Contents
US Polls and Polling Data ~ International Polls ~ Social Surveys
For print sources, see Polling and Public Opinion: A Research Guide, compiled my Michael Engle.
US Public Opinion and Polling Data Online
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Pew Research Center"Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research." [About Pew Research Center]
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Gallup.ComGallup.com provides articles that summarize the results of recent, selected polling data. Includes some international polling.
The full reports are available by "subscribing" (filling out a request form). See also: Gallup Analytics, below. -
Gallup AnalyticsAllows users to access Gallup's U.S. Daily tracking, World Poll, and Gallup Social Series data to compare residents' responses region by region and nation by nation to questions on topics such as economic conditions, government and business, health and wellbeing, infrastructure, and education.
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Roper Center @ CornellDatasets from opinion polls conducted around the world. and iPoll, below, an online database of public opinion, organized at the question-level, from a wide variety of polling organizations.
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Roper Center -- iPollA full-text retrieval system, the iPOLL online database is organized at the question level, providing the tools to sift through nearly a half million questions asked on national public opinion surveys since 1935 and updated daily. iPoll does not include time-series data. One potential workaround is to search a specific, well-known polling group and look for questions that have been repeated over time.
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Exit Poll datasetsRoper Center Polling Data > US Elections
Exit polling data is collected by Edison Research, a market research and polling firm and purchased by major news networks for their forecasts. The Roper Center’s collection holds all U.S. major media exit polls dating back to the first in 1972, spearheaded by innovator Warren Mitofsky, as well as thousands of datasets from major pre- and post-election polls in the U.S.
See also:
Exit Polls: Surveying the American Electorate, 1927-2010. Washington, DC: SAGE Publications Ltd. 2012
(Olin Reference, JK 2007.B47 2012+)
Authors Samuel J. Best and Brian S. Krueger - both election commentators for CBS news and statistical experts - present more than 100 tables and 100 figures showing the changes in the electorate and its voting patterns over time. -
Louis Harris Data Center (Dataverse)"Since 1965, the Odum Institute has operated the Louis Harris Data Center, the national depository for publicly available survey data collected by Louis Harris and Associates, Inc. More than 1,000 Harris polls from as early as 1958 are archived at the Center and contain over 160,000 questions asked of more than 1,200,000 respondents. Respondent groups range from national cross-section samples to such special populations as Vietnam veterans, Hispanics, teenagers, and the elderly. The surveys also cover a diverse range of topics, such as aging, environmental issues, leisure and the arts, business, foreign affairs, presidential ratings, health care, attitudes toward government, and crime. Many questions have been repeated over time, allowing researchers to track changes in opinions and attitudes."
International Polling Data
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Pew Global Indicators databaseNote: The data is drawn from some of the data in the Pew Global Values Survey.
Select the "Custom Analysis" tab.
U.S. Image: Opinion of the United States, Confidence in the U.S. President , Drone Strikes, U.S. Personal Freedoms ~ World Economy: Satisfaction with National Conditions, Country's Economic Situation, Views on Trade, Future Economic Situation ~ China Image: Opinion of China, Views of Chinese President, China's Growing Economy, China Personal Freedoms ~ Balance of Power: World's Leading Economic Power, World's Leading Superpower ~ Rating Countries: Opinion of Iran, Opinion of Russia, Opinion of Brazil.
Note: Not every country is surveyed every year. -
Polling the NationsSilver Spring, MD: ORS.
Polls taken on a variety of subjects all over the world from 1986 to the present. Each record in the database consists of one poll question and the participants' responses. Records are indexed in one of more than 5,000 topics and six search fields: subject matter, question text, universe, date, polling organization and response categories. Other information provided includes: source name and contact information, sample size, and notes on the sample population. Partially supersedes American Public Opinion Index and American Public Opinion Data [microfiche]. -
Roper Center -- DatasetsDatasets from 100+ countries. Datasets can be downloaded in STATA, SPSS, CSV and ASCII formats.
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World Public Opinion PollReports that summarize opinion data. In partnership with the International Institutions and Global Governance program at the Council on Foreign Relations, WorldOpinion.org consolidates global and U.S. public opinion covering ten major issue areas: elements of world order, international institutions, violent conflict, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, energy security, the global economy, economic development, and human rights.
International Social Surveys
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Global Barometer"This project represents the largest, most careful and systematic comparative survey of attitudes and values toward politics, power, reform, democracy and citizens' political actions in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Arabic region. It is based on a common module of questions contained in regional barometer surveys.
Select a study,
Select a a single country or multiple countries,
Select a question (variable) by clicking on the link (for example, gender of respondent). This opens up the online analysis tool,
Select Cross-tabs,
Use the arrows to page through the different variables that can be analyzed. -
AfrobarometerNote: Works best in Google Chrome
This online analysis tool is fairly basic. Select the round (currently, 1-5),
Select a variable. This opens the analysis tool.
Choose a variable to cross-tabulate,
Select additional variables, as needed. -
East Asia Barometer2 waves -- 2001-2003, 2005-2008.
Select the study,
Select a a single country or multiple countries,
Select a question (variable) by clicking on the link (for example, gender of respondent). This opens up the online analysis tool,
Select Cross-tabs,
Use the arrows to page through the different variables that can be analyzed. -
AmericasBarometerLatin America Public Opinion Project
Datasets of surveys of democratic public opinion and behavior in the Americas using national probability samples of voting-age adults. -
European Commission Public OpinionAvailable twice yearly, in published reports or via an online analysis tool: "This tool runs a search of the Trends questions database. It is possible to look for data on specific countries or a group of countries. In addition to comparing the results of several countries for a specific question, it allows analysis of country trends . The data can be displayed as a graph, a pie chart, in an excel table or in columns.
Survey results can also be displayed on a map of the EU. The colour coding facilitates quick and easy comparisons between countries." -
European Social Survey -- Online Analysis ToolThe ESS Data Download Wizard gives access to cumulative data from countries that have been included in the integrated ESS files in two or more rounds, and all variables from questions that have been asked in more than one round. Note: You must register to use the the wizard.
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International Social SurveyDifferent topics covered each year:
- 2007 - Leisure Time and Sports
- 2005 - Work Orientations III
- 2004 - Citizenship
- 2003 - National Identity II
- 2002 - Family III
- 2001 - Social networks II
- 2000 - Environment II
- 1999 - Social Inequality III
- 1998 - Religion II
Select a question (variable) by clicking on the link (for example, gender of respondent). This opens up the online analysis tool.
--Select Cross-tabs.
--Use the arrows to page through the different variables that can be analyzed. -
World Values SurveyBeginning in 1981, conducted in successive waves. The survey is also available as an integrated file from 1981 - 2008 (as of this note).
A.- Perceptions of life
B.- Environment
C.- Work
D.- Family
E.- Politics and Society
F.- Religion and Morale
G.- National Identity
S.- Structure of the file
X.- Socio-demographics
Y.- Special Indexes
Search tips: On the left-hand menu, select Online Data Analysis. "You may browse the variable index and see question texts, frequencies for each answer, crosstabs of each question by country or any other variable, and even graphics. You do not need to be skilled in statistics to get immediate results."
Need help?

Lynn Thitchener
Contact:
Lynn Thitchener
Reference & Instruction Librarian/Liaison to the Cornell Dept. of Government
Reference & Instruction Librarian/Liaison to the Cornell Dept. of Government
Subjects:Data & Statistics, Government & Public Policy