Public Opinion 

Orbis is the Yale University Library's online catalog. This guide provides hints on subject and keyword searching in Orbis for public opinion materials.

Connect to Orbis

Sample subject searches:

Public opinion--United States

Aged--Attitudes

Europe--Politics and government--1945---Public opinion

Law--United States--Public opinion

Islam--Public opinion

Supermarkets--United States--Public opinion

Capital punishment--United States--Public opinion

Peace--Public opinion

 

Using subdivisions in subject searches:

• Use the subdivision Public opinion under names of individual persons, corporate bodies, and topical subjects
• Use the subdivision Appreciation under names of individual literary or artistic persons
• Use the subdivision Attitudes under classes of persons and ethnic groups
• Use the subdivisions Public opinion or Foreign public opinion under individual wars, e.g. World War, 1939-1945--Public opinion; United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Foreign public opinion
• Use subdivision Foreign public opinion under names of countries, etc.

Search also under the following related subjects:

Attitude psychology

Knowledge sociology of

Polemics

Press

Propaganda

Public relations

Publicity

Rumor

Scale analysis psychology

Social pressure

Keyword Searching
Keyword searching is a fast way to locate survey results, especially if you aren't familiar with the subject headings.

Sample keyword searches for survey results:

abortion and opinion

aged and (attitudes or opinion)

elections and opinion

europe and opinion

Yale University Library Online Databases
Many online databases, in a wide range of subject areas, index journal articles dealing with public opinion. Try a keyword search combining word(s) from the topic of interest and the word "opinion" or "attitudes" (for example: "medicare and attitudes"). Search strategies will differ from database to database, so consulting the database-specific help is recommended.

Lexis-Nexis Statistical
Provides access to U.S. government, international, intergovernmental, state government and private publications that contain statistics. Choose Abstracts and try a search combining word(s) from the topic of interest and the word "opinion" or "attitudes" (for example: "abortion and opinion").

To find particular journals about public opinion:

Orbis

• Search by specific journal title, or
• Search by keyword and limit to journals, or
  
• Search for only electronic journals by keyword: e.g. sociology and electronic journal

Online Journals & Newspapers

Search for titles of online journals & newspapers using keywords, e.g. public opinion

Below are screen snapshots (input and output) from an example of an Orbis search (conducted in 2007) for statistics or data on a given topic.  Unfortunately, it is (as of late 2008) difficult to impossible to restrict Orbis searches to find only statistics or only data, as differentiated in the ABOUT THIS GUIDE tab; you have to interpret the results to ascertain what type of information an item contains.