What term refers to a collection of opinions held by individuals about a topic, person, or event?

• A. Straw poll
• B. Public opinion
• C. Push poll
• D. Ballot fatigue

Answer: (B)

Public opinion refers to the collection of opinions held by individuals about a topic, person, or event. It captures the overall attitudes of a population and is what researchers measure when they survey and poll to understand how people feel and where support stands. A straw poll is an informal, nonrandom attempt to gauge mood and isn’t scientifically representative. A push poll pretends to be a poll but is designed to influence opinions through biased questions. Ballot fatigue occurs when voters skip questions on a ballot, which affects data quality but isn’t the aggregate set of opinions itself. So the term that best fits the definition is public opinion.