About Public Perspective

For 14 years, Public Perspective was the flagship publication of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, the oldest and largest archives of polling data in the world, and the only magazine devoted entirely to public opinion and polling.

The online collection comprises the entire back issue run of the magazine. Articles cover a wide range of topics written by specialists in the field of polling, as well as eminent political and social scientists, experts in policymaking and electoral politics, and media. Authors and contributing editors include advisors, speechwriters, and pollsters to various presidents; Rhodes Cook, longtime senior political writer for the Congressional Quarterly; Warren Mitofsky, the "father" of the exit poll; leading analysts from a number of top government agencies and think tanks, and commentators and reporters from The Washington Post, among others.

Feature articles are written in a non-academic magazine style that is lively and accessible to general readers without being "dumbed-down." "From the Field" pieces offer a unique "window" into the methods, practices, and experiences of polling professionals at a slightly more technical level.

Every issue of Public Perspective presents at least 18 pages of poll results. Vast amounts of both current and historical data from the Roper Center archives are distilled and laid out in a clear, easily readable graphic format. Headings and occasional text boxes guide the reader through comprehensive analyses of complex subjects and issues highly pertinent to the political, social, and policymaking debates of the day.