Discuss the various forms or methods of obtaining public opinion data Essay

Discuss the various forms or methods of obtaining public opinion data. To what extent if any should politicians be responsive to public opinion data Should polls dictate war policy - Essay Example This has become one of the most popular methods of conducting opinion poll of burning issues and public policies. Online surveys are sent either through email or come up on surfing sites which are often answered if they are issues which are important or interesting. The huge data collected on online surveys helps generate more accurate results. In this method, people are requested to fill in questionnaire or asked questionnaires verbally while they are shopping in malls or streets. This is also quite successful as short questionnaires are answered and one gets quite large sample. House calls are made for opinion survey and questionnaires are answered at relatively relaxed environment of home. Due to increasing cost, it is no more very popular. But in important public policy issues, this method becomes more reliable. Politicians should be very responsive to the public opinion as they are representative of people and primarily represent their interest in the government. But it is also very controversial because the public opinion can also be very emotive and may be manipulated by vested interests (Foyle, 1999). But at the same time, it is also true that public opinion, when represented by large sample, is distinct in its trend and therefore must be treated seriously, especially as a reciprocal relationship that highlights democratic values. In democratic state, people’s power is centric to all decision making processes, within and outside the government, for all welfare programs and policies for the wider development issues like socio-economic issues, energy, infrastructure, healthcare etc. Very often, opinion polls become important tools that influence politicians’ stand on vital issues to win the trust of people, whom they represent or want to gain confidence of. The polls should dictate war policies because in the recent times, large public money has been diverted to