Welcome!

The Harvard University Program on Survey Research The Program on Survey Research (PSR) is an interdisciplinary scientific program with the Institute which encourages and facilitates research and instruction in the theory and practice of survey research. The primary missions of the PSR are to provide survey research resources to enhance the quality of teaching and research at Harvard and to become an internationally recognized center of excellence in survey methods.   PSR serves as a resource for those interested in scientific survey methods; offers a university-wide clearing house for information and expertise in survey design, administration, and analysis; fosters academic exchange among scholars across many departments and schools at Harvard University; and, promotes and coordinates interdisciplinary research activities.  One of the primary goals of PSR is to create intellectual cross-fertilization between survey methodologists, survey practitioners, survey consumers, and social scientists across different departments and schools at the university. We sponsor conferences and workshops that bring together survey scholars and survey practitioners in the media, government, and commercial sectors. And we offer a variety of resources for students and faculty interested in scientific survey methods, including courses, short workshops, and one-on-one advising about survey design, administration, and analysis.

Announcements

Spring Workshop, April 8: An Introduction to Survey Research for Senior Thesis Writers

This two-hour workshop, led by PSR's Patrick Moynihan, will present an overview of the survey research process for undergraduate students approaching their senior thesis. This session will focus on some of the unique aspects of survey data, and will acquaint students with the resources within PSR as well as the university more broadly to accomplish a survey-based project.

The workshop will take place in CGIS-South, Room S-153, from 5-7 pm.

Contact Patrick Moynihan for more information (617-384-5663, pmoynihan@iq.harvard.edu).

PSR Welcomes New Preceptor for Survey Research

We are pleased to announce that Patrick Moynihan has joined the IQSS team. Patrick is assuming the roles of Preceptor for Survey Research and Assistant Director for the Program on Survey Research (PSR).

PSR Hosts Eric C. Mindich Conference on Survey Quality

On April 17, 2009, the PSR hosted this year's Eric C. Mindich Conference on Experimental Social Science, which covered the topic of Survey Quality.  Conference speakers included some of the foremost experts in survey methodology, as well as leading experts in survey quality from government and the media.

The conference was held from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. in the Tsai Auditorium, Center for Government and International Studies South, 1730 Cambridge St, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138. 

Surveys in the News

Can the State Polls be Trusted? Video Conference

External Link: On October 7, the New York and New Jersey chapters of AAPOR co-sponsored a panel discussion on state polling for the 2008 presidential election. The panel included Christopher Achen, Associate Chair of the Department of Politics at Princeton University; Larry Hugick, Chairman of Princeton Survey Research Associates International; Andrew Gelman from the Departments of Statistics and Political Science at Columbia University; and Joe Lenski, Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of Edison Media Research.

Experts offer Multiple Takes on Technology at Conference

Thomas Guterbock summed things up nicely at the recent “New Technologies and Survey Research” conference held by the Program on Survey Research at Harvard University.

Evaluating Pre-Election Polls

Pre-election polls are one of the most visible types of surveys in the news, at least around election time. Interested in better understanding the political polls this year? Here are some on-line resources to help guide you through sorting through the good and the bad.