The study of public opinion has been undertaken by students in a variety

of fields, such as history, sociology, psychology, social psychology, journalism,

advertising, and politics. Numerous methods of approach and techniques

have been employed, and points of view with reference to the scope, content,

and objectives of such a study have differed. The body of information relat-

ing to the subject has now reached such proportions that it seems desirable

to attempt a tentative classification of it. A survey of the entire field of inves-

tigation will suggest not only the multiplicity of interest-objectives, but also

the fact that certain phases have received a disproportionate amount of

attention, and other aspects almost none. The fact that the study of public

opinion has been undertaken by students equipped with such a varying

supply of techniques, indicates that one entering upon the study must be

prepared to ignore to some ecxtent traditional categories of academic learning

and venture resolutely acrosd~.more or less crystallized lines of departmental

distinction. At the same time, however, it affords the adventurer an oppor-

tunity to take advantage of whatever methodological inventions may have

been discovered in related fields.

The aims of an introductory study of this nature are to acquaint the

student with the literature in the field, with the objectives that have enlisted

the interest of students from different fields, with the more important prob-

lems that challenge investigation and solution, and with the various tech-

niques that may be employed in treating a subject, such as this, in the arena

of the social sciences. For those who may find that the study lacks finality

and completeness, it is necessary to state that it is not the purpose of the

course to "cover" a particular field of study in the traditional sense, but rather

to open up new vistas, along which one may travel with the guidance of

specialists. The farther one proceeds in the study of some particular phase of

public opinion, the more necessary is the counsel of students in other fields,

whether they be statisticians, sociologists, publicists, or psychologists. Stu-

dents of public opinion must be prepared to go for their information where

they can find it.