April 2018

We’re about six weeks away from our annual conference, which is being held in Colorado’s Mile High City this year. 

​The AAPOR 2018-2019 Executive Council election closed on March 30 and 44.46% percent of eligible AAPOR members voted, a new record. Please join me in thanking all of our colleagues who stood for election, and in congratulating our new Executive Council members whose terms begin at the upcoming 73rd Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado:

With just a little more than seven weeks to go before we embark on AAPOR 2018 (which by the way starts on Wednesday, May 16^th this year!) the conference committee is in high gear adding final touches on the conference program, conference events and logistical details. This year we are literally taking Public Opinion and Survey Research to new heights with a record 112 sessions including 12 sessions in the new PORTAL track and one reimagined DEMO track session (more about these sessions in a moment). We also have an awesome slate of seven short courses that you will likely want to check out if you haven’t already.

After a rigorous review process, we are excited to announce the finalists for AAPOR’s Got Talent!

​Greetings from the Student & Early Career (SEC) Subcommittee of the Membership and Chapter Relations Committee. We’re so excited about meeting all student, early career or new(er) APPORites this May in Denver! 

All organizations involved in AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative have agreed to train their employees in TI principles and procedures for compliance. As a charter member of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, the staff at University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Social and Behavioral Research (CSBR) are strong advocates of research transparency, and even push their clients to be more transparent.

Leadership is the ability to influence, through action, role, or passion. What can early career researchers do to make a successful transition to become leaders and influencers in the survey and public opinion research community? I asked nine advanced career AAPORites about what propelled their own transition. Based on these conversations, I present three recommendations. Early career colleagues, use them to empower yourself to join the leadership pipeline!

The New England AAPOR executive council is happy to report continued growth and engagement across the chapter’s region.

Besheer Mohamed, a senior researcher at Pew Research Center, is an expert in religious beliefs and practices in the United States, with a special focus on religious minorities – especially Muslim Americans. Most recently, Besheer was a lead author and key spokesperson for the Center’s 2017 report “U.S. Muslims Concerned About Their Place in Society, but Continue to Believe in the American Dream,” based on the third national survey of U.S. Muslims conducted by the Center over the past decade.

Dr. Timothy Johnson of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is being recognized for his outstanding work promoting high quality, objective research aimed at understanding and improving the world around us, and his tireless contributions to survey methods quality and education.