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AAPOR and the Outside World

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AAPOR and the Outside World

Paul Lavrakas, Councilor-at-Large

Dr. Robert M. Groves, 1995-1996 AAPOR President and 2001 AAPOR Award Recipient, was sworn in as the 23rd director of U.S. Census Bureau on July 22. See the Census Web site for highlights of the ceremony. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said: “We’re depending on Bob’s expertise and most of all his commitment to sound science in the biggest civilian project in the nation.” Groves was President Obama’s choice for this position because of his exceptional knowledge of and contributions to improving the accuracy of social surveys.  In addition, he had served as associate director of census from 1990-1992. His confirmation was delayed for several months after two Republican senators placed a hold on his nomination. Bob is faced with the daunting task of leading and managing the 2010 Census and AAPOR wishes him our best.

At the request of the American Statistical Association, AAPOR held an Invited Session at the 2009 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) conference on August 3 in Washington, D.C., to a standing-room audience of more than 300 people. Several AAPOR members participated in the session, entitled “Factors Affecting the Accuracy of the 2008 Presidential Election Polling.” Presentations were made by Scott Keeter (Pew), Jay Leve (SurveyUSA), Jennifer Agiesta (Washington Post/ ABC News) and Doug Rivers (YouGov/Polimetrix).  The session was chaired by Trevor N. Tompson and Paul J. Lavrakas was the discussant. The presentations covered how pollsters used landline, cell phone, IVR and Internet panel surveys to forecast the 2008 Presidential Election and the challenges they faced.

The World Association for Public Opinion Research held its 62nd Annual Conference in Lausanne, Switzerland in September. The theme of the conference, “Public Opinion and Survey Research in a Changing World,” emphasized the dual nature of the study of public opinion – how social, political, economic and technological changes can influence not only public opinion about various issues, but also how survey research is conducted. Among the participants were AAPOR members Patricia Moy, Peter Miller, Kathy Frankovic, Janet Streicher, Diane Rucinski and Mike Traugott.

AAPOR is a member of the governing body of the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) – an advocacy organization promoting attention to and federal support for the social and behavioral sciences. AAPOR members may subscribe directly to COSSA’s monthly newsletter by sending an e-mail to newsletter@cossa.org.

 

 

 




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