AAPOR 2026 Conference Blog: Friday
05/16/2026
Thank you to Ellen Hickman for her reflection on the final day of the Annual Conference.
The third day was the day not to miss!
Throughout the abstract sessions, I appreciated the breadth of topics from questionnaire design to data linkage. Evan Sandlin [USC] shared a life history calendar tool that tracks residential timelines through Google Maps integration (street view included!). Brandon Pipher explained how administrative and survey datasets can be combined through dual-system estimation to capture observations missed by both lists, and Mark Klee showed how a composite auxiliary indicator offers model-based imputation of farm status [US Census Bureau]. Separate works of Yoonsang Kim [NORC] and Mick Couper [Univ. of Mich.] converged on how social media data donation/consent linkage can be examined through a donation process funnel/sample loss accumulation—revealing that loss differs by each stage.
In Director’s Cut #5, I was able to dive deeper into how AAPOR is reinforcing public trust. After hearing from data distributors to policy practitioners, the discussion took shape around ways to “sneak data in” and make it digestible. Such as Pew Research Center’s vertical video initiative that connects the statistics to its researchers. Ashley Kirzinger [KFF] brought up that “knowledge brokers,” besides the government, are essential in establishing trust in official statistics. For example, the Associated Press (AP)-NORC partnership engaged journalists in communication of the data. Leaning into the theme of this year’s AAPOR, we can understand data as entertainment. Hollywood media has shaped public opinion as much as statistical toplines. Starting with late night talk show hosts, can data relationships between AAPOR and Hollywood be the biggest plot twist yet?
In summary, the AAPOR 81st Annual Conference has been hallmarked by methodological advances towards representative data, adapting to and adopting AI transformations, and reclaiming relevance in public opinion. In an early-morning chat of what makes the AAPOR conference unique, Stephanie Chardoul [Univ. of Mich.] explained how AAPOR serves as home to many Affinity Groups and AAPOR subsidiaries (such as the Survey Costs Workshop), that further strengthen networks outside of the three days. Furthermore, when asked about what has changed the most since her first AAPOR, Stephanie remarked that the shift from discussants towards open dialogues has been conducive to the nature of the field. With appreciation, I look forward to the year of work ahead of us until the next conference in Austin.
Yours truly,
Ellen Hickman
1st year AAPORite