Asher's central objective—to help students become savvy consumers of polls—has only grown in importance as polling data have become more central to public and civic discourse. His trusted and brief guide offers solid grounding on polls: how the media cover them, their use in campaigns and elections, and their interpretation. Methodological aspects of polling are explained simply, in a non-technical fashion.

Bringing the book fully up to date with new data and scholarship, this edition covers polls in a fragmented media environment and nontraditional approaches to polling, as well as the use of age cohorts to trace public opinion trends over time.