Comparative Politics: Public Opinion
Why Public Opinion?
Researching public opinion in other nations will provide you with rich context about that nation's social climate. Through this lens you may more broadly understand political systems in different nations. While there are many sources of data, either offered by governments or social surveys, reading news materials produced by local media will also help you understand a nation's social climate and context.
Roper iPoll
- Roper Center for Public Opinion ResearchMaintains abstracts and datasets for public opinion survey results from U.S. academic, commercial, and media opinion surveys. Download of datasets from Roper require that users create an account using a PSU email address.
Social Surveys
- EurobarometerPublic opinion surveys from the European Commission.
- World Values Survey PublicationsFind publications from the World Values Survey.
- World Public OpinionResearch into public opinion around the world.
- Pew International Affairs ProjectDatasets and Survey Reports from the Pew Research Center on global issues.
- European Values StudyComprehensive Values Study conducted in Europe. Survey data is downloadable from this site.
- ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research)Archives social science data that includes aging, child care, criminal justice, demography, education, political science as well as public and mental health.
- OECD iLibraryProvides full text access to books, journals, and statistical databases produced by Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) online library.
Google News Search
Use this customized Google search box to find news.
International News & Newspapers
Reading international news and newspapers is a great way to get a feel for a country's social climate and public opinion. Below are some library databases and free international news sites to get you started.
- Research Guide for NewspapersThis page will list all databases that contain newspapers. It also includes a listing of international newspapers you can access from the PSU Library.
- Der SpiegelSource for news from Germany.
- Der Spiegel OnlineInternational News Source from Germany.
- The EconomistBritish International News Source
- Ethnic NewswatchIncludes current newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and community publications of the ethnic, minority, and native presses. Includes scholarly journals on ethnicities and ethnic studies. Provides full text in English and Spanish.
- Nexis Uni
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Includes full text sources for regional, national, and international newspapers as well as business, legal, and medical publications, and also, government documents. - World Newsreels Online: 1929-1966Features videos and full runs of many of the key international newsreels produced during the early twentieth century. Closed captions and/or interactive transcripts are available for many, but not all, titles.
