PREFACE

Public opinion polls are one of the popular methods in international relations frequently used by both policy makers and researchers in order to contribute to the making of foreign policy. They can be defined as collecting, recording, classifying and presenting the necessary information in an objective way in order to identify the conditions, behaviour, expectations, tendencies, thoughts and needs of the people who make up the whole or a part of the public, depending on their social, economic, political and cultural activities. It should be pointed out that public opinion polls are can be various by their subjects, sizes, budgets or methods etc.

This research seeks to put forward the perceptions of university students on Turkish Foreign Policy (TFP). In the case of Erzurum, the survey has been shared students who continue their education at all levels at the Ataturk University and Erzurum Technical University. The survey was accessible between April 8, 2022, and October 23, 2022. 639 students responded it. Their responses not only were presented in tables and graphics, but also were evaluated quantitatively to find out which factors are efficient to determine perceptions of university students. In connection with this study, it was aimed to collect the responses from students participating in the research at a local level according to scientific standards, and to create datasets that can be used in future large-budgeted studies.

We all owe participants a great debt of gratitude for their frank responses. Without their precious time, this research cannot be completed. We also many thanks the project1 team (Asst Prof. Esra Yıldız ÜSTÜN and Assoc Prof. Ali Servet ÖNCÜ) and post-graduate students (Kübra, Aleyna, Aymila, İbrahim and Betül) for efforts throughout the data collection. We are deeply indebted to our colleague, Asst. Prof. Fatma Görgün DEVECİ, who did not deny to her guidance about SPSS and quantitative analysis. Additionally, we also thank supports of Muhammed Sait SARAÇGIL as a hardworking post-graduate student in course of reporting the data. Lastly, we would like to appreciate financial support of the Ataturk University.