Home

Survey Success Trilogy: Introduction to the Field, Networking, and Navigating Your Career in Survey Research

Brad Edwards, Michelle Amsbary, and Jesus Arrue Westat

What Is Survey Research

Our first webinar, What is Survey Research? led by Brad Edwards of Westat, will provide an introduction to the field of survey research, why it is important, and what a typical day in this field looks like. Brad and two additional panelists - Michelle Amsbary (Westat) and Jesus Arrue (Westat) will also answer questions from the audience. This webinar will be held on October 13th at 12pm CT.

About the Presenters: 

Brad Edwards is a Westat Vice President and Lead Scientific/Methodological Advisor in the Survey Research Sector. He has more than 40 years of experience in survey design and project management in health and healthcare financing, aging and long-term care. Methodological interests include multimode survey design, multicultural survey methods, total survey error, survey costs, and data collector staffing and training. He has led design and implementation of major face-to-face survey methods and tools, including video interviewing, CAPI, ACASI, CARI, mobile field management systems, and performance dashboards.

Michelle Amsbary is a Vice President in Westat’s Large Surveys Practice. She holds a Masters in Survey Methodology from the Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM) at the University of Maryland and a degree in Sociology from the University of Virginia. With over 25 years of experience in all phases of survey research, including survey operations management, Amsbary directs surveys in energy and voting behavior, among others. More recently she has focused on business development activities, such as proposal development and internal training efforts.

Jesus Arrue, MS, Survey Methodologist. Jesus Arrue has 7 years of experience analyzing survey data, conducting literature reviews on survey methodology topics, performing data analysis, and assisting cognitive interviews. Arrue supports a number of projects on quality improvement efforts, as well as video interviewing.

Tiffany Neman, Felicitas Mittereder, Brittany Creel, and Ned English University of Wisconsin, Meta, Abt, and NORC

How to Network in the Survey Field

In our second webinar, How to Network in the Survey Field, a panel of MAPOR members with a variety of backgrounds will talk about their experiences networking and answer questions from the audience. We are excited to have Tiffany Neman (PhD Student at the University of Wisconsin), Felicitas Mittereder (Meta), Brittany Creel (Abt), and Ned English (NORC) join us for this panel. This webinar will be held on October 27th at 1pm CT.

Tiffany Neman recently obtained her Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently interning as a Survey Statistician at the U.S. Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Studies (CES), where she conducts research on unit nonresponse and panel attrition using administrative records. Her research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals including Public Opinion Quarterly, Survey Practice, and Field Methods, and she frequently presents work at the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) annual conference. Tiffany also serves as the Student Representative on the executive council of the Pacific chapter of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (PAPOR).

Brittany Creel is a Survey Research Senior Analyst at Abt Associates, based in Chicago, IL. She focuses on data collection operations, survey methodology, reporting, and data visualization. Prior to her role at Abt Associates, Brittany held research roles at Universal Orlando Resort and MMGY Global. Brittany recently began the Master of Science in Applied Data Science program at the University of Chicago. Previously, she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the University of Central Florida and completed the University of Georgia’s Principles of Market Research certificate program. When not working or studying, you can find Brittany on hiking trails with her dog, reading mystery novels, watching movies, cheering on the UCF Knights, or playing board games.

Ned English is a Principal Research Methodologist at NORC, where he has contributed to numerous studies, managed research projects, and led its Geographic Information Systems (GIS) group since 2002. English is considered a leader in address-based sampling (ABS) for single and multi-mode surveys, advising on studies across disciplines. He has also served as the lead methodologist on projects for clients such as the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Institute on Aging.  His work has been published in leading journals as well as book chapters and conference proceedings. English also teaches “GIS Applications in the Social Sciences” at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Prior to NORC, he worked as a GIS consultant implementing geospatial solutions for clients in the public and private sectors. He earned his M.S. in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his B.S. in Geography from McGill University. Ned is also proud to have served on MAPOR council as President, Conference Chair, and Secretary/Treasurer over the past ten years.

Dr. Natalie Jackson Vice President GQR

Navigating the Survey Job Market

The final webinar of this series, Navigating the Survey Job Market led by Natalie Jackson of GQR will focus on tips and tricks for cover letters and resumes, preparing for interviews (online or in-person), and other advice for ensuring a successful job hunt. This webinar will be held on November 3rd at 12pm CT.

Natalie Jackson, PhD, is Vice President at GQR. She has spent nearly two decades developing extensive expertise in survey research, methodology, and political polling. Her research on how people form opinions, as well as on the election polling and forecasting landscape has appeared in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes, and she has a weekly column on data politics called Leading Indicators at National Journal.  

Prior to joining GQR, she was Director of Research at PRRI and Managing Director of Polling at Just Capital. Earlier in her career, she held senior and management positions at the Marist Institute for Public Opinion and The Huffington Post. She is an active member for the American Association for Public Opinion Research, serves on the council for the National Capitol Area Political Science Association, and co-chairs the Careers Diversity Committee for the American Political Science Association. She is on the editorial boards of Social Science Quarterly and PS: Political Science and Politics. Natalie received her PhD in political science from the University of Oklahoma and was a postdoctoral associate at the Duke University Initiative on Survey Methodology. Her BA in political science and history is from West Texas A&M University. She has just published an edited volume, Non-Academic Careers for Quantitative Social Scientists, with Springer Nature.

The Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research Conference Committee is hard at work planning MAPOR’s

48th Annual Conference

Held November 17-18, 2023 at Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown!

Call for Participation: Industry Idea Exchange Session

Extended to August 18^th, 2023!

As a multidisciplinary organization, MAPOR values and considers collaboration as the bedrock of our profession and research fields. Besides the innovative research trend learning opportunity from our regular thematic sessions, MAPOR is planning an Industry Idea Exchange session during the conference to enhance our pursuit of collaboration beyond survey and public opinion research communities.

The Industry Idea Exchange session seeks to provide an engaging opportunity for connecting with organizations that conduct research such as marketing, consumers or users, audience, patients, or other social, behavioral, and data sciences research in applied contexts. Topics for the Industry Idea Exchange session may include, but are not limited to, promotion of cutting-edge research toolkits, talent acquisition for research organizations, hiring trends in labor market, and organizational branding.

MAPOR welcomes and encourages researchers, hiring and research managers, career advisors and recruiters, and job seekers working in any applied research field to participate in the Industry Idea Exchange session in our 2023 annual conference for scouting talents, identifying collaboration opportunities, and expanding professional networks.

For participation inquiries, please contact the 2023 MAPOR conference chair, Y. Patrick Hsieh at: abstracts@mapor.org using the subject line “[Industry Idea Exchange Participation] by 11:59 pm CDT on Friday, August 18, 2023.” In your inquiry, please briefly describe the discussion topics you and your organization may want to discuss with other practitioners in the session. The conference committee will orient the outreach session based on the interest and focus of the participants.

Web Surveys 201: Beyond the Basics

Three-part series (or any single session):
Friday, April 14th from 11:30-1:00 CT
Friday, April 21st from 10:30-12:00 CT
Friday, April 28th from 11:30-1:00 CT

MAPOR is excited to announce its upcoming slate of Spring webinars - Web Surveys 201: Beyond the Basics. In this three-webinar series, presenters will go beyond the basics of setting up a web survey, and explore more advanced topics: monitoring web survey data quality using paradata, detecting falsification in web surveys, and storing and retrieving survey data using SQL. These webinars will be held on April 14th, April 21st, and April 28th respectively. Read more about each webinar and note the respective webinar times below. Registration to this series gives you access to all three live webinars as well as access to a recording of each webinar for one price. The cost for MAPOR members is $20, $30 for non-members, and FREE for students.

Dr. Steven Snell Principal Survey Methodologist Goldman Sachs

Front End Survey Development For Data Quality

Our first webinar, Front End Survey Development For Data Quality,  Steven Snell from Goldman Sachs will cover advanced web survey options that will allow you to monitor and improve the quality of your data. Examples include page/block timers and built in items to assess response validity. This webinar will be held on April 14th at 11:30am CT.

About the Presenter:

Steven Snell, PhD, is Principal Survey Methodologist at Goldman Sachs, where he leads a research center of excellence to provide guidance to strategic research projects across the firm. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, he led research consultancies at Qualtrics and Duke University, advising hundreds of survey research projects in brand, product, employee, customer, and marketing research for B2B and B2C clients. Steve's expertise in survey and market research include questionnaire design, concept and product testing, segmentation, experimental design, brand tracking, and longitudinal research.

He holds a PhD in Politics from Princeton University and attained further training in survey methodology as a postdoctoral fellow at the Initiative on Survey Methodology at Duke University. Steve is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research and AAPOR's Pacific chapter as well as the Market Research Council, where he serves on the executive committee as Secretary/Treasurer.

Ms. Emily Geisen Senior Product XM Scientist Qualtrics

Detecting Fraudulent Data in Web Surveys

In our second webinar, Detecting Fraudulent Data in Web Surveys, Emily Geisen from Qualtrics will share recent research and developments related to identifying and preventing fraudulent responses. Topics include digital fingerprinting, bot detection, attention checks, inconsistent data, speeding, NLP, and AI. This webinar will be held on April 21st at 10:30am CT.

About the Presenter: 

Emily Geisen is a survey methodologist and Senior Product XM Scientist at Qualtrics. She helps develop Qualtrics products and tools for researchers and insights professionals. Her current projects include fraud detection for online panels, usability testing, and accessible survey design layouts. Prior to her current role, she was a senior manager in Qualtrics Sample Science and Delivery unit, where she oversaw a team of project managers responsible for running 150 online sample projects per week. Ms. Geisen is the Editor-in-Chief of Survey Practice. She teaches Questionnaire Design at the University of North Carolina and she teaches Usability Testing for Survey Research at the International Program in Survey in Data Science. She is the author of the 2017 book, Usability Testing for Survey Research.

Dr. Scott Adams Analytics and Insights Leader National Business Furniture

Demystifying SQL

Interested in learning how to store your survey data in something a little more sophisticated than an Excel spreadsheet, but aren't sure where to start? In our final webinar, Demystifying SQL: Learning a Lingua Franca for Data Professionals, Scott Adams, Analytics and Insights Leader at National Business Furniture, will walk you through the basics of using SQL (one of the most common programming languages for working with databases of structured data). After completing this webinar, you'll learn the uses for SQL and be able to write basic SQL queries. No experience with SQL is required! This webinar will be held on April 28th at 11:30am CT.

About the Presenter: 

Scott A. Adams is an Analytics and Insights Leader for National Business Furniture (NBF), where he leads efforts to enhance marketing activities using advanced analytics, data visualization, and machine learning. Prior to joining NBF, Scott worked as a data scientist at several different organizations, including Nielsen and Northwestern Mutual, and taught data analytics courses to aspiring data professionals. Scott earned his PhD in Sociology, with a concentration in Survey Research and Methods from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2016 and currently resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with his wife Liz and feline companion, Zazzles.

Candidate for Vice-President / President Elect

Leah Dean, PhD

Leah Dean’s first involvement with MAPOR was in 2018, when she presented a portion of her dissertation work. Since then, Leah has earned a BA in French Language and Literature from Transylvania University, a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, and her PhD in Political Science from the University of Cincinnati. She has been a survey scientist with RTI International’s Survey Research Division since April 2020. Her expertise is in health surveys at the national level. She served as MAPOR’s Associate Conference Chair in 2021, where she assisted in the development and execution of the hybrid conference planning. Leah currently serves as the 2022 Conference Chair. Leah looks forward to the opportunity to help MAPOR continue to grow and evolve in its engagement with professionals and students.

Candidate for Associate Conference Chair

Jenny Marlar, PhD

Jenny Marlar has worked for Gallup since 2008 and is the Director of Survey Research. Her work focuses on methods for recruiting and retaining probability-based panels, address-based sampling methodologies, emerging technologies for data collection, and surveying hard-to-reach populations. She is a member of the AAPOR Standards Committee and the AAPOR Online Panel Taskforce and is excited about the opportunity to serve MAPOR. Jenny has an MS and PhD in Survey Research and Methodology from the University of Nebraska and attended her first MAPOR conference as a student in 2008. She remembers that first experience (and every MAPOR conference since) for its strong program of papers and speakers and for being friendly and welcoming. Prior to beginning her graduate studies in 2006, Jenny was an event planner and owned an event planning and decorating business. 

Candidate for Associate Conference Chair

Rebecca Powell, PhD

Rebecca J. Powell is a Research Survey Methodologist at RTI International. Rebecca joined MAPOR 10 years ago as a graduate student from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she earned a PhD in Survey Research and Methodology. Her main research focus is on improving survey response quality through visual design principles in self-administered questionnaires, and her work has been published in the Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology. Rebecca is a strong advocate of continuous education. As a certified RStudio tidyverse trainer, she has taught multiple courses on analysis of survey data in R for MAPOR and AAPOR. Rebecca joined the MAPOR Executive Council in 2021 and serves on the Online Learning Committee where she organizes opportunities for students and professionals to learn about best practices and new methods in survey research and analysis. She hopes to continue her work on the MAPOR Executive Council as Associate Conference Chair to further promote continuous education for all MAPOR members.