Public opinion

Public opinion is the aggregate of views held by members of a population on public issues. It can vary across groups, issues, and time.

Opinion polling: The systematic collection of people's answers to questions about beliefs, preferences, or intended behavior. Polls estimate the distribution of views that make up public opinion.
Public sphere: A domain of social life where people discuss matters of shared concern and form public judgments. Public opinion develops through communication in spaces where shared issues are debated.
Public opinion poll: A survey designed to estimate the distribution of views in a defined population. A poll is a measurement instrument, not public opinion itself.
Public policy: A government course of action or set of rules addressing public problems. Officials may use public opinion to justify, revise, or resist policy choices.
Nonresponse bias: Bias arising when people who do not respond to a survey differ systematically from those who do. Unrepresented groups can distort estimates of the population's views.
Sampling (statistics): The selection of units from a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population. A poll's sample determines which population the reported opinion can represent.
Political socialization: The process through which people acquire political beliefs, values, and orientations. Socialization helps explain how individuals arrive at views later counted in aggregate.
Election: A formal process in which voters choose candidates or decide proposals. Election outcomes record choices under specific conditions, not the full range of public views.
Political legitimacy: The recognized rightfulness of a government or institution's authority. Perceived alignment with public views can strengthen or weaken legitimacy.
Ecological fallacy: The error of inferring individual characteristics or behavior from aggregate data. Group-level opinion patterns do not establish what any particular person believes.

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