The Role of Qualitative Methods in Public Opinion Research

In the world of public opinion research, engaging respondents is more than just a numbers game—it's about creating a relationship built on trust and mutual benefit. In this  episode of POP, the Public Opinion Podcast, Mike Dennis, Senior Vice President at NORC at the University of Chicago and founder of AmeriSpeak offers best practice tips in panel management that lead to effective respondent engagement. Host: Frank Kelly, Market Research Practice Lead at Virtual Incentives Guest: Mike Dennis, Senior Vice President at NORC at the University of Chicago and founder of AmeriSpeak

Using both traditional and evolving methods to better understand what is on the mind of the public is important when conducting qualitative research. In this episode of POP, the Public Opinion Podcast, Darby Steiger, Vice President of Innovation and Solutions, SSRS explains how qualitative research complements surveys by uncovering the "why" behind public opinions, offering deeper insights into people's beliefs and experiences. She also highlights the shift to virtual and asynchronous research methods after the COVID-19 pandemic and how these innovations are changing the landscape of data collection.   Host: Sarah Spell, PhD, Research Officer, The Pew Charitable Trusts Guest: Darby Steiger, Vice President of Innovation and Solutions, SSRS

Political polling is often a hot topic of conversation when siblings Ruth, David and Jonathan Bernstein get together. All three have unique perspectives and professional experience in this space. In this episode of POP, they delve into misperceptions about polling within the general public and media, the challenges in media coverage of polls - especially during close elections - and provide recommendations on how pollsters and journalists can better communicate polling data.   Host: Ruth Bernstein, lead pollster and CEO of EMC Research Guests: Jonathan Bernstein, former Bloomberg opinion columnist covering politics and policy, co-editor of Making of the Presidential Candidates, and former professor of political science. David Bernstein, prize-winning journalist who covered New England politics for decades at the Boston Phoenix, Boston Magazine, and WGBH.  Jonathan and David write the Good Politics, Bad Politics newsletter about government and elections on Substack.

Staying current with new developments in the field of public opinion research is at the heart of Survey Practice’s “Recent Books and Journals Articles in the Field” column. In this episode, Eva Aizpurua, PhD, Editor-in- Chief of Survey Practice talks with Mario Callegaro, PhD, curator of “Recent Books and Articles in the Field,” about how the field has changed since he started the column 16 years ago, the latest trends in survey research and the need for more books on topics such as user experience research and surveys in the medical field. Host: Eva Aizpurua, PhD, Research Director National Centre for Social Research, England and Editor-in- Chief of Survey Practice Guest: Mario Callegaro, PhD, Senior Staff User Experience Researcher in Google Cloud UX, London and curator of Survey Practice’s column, “Recent Books and Articles in the Field”

Misinformation has proven to be among the most polarizing topics in 21st century society, creating negative to severe consequences like poor decision-making and even the loss of human lives. But what does misinformation mean in a research context and how does misinformation impact the work of public opinion researchers? What can researchers do to navigate the future with improved accuracy, data ethics and techniques that harness a single version of truth? In this episode, host Arundati Dandapani, MLitt, CAIP, CIPP/C, CIPM, speaks with Amelia Burke-Garcia, PhD and Frank Graves to dissect and uncover what misinformation means for public opinion researchers and how to prepare for a future with improved accuracy and data ethics. Host: Arundati Dandapani, MLitt, CAIP, CIPP/C, CIPM, CIPM, CIPM, Founder and CEO of Generation1.ca and Professor at the Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, Canada Guests: Amelia Burke-Garcia, PhD, Director of the Center for Health Communication Science and Digital Strategy and Outreach Program Area Director at NORC at the University of Chicago and Frank Graves, Founder and CEO of EKOS Research Associates, Canada Technical Producer and Editor: Erin Spain, MS, Studio Spain Media Group, LLC

Pollsters are facing a precarious landscape when it comes to assessing public opinion in 2024, especially as the horse race between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump draws near. In this episode, host Ashley Koning, PhD, Director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling speaks with Don Levy, PhD, Director of the Siena College Research Institute, about issues at hand, ranging from rock bottom response rates to polls, hyper partisanship and polarization, fatigued voters, and a redux of the 2020 presidential election.   Host: Ashley Koning, PhD, Assistant Research Professor, Director, Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Guest: Don P. Levy, PhD, Director, Siena College Research Institute Technical Producer and Editor: Erin Spain, MS, Studio Spain Media Group, LLC

One of the newest AAPOR Affinity Groups is dedicated to establishment surveys, those surveys where the unit of collection is not a household or individual, but rather an institution, like a hospital, school, or business, or some other non-human entity. An important example of this survey is the U.S. Census Bureau’s  Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES). In this episode, two of the driving forces behind the AIES discuss the challenges and preparations involved in implementing the survey, as well as its potential impact on economic data collection.   Host: Melissa A. Cidade, PhD, Survey Methodologist, Economy-Wide Statistics Division, Office of the Division Chief, U.S. Census Bureau Guests: Lisa Endy Donaldson,  Division Chief, Economy-Wide Statistics Division; Acting Chief, Economic Management Division, U.S. Census Bureau Heidi St.Onge, Annual Content Determination Lead for Economic Programs, Office of the Associate Director for Economic Programs, U.S. Census Bureau

Data quality and metrics for online samples is a hot topic in the field of public opinion and survey research. AAPOR recently released a publicly available report on this topic focused on how online panels and samples are used, drawn, maintained and more. On this episode of POP, the Public Opinion Podcast, contributors to the report discuss its details and tackle questions practitioners should think about as they start using these types of sample sources.   Host: Cameron McPhee, SSRS Chief Methodologist Guests: Paul Scanlon, Senior methodologist, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Andrew Mercer, Senior Research Methodologist, Pew Research Center Executive Producer: Yazmín García Trejo, PhD, Social Science Researcher at U.S. Census Bureau Technical Producer and Editor: Erin Spain, MS, Studio Spain Media Group, LLC

On this episode of POP, the Public Opinion Podcast, we talk about a 2022 special issue of Public Opinion Quarterly titled:  “Race, Justice, and Public Opinion” with the issue’s editors, David C. Wilson, PhD and Maria Krysan, PhD. Wilson and Krysan are scholars of race and public opinion and discuss the special issue which examines the history of public opinion and race and asks the question: Are scholars and practitioners of survey research and polling doing enough to understand and include the voices and relevant material of those who disproportionately face ongoing injustices? Host: Natalie Jackson, PhD, Director of Research at Public Religion Research Institute, Guests: David C. Wilson, PhD, Dean of the Richard and Rhoda Goldman School of Public Policy and Professor of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley Maria Krysan, PhD,  Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Chicago Executive Producer: Yazmín García Trejo, PhD, Social Science Researcher at U.S. Census Bureau Technical Producer and Editor: Erin Spain, MS, Studio Spain Media Group, LLC  For more information visit: aapor.org

On the first episode of POP, the Public Opinion Podcast, we tackle an issue that's had an incredible impact on the study of public opinion: technological advances. From landline phones in the latter part of the 20th century to online-based methods of today, three AAPOR members and industry experts discuss the opportunities and challenges fast-changing technology poses. Host: Natalie Jackson, PhD, Director of Research at Public Religion Research Institute Guests: Courtney Kennedy, Vice President of Methods and Innovation at Pew Research Center Jennifer Agiesta, Director of Polling and Election Analytics at CNN For more information visit: aapor.org