downloads
Michael D. Kaplowitz, Timothy D. Hadlock, Ralph Levine, Public Opinion Quarterly (2004), 68, 94-101    

6. Effects of Personal Salutations in E-mail Invitations to Participate in a Web Survey – 1749 downloads 
Dirk Heerwegh, Public Opinion Quarterly (2005), 69, 588-598    

5. Black-White Differences in Attitudes toward Homosexuality and Gay Rights – 1682 downloads 
Gregory B. Lewis, Public Opinion Quarterly (2003), 67, 59-78     

4. Public Attitudes Toward Felon Disenfranchisement in the United States –  1507 downloads 
Jeff Manza, Public Opinion Quarterly (2004), 68, 275-286    

3. The Polls—Trends – 1495 downloads 
Matthew C. Nisbet, Teresa Myers, Public Opinion Quarterly (2007), 71, 444-470    

2. Web Survey Design and Administration –  1322 downloads 
Mick P. Couper, Michael W. Traugott, Mark J. Lamias, Public Opinion Quarterly (2001), 65, 230-253    

1. Gender Gaps in Public Opinion about Lesbians and Gay Men – 1196 downloads 
Gregory M. Herek, Public Opinion Quarterly (2002), 66, 40-66     

And the most frequently downloaded full text article – due in part to the topic, but also the free and open access of the special issues…

The Accuracy of the National Pre-election Polls in the 2004 Presidential Election – 13,970 downloads
Michael W. Traugott (Public Opinion Quarterly (2005), 69, 642-654).  
Public Opinion Quarterly benefits from the labors of many; the full editorial board is listed below. AAPOR members with comments or questions concerning the journal should contact one of the editors or members of the advisory committee.
AAPOR Advisory Committee
Robert Y. Shapiro, Columbia University (2009-2013)
Nora Cate Schaeffer, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2006-2010)
Robert Erikson, Columbia University (2007-2011)
E. Deborah Jay, Field Research Corporation (2008-2012)
Paul J. Lavrakas and Roger Tourangeau, Councilors-at-Large

Editors in Chief
James N. Druckman, Northwestern University
Nancy A. Mathiowetz, University of  Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Associate Editors
Daniel Merkle, ABC News
Patricia Moy, University of Washington 

Managing Editor
Phyllis Silverstein

Poll Reviews
Mark Schulman, Abt SRBIChristopher Wlezien, Temple University

Poll Trends
Greg M. Shaw, Illinois Wesleyan University

Research Syntheses
Kristen M. Olson, University of Nebraska

Book Reviews
Adam J. Berinsky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

  Editorial Board
  • Scott L. Althaus, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign
  • Duane F. Alwin, Pennsylvania State University
  • Stephen Ansolabehere, Harvard University
  • Matthew A. Baum, Harvard University
  • Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, The Ohio State University
  • J. Michael Brick, Westat
  • Frederick Conrad, University of Michigan
  • Darren Davis, Notre Dame University
  • Wil Dijkstra, Free University
  • Don Dillman, Washington State University
  • Michael R. Elliot, University of Michigan
  • Robert Erikson, Columbia University
  • D. Sunshine Hillygus, Harvard University
  • Allyson Holbrook, University of Illinois-Chicago
  • Simon Jackman, Stanford University
  • M. Kent Jennings, University of California, Santa
  • Barbara Maria Krysan, University of Illinois-Chicago
  • Paul J. Lavrakas, Independent Consultant
  • Kathleen McGraw, The Ohio State University
  • Peter Miller, Northwestern University
  • Diana Mutz, University of Pennsylvania
  • Lance Rips, Northwestern University
  • Robert Santos, Urban Institute
  • Nora Cate Schaeffer, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Carolyn F. Shettle, Westat
  • Eleanor Singer, University of Michigan
  • Mark A. Tessler, University of Michigan
  • Nicholas A.Valentino, University of Texas, Austin
  • Claes H. de Vreese, University of Amsterdam
  • Susan Welch, Pennsylvania State University
  • Gordon Willis, National Cancer Institute
  • Cliff Zukin, Rutgers University

 




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