Knowing the attitudes and perceptions of citizens in a particular country or around the globe is important for policy makers in making policy decisions, for parties and politicians in mobilizing votes in elections, and more generally for social scientists in understanding democracy and governance. The first objective of this course is to understand current theory-oriented empirical studies on public opinion; in particular, studies examining the causes and consequences of public opinion in policy and political processes. The second objective of this course is to help students learn the basic skills required to design, use, and critically interpret surveys measuring public opinion.
This course is useful for students who intend to conduct a major empirical research project (e.g., a research project in POGO8035 / POGO8135, a doctoral dissertation project, etc.). By reading important articles in the field of public opinion, students are expected to develop their own research questions and locate their own research in the important literature. This course is also useful for policy-makers who want to understand the nature and determinants of public opinion.
Other Information
There is no pre-requisite or co-requisite for this course. However, as most assigned articles are based on statistical analysis, it is highly recommended (but not required) to take at least one course on research methodology or statistics before taking this course; for example, POGO8096 / POGO8196 (Research Methods). For students who have no statistical background, instructions in how to interpret statistical results are given during the course.
Indicative Assessment
Literature review (40%), final paper (50%), participation and discussions (10%)
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Workload
30 hours of weekly seminarsFees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 1
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $3762 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $4566 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
