Since 1998, MAPOR has recognized excellence in student papers presented at its annual conference. These annual awards are overseen and refereed by MAPOR’s Fellows. Beginning in 2011, the MAPOR Fellows Student Paper Competition has bestowed two awards: one for the best paper in public opinion, and another for the best paper in methodology.

The award for best paper in public opinion was renamed in 2015 to honor Dr. Doris A. Graber (1923-2018), who was deeply involved with MAPOR at its inception. She served as president in 1980-81 and became MAPOR’s inaugural Fellow in 1988.

The award for best paper in methodology was renamed in 2017 to honor the memory of Dr. Allan L. McCutcheon (1950-2015), who contributed greatly to MAPOR as president in 2003-04. McCutcheon was named MAPOR Fellow in 2007.

Doris A. Graber Award for Best Public Opinion Paper (Before 2016: Best Public Opinion Paper)

YearWinnerPaper Title
2023Jonathan SchulmanStatus Anxiety, Rhetorical Entrapment, and U.S. Foreign Policy
2022Robin BayesMoral Conviction and Public Evaluation of Science
2021Eileen WuThe Moderating Role of Democratic Governance in the Association between Personal Values and Political Ideologies
2020Liwei ShenA Mind is Not Closed for No Reason – Why Do Some Chinese Dispute the Apollo Moon Landing
2019Margaret BrowerReframing Women’s Issues: Intersectional Frames & Policy Agendas
2018Beyza Ekin BuyukerDemocracy and the “Other”: Outgroup Attitudes and Support for Anti-Democratic Norms
2017Yangsun HongSocial media use, exposure to disagreement, and offline expressive participation: The moderating role of self-censorship
2016Ozan KuruDe-Monopolization of Polls: What Do Ordinary Citizens Make of Different Quantifications?
2015Natalee Kate SteelyVirtual vitriol: A comparative analysis of incivility in discussion of forums of online mainstream news outlets and political blogs
2014
Rachel Reis Mourão, Magdalena Saldaña, & Shannon McGregor
Online networking and protest attitudes and behaviors in the Americas
2013David SterrettThe Self-Interested Public: How Self-Interest Affects Policy Preferences
2012Samara KlarThe Influence of Competing Identity Primes on Political Preferences
2011Bryan McLaughlin & David WiseTesting the God Strategy: How Candidates’ Religious Discourse Interacts with Voter Religiosity to Affect Political Outcomes

Public Opinion Paper Award Honorable Mentions

YearWinnerPaper Title
2022Jeremy LevyFinding Ideological Constraint: Narrow Pockets Instead of Wide Ranges
2015Min Seon JeongRelationship of news media consumption, political efficacy and the moderating effect of political interest in the U.S. 2012 Presidential election
2012Jingxian WangInteraction of Media, Public Opinion and Foreign Policy in China: A Case Study of Nanjing-Nagoya Relation Suspension
2012Jiyoun KimSelective Attention, Primed-Encoding and the Role of Language in Mediated Scientific Messages Processing
2011Brendan R. WatsonThe Agenda-Setting Effect of “A–List” Political Blog: A Time–Series Analysis of Presidential Approval Ratings in 2009
2011Samara Mani KlarIdentity Matters: Independents as Politically Engaged Citizens

Allan L. McCutcheon Award for Best Methodology Paper (Before 2017: Best Methodology Paper)

YearWinnerPaper Title
2023Tiffany NemanWhen and Why Does Nonresponse Occur? Comparing the Determinants of Initial Unit Nonresponse and Panel Attrition
2022Evgenia KapousouzWhat do Social Desirability Scales Measure?
2021Micha FischerParametric and Tree-Based Models for Missing Data Imputation
2020Angelica Phillips and Rachel StengerThe Effect of Burdensome Survey Questions on Data Quality in an Omnibus Survey
2018Ali RafeiImproving Rotation Group Bias in the Current Population Survey using a modified Hidden Markov Model
2017Felicitas MitterederCan previous response behavior predict future breakoff in Web surveys?
2015Colleen McClainIdentifying psychosocial correlates of response in panel research: Evidence from the Health and Retirement Study
2013Yuli Patrick HsiehTesting Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Recall Aids for Personal Networks Surveys
2012Chan ZhangSpeeding in Web Surveys: The Tendency to Answer Very Fast and its Association with Straightlining
2011Brian M. WellsAccounting for Nonresponse Bias in the Nebraska Behavioral Health Consumer Survey

Methodology Paper Award Honorable Mentions

YearWinnerPaper Title
2012Mahmoud ElkasabiJoint Calibration as a Technique for Dual Frame Sample Estimation
2011Christopher AntounInterviewer Ratings of Respondents Who Changed their Answers about Sex Partners

Best Student Paper Awards (Prior to 2011, public opinion and survey methods award winners were not distinguished.)

YearWinnerPaper Title
2010Emily K. Vraga, Courtney N. Johnson, D. Jasun Carr, Mitchell Bard, Leticia Bode, & Bryan McLaughlinFilmed in Front of a Live Studio Audience: Using Laughter to Offset Aggression in Political Entertainment Programming
2010Mitchell BardDo Latinos exist? Comparing the political engagement of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans in the United States
2009Thomas B. KsiazekA Network Analytic Approach to Understanding Cross-Platform Audience Behavior
2008Melissa R. Gotlieb, Itay Gabay, & Stephanie EdgerlyEffects of Gain-Loss News Framing and Political Ideology on Audience Sympathy
2005Lindsay H. Hoffman & Jason B. ReinekeCoorientation in a Public Opinion Context: Predicting Accurate Perceptions of Community Opinion
2005Ray Pingree & Rosanne SchollMedia Effects on the Tendency to Reason
2005Jason B. ReinekeDoing Unto Others as One Does Unto One’s Self: Exploring the Association Between Support for Public Censorship and Self-Censorship
2004Bruce HardyMobilizing Information Online: The Effects of Primary-Source and Secondary-Source Website use on Political Participation
2004Michael HugeMeasurable hesitation as a precursor to self-censorship: Replication and extension of the minority slowness effect
2004Lindsay H. HoffmanMobilizing information as a link to political participation: A content analysis of online and print newspapers
2004Michael XenosInformation environments and voter deliberation: Unraveling the effects of campaign intensity
2003Brandon RottinghausMobilizing the “Silent Center”: Alternative Measures of Public Opinion on Vietnam Within the Johnson White House
2003John C. Besley, Janie Diels, & Erik NisbetVoting and Authoritarianism: The Mediating Role of Media Use, Efficacy and Trust
2003Lindsay H. Hoffman & Michael E. HugeMedia Frames of Protest Groups: The Effects of Exposure on Perceived Legitimacy
2002Matthew C. Nisbet & Eric C. NisbetThe Origins of Morality and Equality: Social Structure and Public Opinion About Gay Rights
2002Fang YangMass media and rally effect in international crisis: Media’s integrating role in the wake of Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
2002Justin HorvathThe Big Dog That Did Not Run: An Analysis of President Clinton’s Role In The 2000 Presidential Election
2001Christine O’BrienPublic Opinion About Environmental Issues and the Media: A Preliminary Agenda Setting Study
2001Jaeho Cho & Heejo KeumProbing Psychological Processes Underlying Framing Effects: Knowledge Activation as a Mediator of News Frame Effects on Social Judgment
2001Brandon RottinghausThe Buck Stops Here: Exploring Formal and Informal Methods of Gauging Public Opinion in the Truman White House
2000Jennifer Oats-SargentRepresenting the public: The use of polls in deliberative policymaking processes
1999Gregor PetricThe spiral of silence among Slovenian citizens: Some alternative solutions
1998Dietram A. Scheufele & Patricia MoyTwenty-five years of the spiral of silence: A conceptual review