Trufanov A.Yu. A study of public opinion of the population of the Nizhny Novgorod region to assess the socio-economic and socio-political situation in 2019. In: Analysis of the socio-political and socio-economic situation in the multi-ethnic regions of the Volga Federal District: a collection of articles. [Electronic resource] ...

Abstract

The article, on the basis of sociological research conducted by the Volga branch of the Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, examines the issues of the socio-economic and socio-political state of society in the Nizhny Novgorod region. In particular, the key attention in this case is focused on a quantitative description of the circumstances that constitute a social problem, and an explanation of the reasons for their occurrence. The role and importance of public opinion research can hardly be overestimated, but one should take into account not only the possibilities, but also the limitations in their use. First of all, this applies to those cases when an equal sign is unjustifiably placed between public opinion and public consciousness. Their main difference lies in the fact that public opinion quickly reacts to acute, topical or everyday issues that directly concern people. Public opinion is subject to active manipulation, has the ability to quickly change the orientation vector, and is subject to momentary extreme assessments that do not have stable grounds. Thus, measurements of public opinion make it possible to identify relations and assessments of only actual, vital problems and issues at a particular moment in time. Therefore, the informational and managerial value of public opinion has its own limitations and cannot substitute for public consciousness, reflecting stable, value-oriented, established judgments and assessments for all social processes and phenomena without exception.