The role of consumer surveys in public policy decision making

The authors present a six-stage model of the policymaking process and evalu ate the extent to which survey research has played a role at each stage. Th e authors identify areas in which additional research would be helpful in t he development and evaluation of public policymaking. In addition, the auth ors explore three case studies-patient package inserts, direct-to-consumer advertising, and environmental marketing guides-to illustrate the role cons umer research hits played and could have played in the policy-development p rocess.