American Association for Public Opinion Research

{{Short description|US organization}} {{Self-published|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox organization | name =  | logo = | logo_size = | logo_alt = | logo_caption = | image = | image_size = | image_alt =  | caption = | map = | map_size =  | map_alt = | map_caption = | map2 =  | map2_size = | map2_alt = | map2_caption = | mapframe = yes | abbreviation = AAPOR | predecessor = | merged_into =  | successor = | formation =  | established = 1947 | founder =  | founding_location = | dissolved =  | merger =  | type =  | registration_id =  | status =  | position =  | professional_title =  | headquarters = 1436 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 | location = | coordinates =  | origins = | region_served = | products =  | services = | methods =  | fields =  | num_members = 2,045 (2025) | num_members_year =  | language =  | leader_title =  | leader_name = | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | board_of_directors = | key_people = | main_organ =  | publication = ''Public Opinion Quarterly'', ''Survey Practice'', ''Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology'' | parent_organization =  | subsidiaries = | secessions = | affiliations = | ror_id =  | budget = | budget_year = | revenue = | revenue_year = | disbursements = | expenses = | expenses_year = | endowment = | endowment_year = | funding =  | num_staff = | num_staff_year = | num_volunteers = | num_volunteers_year = | num_students = | num_students_year = | awards = | website = {{URL|https://aapor.org/}} | remarks = | former_name =  | footnotes = | bodystyle = }} The '''American Association for Public Opinion Research''' ('''AAPOR''') is a professional organization of more than 2,000 public opinion and survey research professionals in the United States and from around the world, with members from academia, media, government, the non-profit sector and private industry. AAPOR publishes three academic journals: ''Public Opinion Quarterly'', ''[http://www.surveypractice.org/ Survey Practice]'' and the ''Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology''. It holds an annual research conference and maintains a "[https://aapor.org/standards-and-ethics/#aapor-code-of-professional-ethics-and-practices Code of Professional Ethics and Practices]", for survey research which all members agree to follow. The association's founders include pioneering pollsters Archibald Crossley, George Gallup, and Elmo Roper.

AAPOR's stated principle is that public opinion research is essential to a healthy democracy, providing information crucial to informed policy-making and giving voice to people's beliefs, attitudes and desires. Through its annual conference, standards and ethics codes and publications, AAPOR seeks to promote a better public understanding of the role of public opinion research in a democracy, as well as the sound and ethical conduct and use of public opinion research.

==Standards and ethics== Promoting standards and ethics is central AAPOR's mission. The individuals who are members of AAPOR agree to observe the organization's Code of Professional Ethics and Practices<ref name=":0" /> that define and mandate the proper practice of public opinion and survey research with the appropriate use of research results. The Code is designed to express fundamental principles that apply to the conduct of research regardless of an individual's membership in AAPOR. Adherence to the principles and actions set out in the Code is possible for of all public opinion and survey researchers, whether they are AAPOR members or not.

Under the Code, practitioners of survey research are expected to conduct their research with care, taking all reasonable steps to assure the reliability and validity of the results and communicate their methods and findings accurately with appropriate detail. The AAPOR code details the standards for dealing with research participants and identifiable information. And it indicates the need to provide clients with all information regarding possible research limitations and the need for disclosure.

The latest revision was approved in April 2021.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Code of Professional Ethics and Practices |url=https://aapor.org/standards-and-ethics/#aapor-code-of-professional-ethics-and-practices |access-date=August 25, 2023 |website=Standards and Ethics, American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref>

=== Transparency Initiative === In October 2014, AAPOR launched the Transparency Initiative (TI)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Transparency Initiative |url=https://aapor.org/standards-and-ethics/transparency-initiative/ |access-date=August 27, 2023 |website=AAPOR Standards and Ethics}}</ref> to encourage research organizations to disclose their methodological procedures fully and rigorously when reporting survey-based findings. AAPOR established a set of principles for disclosure and then invited organizations to apply to join the TI effort and be recognized for their promise to comply with the guidelines. Joining the TI does not imply any judgment about the quality or rigor of the methods being disclosed. The purpose of TI is to promote understanding of the relationship between methodology and survey quality, increase adherence to AAPOR's Code of Professional Ethics and Practices and enable members of the media and the public to evaluate survey quality. As of 2023, there are 98 members. == Membership ==

As an organization, AAPOR primarily focuses on survey methodology and survey and public opinion research. AAPOR members work on everything from political polls, to government surveys, to academic experiments and studies. AAPOR members not only conduct survey research, but they also teach courses for universities, professional organizations, and/or within their place of employment.<ref name=":2" />

=== Diversity Initiative === In 2016, AAPOR adopted a diversity initiative to help increase diversity within the organization as well as in the professional field.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-26 |title=Diversity - AAPOR |url=https://aapor.org/about-us/who-we-are/diversity/ |access-date=2023-11-10 |language=en-US}}</ref> For example, affinity groups are supported. These are voluntary associations of AAPOR members around topics related to professional interests or personal affinities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-03 |title=Affinity Groups - AAPOR |url=https://aapor.org/affinity-groups/ |access-date=2023-11-10 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2017, the [https://aapor.org/affinity-groups/cross-cultural-and-multilingual-research-affinity-group/ cross-cultural and multilingual research affinity group] became the first group formally recognized by AAPOR.<ref name=":2" /> In 2019, an article in AAPOR's e-journal Survey Practice provided examples of two women leaders' professional pathways and how AAPOR as a professional organization contributed to their development.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sha |first=Mandy |date=2019-05-14 |title=Professional Association and Pathways to Leadership in Our Profession |url=https://www.surveypractice.org/article/8192-professional-association-and-pathways- |journal=Survey Practice |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |doi=10.29115/SP-2018-0039|doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2023, the W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship in Support of Diversity and Inclusion was launched as a joint project with the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University with a focus on graduates students who identify as a member of a racial or ethnic minority group that has been underrepresented in the field of polling research.<ref>{{Cite web |title=W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship {{!}} Roper Center for Public Opinion Research |url=https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/web-du-bois-fellowship |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=ropercenter.cornell.edu}}</ref>

=== AAPOR Awards === Each year, AAPOR presents a portfolio of awards to recognize distinguished work in the profession, as well as to further the education of students and early career researchers; these awards are the highest honors given by the AAPOR. * [https://aapor.org/past-mitofsky/ The Warren J. Mitofsky Innovators Award] * [https://aapor.org/past-sudman/ The Seymour Sudman Student Paper Competition] * [https://aapor.org/past-roper/ The Burns "Bud" Roper Fellow Award] * [https://aapor.org/past-policy/ The AAPOR Policy Impact Award] * [https://aapor.org/past-book-award-winners/ The AAPOR Book Award] * [https://aapor.org/past-harkness/ The WAPOR/AAPOR Janet A. Harkness Student Paper Award] * [https://aapor.org/past-public-service/ The AAPOR Public Service Award] * [https://aapor.org/past-student-conference-winners/ The Student Conference Award] * [https://aapor.org/past-student-faculty-diversity-pipeline-winners/ The Student-Faculty Diversity Pipeline Awards] * [https://aapor.org/past-aapor/ The AAPOR Award] (lifetime achievement) {{Hidden begin|showhide=left|titlestyle=font-size:110%|title=AAPOR Lifetime Achievement Awardees from the present to 1955}} {{Div col | colwidth = 20em | style = white-space:nowrap | content =

: 2015 Nancy Mathiowetz : 2014 Jon A. Krosnick : 2013 Floyd J. Fowler Jr. : 2012 Daniel Yankelovich : 2011 Stanley Presser : 2010 Michael W. Traugott : 2009 Elizabeth Martin : 2008 Kathleen Frankovic : 2007 Harry O'Neill : 2006 Norman H. Nie : 2005 Andrew Kohut : 2004 Benjamin I. Page : 2003 Don A. Dillman & Frank Stanton : 2002 Tom W. Smith : 2001 Robert Groves : 2000 Philip Meyer : 1999 Charles Cannell & Warren J. Mitofsky : 1998 Albert E. Gollin : 1997 Irving Crespi : 1996 Eleanor Singer : 1995 Herbert I. Abelson : 1994 Howard Schuman : 1993 Jack Elinson : 1992 James Davis : 1991 Joe Belden : 1990 Herbert E. Krugman : 1989 Gladys Engel Lang & Kurt Lang : 1988 Burns W. Roper : 1987 Norman Bradburn & Seymour Sudman : 1986 Philip Converse : 1985 Daniel Katz : 1984 Ithiel de Sola Pool : 1983 Paul K. Perry : 1982 Paul B. Sheatsley, Matilda White Riley, : John R. Riley Jr. & Wilbur Schramm : 1981 Lester R. Frankel : 1980 Shirley A. Star : 1979 Mervin D. Field : 1978 W. Phillips Davison : 1977 Leo Bogart : 1976 Joseph T. Klapper : 1975 Raymond A. Bauer : 1974 Bernard Berelson : 1973 Rensis Likert : 1972 Jean Stoetzel : 1971 Walter Lippman : 1970 Archibald M. Crossley : 1969 Roper Public Opinion Research Center : 1968 Elmo C. Wilson : 1967 Hans Zeisel : 1966 Hadley Cantril : 1965 Harry H. Field : 1964 Harold D. Lasswell : 1963 George H. Gallup : 1962 Angus Campbell :'''Julian Woodward Award''' : 1961 Fund for the Republic : 1960 Clyde W. Hart : 1959 Elmo Roper : 1958 Samuel A. Stouffer : 1957 Public Opinion Quarterly : 1956 Herbert H. Hyman : 1955 Paul F. Lazarsfeld }} {{Hidden end}}

==Reports== As needed, AAPOR may commission a working group to address topical issues relating to the survey research industry. These working groups produce reports to introduce new methods, address methodological concerns or provide guidance on the application of specific research methods. Here are some of those Task Force Reports: * June, 2021 - AAPOR/WAPOR Task Force Report on Quality in Comparative Surveys<ref>{{Cite web |title=AAPOR/WAPOR Task Force Report on Quality in Comparative Surveys |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAPOR-WAPOR-Task-Force-Report-on-Quality-in-Comparative-Surveys_Full-Report.pdf |access-date=August 29, 2023 |website=AAPOR Reports}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AAPOR/WAPOR Task Force Report on Quality in Comparative Surveys |url=https://wapor.org/resources/aapor-wapor-task-force-report-on-quality-in-comparative-surveys/ |access-date=August 29, 2023 |website=World Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * April, 2008 – AAPOR Cell Phone Task Force Report<ref name=":1">{{cite web |author=AAPOR Cell Phone Task Force |date=April 2009 |title=AAPOR Cell Phone Task Force Report |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Final_AAPOR_Cell_Phone_TF_report_041208.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316171925/https://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/AAPOR_Rept_FINAL-Rev-4-13-09.pdf |archive-date=2015-03-16 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * February 12, 2015 Task Force Report on Big Data<ref>{{cite web |author=AAPOR Big Data Task Force |date=2015-02-15 |title=AAPOR Report on Big Data |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/BigDataTaskForceReport_FINAL_2_12_15_b.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316164426/https://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/AAPOR_Main/media/Task-Force-Reports/BigDataTaskForceReport_FINAL_2_12_15_b.pdf |archive-date=2015-03-16 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * September 8, 2014 – Current Knowledge and Considerations Regarding Survey Refusals<ref>{{cite web |author=AAPOR Survey Refusals Task Force |date=2014-09-08 |title=Current Knowledge and Considerations Regarding Survey Refusals |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/RefusalTF_FINAL090814.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316164559/http://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/RefusalTF_FINAL090814.pdf |archive-date=2015-03-16 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * May 30, 2014 – Social Media and Public Opinion Research: Report of the AAPOR Task Force on Emerging Technologies in Public Opinion Research<ref>{{cite web |author=AAPOR Task Force on Emerging Technologies in Public Opinion Research |date=2014-05-30 |title=Social Media and Public Opinion Research |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAPOR_Social_Media_Report_FNL.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010133249/http://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/AAPOR_Social_Media_Report_FNL.pdf |archive-date=2015-10-10 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * May 12, 2014 – Mobile Technologies for Conducting, Augmenting and Potentially Replacing Surveys: Report of the AAPOR Task Force on Emerging Technologies in Public Opinion Research<ref>{{cite web |author=AAPOR Task Force on Emerging Technologies in Public Opinion Research |date=2014-05-12 |title=Mobile Technologies for Conducting, Augmenting and Potentially Replacing Surveys |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/REVISED_Mobile_Technology_Report_Final_revised10June14.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316172734/http://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/REVISED_Mobile_Technology_Report_Final_revised10June14.pdf |archive-date=2015-03-16 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * September 2, 2013 – Polling and Democracy: Report of the AAPOR Task Force on Public Opinion and Leadership<ref>{{cite web |author=AAPOR Task Force on Public Opinion and Leadership |date=2013-09-02 |title=Polling and Democracy: Report of the AAPOR Task Force on Public Opinion and Leadership |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Final_Task_Force_Report_September_2_2013w_LOGO.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316164129/http://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/Final_Task_Force_Report_September_2_2013w_LOGO.pdf |archive-date=2015-03-16 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * May 17, 2013 – AAPOR Report on Non-Probability Sampling<ref>{{cite web |author=AAPOR Task Force |date=2013-05-17 |title=Mobile Technologies for Conducting, Augmenting and Potentially Replacing Surveys |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/REVISED_Mobile_Technology_Report_Final_revised10June14.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151228015525/http://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/NPS_TF_Report_Final_7_revised_FNL_6_22_13.pdf |archive-date=2015-12-28 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * October 7, 2012 – AAPOR Statement on Understanding a "credibility interval"<ref>{{cite web |date=2012-10-07 |title=AAPOR Statement on Understanding a "credibility interval" |url=https://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/DetailedAAPORstatementoncredibilityintervals.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316171924/http://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/DetailedAAPORstatementoncredibilityintervals.pdf |archive-date=2015-03-16 |access-date=2015-10-28 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * October 28, 2010 – AAPOR 2010 Cell Phone Task Force Report<ref>{{cite web |author=AAPOR Cell Phone Task Force |date=2010-10-28 |title=AAPOR 2010 Cell Phone Task Force Report |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/2010AAPORCellPhoneTFReport.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929020749/https://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/Education-Resources/Reports/Cell-Phone-Task-Force-Report.aspx |archive-date=2015-09-29 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * March 24, 2010 – AAPOR Opt In Online Panel Task Force Report<ref>{{cite web |author=AAPOR Opt In Online Panel Task Force |date=2010-03-24 |title=AAPOR Opt In Online Panel Task Force Report |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/nfq048.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909015300/http://poq.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2010/10/19/poq.nfq048.full.pdf?ijkey=0w3WetMtGItMuXs&keytype=ref |archive-date=2016-09-09 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * May 16, 2009 – Report to the AAPOR Standards Committee on the status of Human Subjects Protection Training Requirements<ref>{{cite web |date=2009-05-19 |title=Report to the AAPOR Standards Committee on the status of Human Subjects Protection Training Requirements |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/HSPTrainingReport.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316162800/http://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/HSPTrainingReport.pdf |archive-date=2015-03-16 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * March 30, 2009 – An Evaluation of the Methodology of the 2008 Pre-Election Primary Polls: Report of ad hoc AAPOR Committee on the 2008 Presidential Primary Polling<ref>{{cite web |author=ad hoc AAPOR Committee on the 2008 Presidential Primary Polling |date=2009-03-30 |title=An Evaluation of the Methodology of the 2008 Pre-Election Primary Polls: Report of ad hoc AAPOR Committee on the 2008 Presidential Primary Polling |url=https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAPOR_Rept_FINAL-Rev-4-13-09.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316171925/http://www.aapor.org/AAPORKentico/AAPOR_Main/media/MainSiteFiles/AAPOR_Rept_FINAL-Rev-4-13-09.pdf |archive-date=2015-03-16 |access-date=August 28, 2023 |website=American Association for Public Opinion Research}}</ref> * April, 2008 – AAPOR Cell Phone Task Force Report<ref name=":1" /> * January 1, 2008 – Pre-Election Polling in New Hampshire: What Went Wrong?

== Meetings == AAPOR holds an annual conference on public opinion and survey research and their methodologies and applications. According to AAPOR's history publication ''A Meeting Place and More'', it holds a "central importance" at the organization.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=A Meeting Place and More |url=https://aapor.org/about-us/history/ |access-date=October 12, 2023 |website=History - AAPOR}}</ref> The [https://aapor.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/AAPOR-20-CP_FNL.pdf 75th Anniversary conference] in 2020 was the only conference that was planned as an in-person meeting and converted to a virtual meeting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. AAPOR also sponsors short courses, webinars, and affinity group meetings. These events provide a platform for scholars and practitioners to exchange research, job opportunities and ideas with each other.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Past Conferences |url=https://aapor.org/past-conferences/ |access-date=October 10, 2023 |website=AAPOR}}</ref>

==Presidents== {{Hidden begin|showhide=left|titlestyle=font-size:110%|title=AAPOR Presidents from 1947 to the present}} {{Div col | colwidth = 20em | style = white-space:nowrap | content = * 1947–48 Clyde W. Hart * 1948–49 Elmo C. Wilson * 1949–50 Paul F. Lazarsfeld * 1950–51 Julian L. Woodward * 1951–52 Bernard Berelson * 1952–53 Archibald Crossley * 1953–54 Samuel A. Stouffer * 1954–55 George H. Gallup * 1955–56 Harry Alpert * 1956–57 Gerhart D. Wiebe * 1957–58 Frederick F. Stephan * 1958–59 David Wallace * 1959–60 Herbert H. Hyman * 1960–61 Robert O. Carlson * 1961–62 John W. Riley Jr. * 1962–63 Joseph T. Klapper * 1963–64 Charles Y. Glock * 1964–65 Herbert E. Krugman * 1965–66 Raymond A. Bauer * 1966–67 Leo Bogart * 1967–68 Paul B. Sheatsley * 1968–69 Robert N. Ford * 1969–70 Robert T. Bower * 1970–71 Richard H. Baxter * 1971–72 W. Phillips Davison * 1972–73 Sidney Hollander * 1973–74 Harold Mendelsohn * 1974–75 Herbert I. Abelson * 1975–76 Richard Maisel * 1976–77 Irving Crespi * 1977–78 Hope Lunin Klapper * 1978–79 Reuben Cohen * 1979–80 Jack Elinson * 1980–81 Helen J. Kaufmann * 1981–82 Seymour Sudman * 1982–83 Burns W. Roper * 1983–84 Laure M. Sharp * 1984–85 Albert E. Gollin * 1985–86 Howard Schuman * 1986–87 J. Ronald Milavsky * 1987–88 Eleanor Singer * 1988–89 Warren J. Mitofsky * 1989–90 Philip Meyer * 1990–91 Joan S. Black * 1991–92 Norman Bradburn * 1992–93 Kathleen A. Frankovic * 1993–94 Stanley Presser * 1994–95 Andrew Kohut * 1995–96 Robert M. Groves * 1996–97 Diane Colasanto * 1997–98 James R. Beniger * 1998–99 Michael R. Kagay * 1999–00 Michael W. Traugott * 2000–01 Murray Edelman * 2001–02 Don A. Dillman * 2002–03 Mark A. Schulman * 2003–04 Elizabeth (Betsy) Martin * 2004–05 Nancy Belden * 2005–06 Cliff Zukin * 2006–07 Robert P. Daves * 2007–08 Nancy A. Mathiowetz * 2008–09 Richard A. Kulka * 2009–10 Peter V. Miller * 2010–11 Frank M. Newport * 2011–12 Scott Keeter * 2012–13 Paul J. Lavrakas * 2013–14 Robert Santos * 2014–15 Michael W. Link * 2015-16 Mollyann Brodie * 2016-17 Roger Tourangeau * 2017-18 Tim Johnson * 2018-19 David Dutwin * 2019-20 Nora Cate Schaeffer * 2020-21 Dan Merkle * 2021-22 Patricia Moy }} {{Hidden end}}

==See also== * American Statistical Association * ESOMAR (European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research) * European Survey Research Association (ESRA) * Insights Association, a merger of CASRO and MRA * Survey methodology * World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR)

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{Official website|http://www.aapor.org/}}

Category:Professional associations based in the United States Category:Quantitative research Category:Statistical organizations in the United States Category:Public opinion research companies in the United States Category:American organizations established in 1947