For more information:
Pat Lewis
703.527.5245

Washington DC – May 1, 2007 --  More than 900 public opinion and survey research professionals are expected at the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR)’s annual conference May 17th-20th, where the focus will be on the relationship between polls and policy.

“Regardless of the issue, how polls and surveys are designed, executed, and interpreted can have a significant impact on critical policy decisions,” said Conference Chair Patricia Moy.   “With so much change going on in the industry, we felt it was important to take a closer look at the way we're getting this information and how we're using it

The meeting is being held at the  Hyatt Regency Orange County in Anaheim.

Meeting highlights include:
o  A two-day track of sessions on cell phones and survey research

o  Short courses on multimode data collection, cell phones and survey research, propensity scores and introductions to survey sampling and writing survey questions

o  Plenary session featuring top Democrat and Republican strategists Mark Mellman and Dave Sackett, and longtime political reporter and columnist Ron Brownstein of The Los Angeles Times.

A full list of conference sessions is available at www.aapor.org .

AAPOR is the leading professional organization of public opinion and survey research professionals in the U.S., with close to 2,000 members from academia, media, government, the non-profit sector and private industry. It is committed to the principle that public opinion research is essential to a healthy democracy, providing information crucial to informed policymaking and giving voice to the nation’s beliefs, attitudes and desires. In order to ensure that it can continue to play this critical role, AAPOR promotes the sound and ethical conduct and use of public opinion research, along with greater public awareness of these standards.
 

Some session highlights:

Thursday, May 17

Determining the Impact of Iraq on the 2006 Election: Traditional Versus Priming Methods

Dan Cassino, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Krista Jenkins, Fairleigh Dickinson University

Peter Woolley, Fairleigh Dickinson University

 

Campaigning on Controversy: Gay Marriage, Stem Cell Research, and Voting in the 2004 Presidential Election

Andrew R. Binder, University of Wisconsin-Madison

 

We Know “It” Makes a Difference, but What Is “It”?: An Exploration of Factors Driving Voter Choices and the “Meaning” behind Them

Eric W. Rademacher, University of Cincinnati

 

What’s Missing from National RDD Surveys? The Impact of the Growing Cell-Only Population

Scott Keeter, Pew Research Center

Courtney Kennedy, University of Michigan

Trevor Tompson, The Associated Press

Mike Mokrzycki, The Associated Press

April Clark, Pew Research Center

 

Exit Polls and the Interpretation of Election Results

Michael W. Traugott, University of Michigan

 

The Foreign Policy Disconnect: Multilateralist Public, Unilateralist Officials

Benjamin I. Page, University of Chicago

 

Politicians’ Use of Polls: Can’t Trust ‘Em; Can’t Ignore ‘Em

David W. Moore, Durham, NH

 

The Second Face of Polling: The Use and Misuse of Polls by Politicians

Lawrence R. Jacobs, University of Minnesota

What Incumbent Rule? Reevaluating Conventional Wisdom on the Assumed Connection between Undecideds and Challengers
Douglas Usher, Widmeyer Research and Polling
Gregory Wawro, Columbia University

Friday, May 18

Polls and Races: The Impact of Methods and Conditions on the Accuracy of 2006 Pre-Election Polls

Chase H. Harrison, Harvard University

 

A Probability-Theory-Based Assessment of the Reliability of the 2006 Pre-Election Polls

Joel D. Bloom, The University at Albany, State University of New York

 

Generic Polls and the Midterm Vote

Robert Erikson, Columbia University

Joseph Bafumi, Dartmouth College

Christopher Wlezien, Temple University

 

Voters and Non-Voters in Midterm Elections

April Clark, Pew Research Center

Mike Mokrzycki, The Associated Press

Robert Suls, Pew Research Center

Trevor Tompson, The Associated Press

Public Deliberation and Public Opinion about Health Care Policy
Vincent Price, University of Pennsylvania
Joseph N. Cappella, University of Pennsylvania
Lauren Feldman, University of Pennsylvania

On the limitsL of public opinion
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Gerald Kosicki, Ohio State University

 

Dynamics of Voter Deliberation in a Presidential Election: Swing Voters and Battleground States
Michael A, Xenos, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Methods and Horse Races: How Internet, IVR and Phone Polls Performed in the 2006 Elections
Mark Blumenthal, Pollster.com
Charles H. Franklin, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Saturday, May 19

The Dynamics of Presidential Approval: Gross Versus Net Changes of Bush's Approval
Zachary Arens, The Gallup Organization
Darby Miller-Steiger, The Gallup Organization
Jeffrey M. Jones, The Gallup Organization

Public Opinion and the Bush Tax Cuts: The Untold Story
Martha Crum, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

Sunday, May 20

 

Troubles in America: An Index of Societal Well-Being, 1991-2004
Tom W. Smith, NORC

 

State of the Nation: Leading or Misleading Indicators of American Public Opinion
George Bishop, University of Cincinnati

 

Immigration Takes Center Stage: A Meta-Analysis
Fred Solop, Northern Arizona University
Nancy Wonders, Northern Arizona University

 

The Rising Tide of Public Opinion: Bandwagon Effects of Polls about Impeachment

Neil Malhotra, Stanford University
Jon Krosnick, Stanford University
Randall Thomas, Harris Interactive

 

Of Time and Television

John Robinson, University of Maryland
Steven Martin, University of Maryland

 

Separating the Wheat from the Chaff: Ensuring Data Quality in Internet Samples
Reg Baker, Market Strategies
Theo Downes-Le Guin, Doxux