NYAAPOR: American Association of Public Opinion Research

Winter 2008

Dear NYAAPOR Members:

We hope you have been able to attend one or more of the terrific NYAAPOR events we’ve hosted so far this season. Our panel discussion on “What Happened in New Hampshire? Polls, Pundits and Voters” in late February turned out to be an excellent event and featured four polling experts discussing the surprises and consequences of the democratic primaries in that state. The event was generously sponsored by Edison Media Research. You can read an interesting write-up of the event at abcnews.com:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenumbers/
2008/02/a-new-hampshire.html

Likewise, the session on “Voter Fraud and Disenfranchisement” had two of the nation’s leading experts discussing the latest research into these issues and was also very interesting.

At all of our events, we are shifting the format somewhat to give you more opportunity for networking and socializing with your industry peers before and after the presentation.

There’s much more still to come. Looking ahead, please join us on Wednesday, March 12 for an evening program at Fordham that promises to be very interesting, as we will examine some new research on stereotypes and racial prejudice.

Later in the month, on Wednesday, March 27, you won’t want to miss a daytime workshop presented by Linda B. Piekarski, Vice President Database and Research at Survey Sampling International. Linda will talk about both what the presence of cell phone-only households has meant for traditional RDD surveys and what kinds of efforts different organizations are making to deal with these problems. According to MRI 2006 fall data release, cell-only households now account for 12% of U.S. households, raising many issues for telephone surveys, making this a discussion you won’t want to miss. (See details and register for the event on the right of this screen).

Later in Spring, we will host our biannual Meet the Masters event, where luminaries from our industry will share their insights on topics that affect us all. Other programs may include a workshop on career strategies for senior-level research professionals and another on the topic of cognitive interviewing. We’re also looking to bring you evening programs on such intriguing topics as research on sex and also on immigration.

Membership: If you haven’t already renewed your membership for the 2008 calendar year, now’s the time to do it. It only takes a minute. Click here to renew online.
http://www.nyaapor.org/MembershipInfo.htm

Sponsorship. Your company is invited to become a sponsor of NYAAPOR and receive all the benefits of visibility at events and on our emails. If you wish to become a sponsor, you can read about the benefits and sign up at:
http://www.nyaapor.org/Sponsors.htm

We hope to see you soon.

Bob Shapiro, President, NYAAPOR
Barbara Rice, Communications Chair

February 2008

Who We Are

The New York Chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (NYAAPOR) is a thriving intellectual community of people engaged in methods, applications, and findings from public opinion research. Comprised of people involved in both academic and commercial research, NYAAPOR offers members and the research community at large an opportunity to discuss and debate methodological, ethical, and substantive issues related to a broad range of research topics.

A variety of programs are offered during the year – some are afternoon workshops on practical issues such as sampling or graphic interpretation of data, while others are evening panel presentations on timely and topical issues. Election years bring notable political and media pollsters as well as campaign managers for an inside look at American political trends. Toward the end of the calendar year, NYAAPOR sponsors a holiday party to celebrate the season’s events.

Our History

A group of long-standing AAPOR members involved in commercial and academic research in the New York area founded the New York Chapter in 1979. Their motive was simply to meet more frequently for intellectual and professional discourse than was feasible through a national organization. They wanted what AAPOR offered, but more of it, more frequently.

From a circle of less than a dozen people, NYAAPOR has grown to an organization of about 250 members from all realms of public opinion and marketing research. Members come from large commercial research suppliers, advertising and PR agency research units, network polling units, small entrepreneurial firms, various government agencies, and academe. This diverse membership base is encouraged by an Executive Council whose elected leadership includes both commercial and non-commercial representatives.

Benefits Of Membership

With membership to NYAAPOR, individuals receive free admission to panel programs, reduced rates for workshops and invitations to all events. Membership in NYAAPOR also means joining a community of public opinion professionals offering opportunities to learn about the latest innovations in the field, to discuss substantive and methodological questions with leading researchers and to network with others in the industry.

Most important, joining NYAAPOR means becoming an active member of the local public opinion community. For NYAAPOR to remain a vibrant organization, we need participation from our membership – ideas for program events, contributions to our newsletter, requests to host workshops or panel sessions and a willingness to serve on our Executive Council. This upcoming season, we look forward to expanding our membership base and offering new opportunities for participation in this vital and vibrant professional organization.

NYAAPOR
152 Madison Avenue, Suite 801
New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 684-0542
Fax: (212) 481-3071
info@nyaapor.org

Upcoming Events

~~June 17, 2008~~
POSTPONED TO SEPTEMBER
"Meet the Masters"
all-day workshop

2007 -2008
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