| A | B |
|---|
| public opinion | those attitudes held by a significant number of persons on matters of government and politics |
| opinion leader | is any person who, for any reason, has a more than usual influence on the views of others |
| mandate | the instructions or commands a constituency gives to its elected officials |
| interest group | are private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape the making and content of public policy |
| public opinion poll | a device that attempts to colledt information about public opinion by asking people questions |
| straw vote | they were polls that sought to read the public's mind simply by asking the same question of a large number of people |
| sample | a representative slice of the total universe |
| random sample | is a sample in which each member of the universe and each geographic area within it have a mathematically equal chance of being included within the sample |
| quota sample | a sample deliberately constructed to reflect several of the major characteristics of the universe |
| medium | is a means of communication; it transmits some kind of information |
| mass media | include those means of communication that can reach large, widely dispersed audiences-masses of people-simultaneously |
| sound bite | snappy reports that can be aired in 30 or 45 seconds or so |
