It’s time to elect the next MAPOR council members to begin roles in November 2024. We currently have two positions open for election: Vice-President/President-Elect and Associate Conference Chair. After roughly a month of open nominations, we’ve got some wonderful candidates running this year. Their bios are below.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to president@mapor.org.
Vice-President/President-Elect
Benjamin Schapiro
Benjamin Schapiro is a Research Scientist at NORC at the University of Chicago. A graduate of the University of Chicago, he has worked at NORC since 2014, primarily on the General Social Survey. His research focuses on long-term trends in public opinion, mode effects, and the lived experience of the survey interview. Benjamin has been involved with MAPOR since 2014 and has served on the executive committee for the past three years as a member-at-large, and then Communications Chair and the Website Chair. He has also served as the co-chair of the AAPOR Welcoming Committee.
David Sterett
David Sterrett is a Principal Research Scientist in the Public Affairs and Media Research Department at NORC at the University of Chicago. His research focuses on political attitudes, survey methodology, and the public’s news habits. Prior to joining NORC in 2014, he received his PhD in political science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. David has enjoyed attending every MAPOR conference since 2010. He served as the student liaison for the MAPOR executive council when in graduate school, was the Conference Chair in 2021, and he is currently serving as a member-at-large on the executive council. David also enjoys attending AAPOR conferences and is currently serving on the AAPOR Membership and Chapter Relations Committee.
Associate Conference Chair
Lindsey Witt-Swanson
Lindsey Witt-Swanson is a Research Director in the Public Affairs and Media Research Department at NORC at the University of Chicago working with federal agencies, non-profit organizations, for-profit companies, and academics. She received her BA in Political Science at Creighton University and her MS in Survey Research and Methodology at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Lindsey has served on MAPOR council since 2019 first serving as an at-large council member and currently serving as the Secretary-Treasurer since the position was vacated in April 2021. She also serves as co-treasurer for the International Field Directors and Technologies Conference (IFD&TC) and has been a member of AAPOR and MAPOR since 2011.
Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown (600 N. State Street)
“Bridging Trends from our Past with Insights for Tomorrow”
Our conference will focus on two important issues facing public opinion research in 2024 – the 2024 election and the acceleration of artificial intelligence. We will explore public opinion trends on social and political issues to understand the election and the key issues that affected the outcome. We will also consider how the rise in artificial intelligence may affect our field and how we collect, analyze and report public opinion data.
Friday morning short course:
“Beyond the Basics: Advanced Questionnaire Design for Writing Questions about Events and Behaviors”
Jennifer Dykema University of Wisconsin–Madison, MAPOR Fellow
Nora Cate Schaeffer, University of Wisconsin–Madison, MAPOR Fellow
Friday afternoon keynote address:
“Young Women and Men in the U.S.: A Political Mismatch?”
Lydia Saad, Gallup, Director of U.S. Social Research
Saturday afternoon pedagogy hour:
“They are Large, but should they be in Charge? Exploring the Possibility and Implausibility of Large Language Models in Survey Science”
Trent Buskirk, Old Dominion University, Professor and Data Science Fellow
Early registration discount ends November 8th at 11:59 p.m. CST
Non-student early-bird registration for in-person attendees: $130 ($155 after November 8th).
Student early-bird registration: $50 ($75 after November 8th).
MAPOR is committed to supporting conference attendance regardless of your financial situation. If you have concerns about the costs for the conference registration or travel expenses related to the conference please visit https://www.mapor.org/support-grants/ to learn more about support grant opportunities.
To help us keep the conference affordable, we encourage you to reserve your hotel room using our conference block at Embassy Suites. Rooms are $209 for a room with 1 King bed or $229 for a room with 2 Double Beds (plus taxes).
The Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research Conference Committee is hard at work planning MAPOR’s
November 22-23, 2024
Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown
600 N. State Street
Call for Abstracts
Submit By July 26th, 2024
The Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research’s annual conference welcomes abstract submissions on any topic related to public opinion research, communication, or survey research methodology. This year, we are accepting submissions for the following types of presentations: papers, posters, and panels of papers.
“Bridging Trends from our Past with Insights for Tomorrow”
Our conference will focus on two important issues facing public opinion research in 2024 – the 2024 election and the acceleration of artificial intelligence. We will explore public opinion trends on social and political issues to understand the election and the key issues that affected the outcome. We will also consider how the rise in artificial intelligence may affect our field and how we collect, analyze and report public opinion data.
We encourage abstract submissions on all facets of research related to public opinion, communication, survey research, and their methodologies. Topics may include but are not limited to: politics and public opinion; social media and public opinion; journalism, media, and public opinion; public opinion on social, economic, and political issues; questionnaire design; data collection issues and strategies; existing and new methods for collecting data from respondents; online panel data collection; nonresponse; total survey error; machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data, and data science; location and geographic information; challenges facing the field due to technological and societal shifts; the ethical use of public opinion and survey data; qualitative and mixed-method research techniques; cross-cultural research; hard-to-reach and historically underrepresented populations; and data quality issues.
Submissions: Abstracts of 300 words or fewer can be submitted here. In addition to a title and abstract, you will be asked to provide the name, institutional affiliation, and email address for all authors. The same author’s name may appear as first author on a maximum of two submissions. To allow for blind review, please remove all personally identifying information from the abstract’s text before submission.
Note to student authors: If the lead author is a student who will be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at the time of the conference, you may submit your paper to the MAPOR Fellows Student Paper Competition (see additional information on the MAPOR Fellows Student Paper Competition, available at www.mapor.org). When submitting a student paper to the competition, the student submitter will be asked to provide the name and e-mail address of a faculty mentor, who will need to endorse the paper when it is submitted. The student paper competition team committee will reach out after the abstract submission window has closed. If you have questions, reach out to president@mapor.org.
Panel Proposals: A panel is a session that focuses on a common theme and includes 4 or 5 participants. A panel proposal requires a description of 300 words or fewer discussing the issues to be addressed and their importance. Also, submissions should list the potential panelists, their institutional affiliations, email addresses, and tentative titles of presentations. Panels related to the conference theme are especially encouraged.
Submission Information: All abstracts must be posted no later than 11:59pm CDT on Friday July 26, 2024. Accepted papers sharing a theme will be scheduled during a paper session. Papers with more individualized topics will be scheduled during a poster session. MAPOR considers both types of presentation equally valuable. All submitters will be notified via e-mail by August 30th of their abstract’s acceptance status. For questions or problems with the submission process, please contact the 2024 MAPOR conference chair, Jenny Marlar at: abstracts@mapor.org.
Travel Grants: The MAPOR Council will be offering two types of support grants for the Annual Conference: the MAPOR Student Support Grant and the MAPOR Colleague Grant. More details on these awards can be found here: https://www.mapor.org/support-grants/.
The Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research (MAPOR) Executive Council enthusiastically invites undergraduate and graduate students to apply to the MAPOR Student Fellowship Program. This program is a wonderful opportunity for students to pursue a research idea and publish their work. If accepted, you will be invited to present your research at this year’s MAPOR conference in Chicago, which is scheduled for November 22-23. 2024.
MAPOR is committed to supporting student professional development, learning, and network-building. The Student Fellowship Program is an important way to advance this goal by helping the next generation of scholars in public opinion research build on their research, expand their networks, and engage and collaborate with senior researchers.
Students who are accepted to the Student Fellowship Program will work closely with a MAPOR Fellow or other MAPOR member on a shared topic of interest, submit an abstract to MAPOR’s annual conference, and present their work.
Who should apply?
Any graduate or undergraduate student with a research interest related to public opinion research, survey methodology, survey statistics, qualitative research, or applications of survey data.
Why should I apply?
Pursue your research interest in public opinion research and have an opportunity to present it at the annual MAPOR conference!
Work 1-on-1 with a MAPOR Fellow or other MAPOR member with shared research interests and who are leaders in the field of public opinion research.
Eligibility
This fellowship is open to graduate and undergraduate students with a strong interest in survey research or qualitative research. Applicants should be willing to commit to attending and presenting at this year’s MAPOR conference.
Preferences will be given to first-time MAPOR presenters, students who are in their first or second year of graduate education, or senior year in undergraduate education.
Application Process and Requirements
To be considered, please submit your application and letter of recommendation by April 29th.
Your proposal should be between 500 and 1000 words. It should include a very brief literature review and an importance statement. If the proposal is quantitative, please make sure you identify and describe the dataset. In addition, the student should identify a faculty mentor and ask them to write a letter of recommendation.
Send the proposal by email to paul@edchoice.org by Monday, April 29th. Include the subject line “MAPOR Student Fellowship Program”.
Contact
If you have any questions about the MAPOR Student Fellowship application process, please feel free to contact Paul DiPerna, email: paul@edchoice.org
It’s time to elect the next MAPOR council members to begin roles in November 2023. We currently have three open positions open for election: Vice-president/President-elect, Associate Secretary/Treasurer, and Associate Conference Chair. We have three wonderful candidates, one running for each position. Their bios are listed below.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out (president@mapor.org).
Vice-President/President-Elect: Candidate Patrick Hsieh
Y Patrick Hsieh
Y. Patrick Hsieh is a research survey methodologist and digital sociologist in the Survey Methodology Program in RTI International’s Data Practice Area. His expertise includes developing mixed-method research, designing social media campaign for sample recruitment, and integrating digital technologies and technology-enabled research practices, such as crowdsourcing and citizen science, into survey methodology to improve research design and data quality. Patrick has served on the MAPOR Council as the webinar series coordinator between 2016 and 2021, MAPOR Conference Support Committee between 2018 and 2020, the associate conference chair of the 2022 Annual Conference, and is currently organizing the 2023 Annual Conference as the conference chair. He also served in AAPOR’s Public Service Award committee between 2020 and 2022. Patrick earned his Ph.D. in Media, Technology, and Society at Northwestern University’s School of Communication in 2014. Prior to joining RTI International. Patrick’s dissertation has won the best student paper award of MAPOR in 2013 and he has been attending MAPOR since then.
Semilla Stripp is a Senior Research Associate with the Public Affairs and Media Research Department at NORC at the University of Chicago. Semilla joined NORC in 2019 after graduating with a degree in political science from Macalester College, spending much of her first few years working on the data management and delivery team for various elections as part of AP VoteCast. Semilla presented at her first (virtual) MAPOR conference in 2020 and has enjoyed attending in-person ever since to connect with and learn from colleagues and other conference attendees. She appreciates the welcoming attitude towards students and new members and looks forward to the opportunity to contribute to the community in a new role.
Associate Conference Chair: Candidate Beth Fisher
Beth Fisher is a Senior Research Director at NORC at the University of Chicago, where she started her survey research career in 2008. Her area of expertise is field and web survey data collection in social science research, having worked on data collection projects for over 15 years. This will be her first time serving on the MAPOR Council, but she has been a member of AAPOR and MAPOR since 2009 and has presented at both conferences many times. Her current research projects at NORC include the General Social Survey and several projects that collect survey data on indigenous and tribal lands. Other interests include training field staff and leveraging technology to facilitate their work and technological innovations in data collection and quality. Beth received her B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from University of Illinois at Chicago and her Master’s degree in Sociology from Loyola University Chicago. Beth has always encouraged her colleagues to learn and grow through engagement with professional associations, including MAPOR, and is excited to contribute to MAPOR as the associate conference chair in 2023-2024.
Held November 17-18, 2023 at Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown!
“Of Intersections and Opportunities: Exploring the Potentials of Public Opinion Research”
As our research landscape continues to change and evolve since the pandemic, MAPOR hopes to broaden our pursuit of collaboration in the survey and public opinion research disciplines. To continue our learning about the changing research landscape, our conference theme asks the MAPOR community to consider the innovations and changes that have occurred in survey research in recent years. Specifically, we encourage abstract submissions on topics that cut across multiple disciplines and research contexts, such as user/respondent-centered survey design, usability of web or mobile surveys, and the ethical use of public opinion and survey data.
More broadly, we welcome abstract submissions on all facets of research related to public opinion, communication, survey research, and their methodologies. Topics may include, but are not limited to: questionnaire design; interviewers’ role in data collection; respondent behaviors; respondent recruitment for hard-to-reach populations; nonresponse or data quality assessment; total survey error; emerging technologies or methods for data collection; use of administrative records or alternative data sources for surveys; machine learning and data science; politics and public opinion; social media and public opinion; public opinion on social, economic, and political issues; cross-cultural research; and qualitative and mixed-method research techniques.
2023Conference highlights:
Friday morning short course: “The Mother of Invention: Design of the General Social Survey from 2020-2022 and Beyond”
René Bautista, NORC at the University of Chicago
Friday midday keynote address:
“Bridging the Gap between Theoretical Rigor and Applied Research Goals: Reflections of a Survey Researcher in the Tech Industry”
Greg Holyk, Google
Saturday morning pedagogy hour:
“Broadening the Horizon: Research and Career Development Opportunities for Social and Behavioral Scientists in the Research Industries”
Gina Walejko, Google
Erin Spottswood, Allstate/Portland State University
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 $30, $60 for non-members, and FREE for students with a valid edu email address. In addition to these amazing webinars, students who attend will be entered into a raffle for a FREE resume review by Dr. Chris Timm of the University of Nebraska. Each webinar you attend will be another entry into the raffle, so come learn about the field and get set up for success. 7 lucky students will win this opportunity.
Please share broadly, we are hoping to especially engage students inside and outside the AAPOR & MAPOR communities.
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 18th, 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.
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 Abstracts
Extended to August 18th, 2023!
The Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research’s annual conference welcomes abstract submissions on any topic related to public opinion research, communication, or survey research methodology. This year, we are accepting submissions for the following types of presentations: papers, methodological briefs, posters, and panels of papers. We are particularly interested in papers that relate to our conference theme:
“Of Intersections and Opportunities: Exploring the Potentials of Public Opinion Research”
As our research landscape continues to change and evolve since the pandemic, MAPOR hopes to broaden our pursuit of collaboration in the survey and public opinion research disciplines. To continue our learning about the changing research landscape, our conference theme asks the MAPOR community to consider the innovations and changes that have occurred in survey research in recent years. Specifically, we encourage abstract submissions on topics that cut across multiple disciplines and research contexts, such as user/respondent-centered survey design, usability of web or mobile surveys, and the ethical use of public opinion and survey data.
More broadly, we welcome abstract submissions on all facets of research related to public opinion, communication, survey research, and their methodologies. Topics may include, but are not limited to: questionnaire design; interviewers’ role in data collection; respondent behaviors; respondent recruitment for hard-to-reach populations; nonresponse or data quality assessment; total survey error; emerging technologies or methods for data collection; use of administrative records or alternative data sources for surveys; machine learning and data science; politics and public opinion; social media and public opinion; public opinion on social, economic, and political issues; cross-cultural research; and qualitative and mixed-method research techniques.
Submissions: Please visit the link: https://cvent.me/nwQGaq to submit your abstracts, with a limit of 300 words or fewer. In addition to a title and abstract, you will be asked to provide the name, institutional affiliation, and email address of all authors. The same author’s name may appear as the first author on a maximum of two submissions. To allow for blind review, please remove all personally identifying information from the abstract’s text before submission.
Note to student authors: If all authors are students who will be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at the time of the conference, you may submit your paper to the MAPOR Fellows Student Paper Competition. Please visit mapor.org for details. When submitting a student paper to the competition, the student submitter will be asked to provide the name and e-mail address of a faculty mentor. The faculty mentor will be asked to send an email of 25 words or fewer endorsing the paper when the full paper is submitted.
Panel Proposals: Panels focus on a common theme and include 4 or 5 participants. A panel proposal requires a description of 300 words or fewer discussing the issues to be addressed and their importance. Also, submissions should list the potential panelists, their institutional affiliations, email addresses, and tentative titles of presentations. Panels related to the conference theme are especially encouraged.
Submission Information: All abstracts must be posted no later than 11:59 pm CDT on Friday, August 18, 2023. Accepted papers sharing a theme will be scheduled during a paper session. Papers with more individualized topics will be scheduled during a poster session. MAPOR considers both types of presentation equally valuable. All submitters will be notified via e-mail by September 23 of their abstract’s acceptance status. For questions or problems with the submission process, please contact the 2022 MAPOR conference chair, Y. Patrick Hsieh at: abstracts@mapor.org.
Travel Grants: The MAPOR Council will be offering two types of support grants for the 2023 Annual Conference: the MAPOR Student Support Grant and the MAPOR Colleague Grant. More details on these awards can be found on mapor.org.
