As noted in an earlier post, I am in Montreal, Canada tonight on the eve of the annual conference of the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR). In that context I want to pass along some personal news: In an election concluded just a few weeks ago, I was elected the Associate Chair of AAPOR’s Publications and Information committee. This new status should have little impact on this blog, but I want to pass it along in the interests of full disclosure:
Some background: As its web site will tell you, AAPOR is an organization of professionals that conduct surveys in "academic institutions, commercial firms, government agencies and non-profit groups, as both producers and users of survey data." AAPOR’s active membership includes many of the well-known public pollsters, but for every name you might recognize there are hundreds of other dedicated professionals in government and academia who devote their careers to the advancement of survey methodology.
My increased formal involvement in the organization should come as little surprise to regular readers who know that I depend on AAPOR’s annual conferences and its official journal Public Opinion Quarterly to stay current with latest developments in survey methodology. In my volunteer capacity as associate chair (and then as full chair the following year), I will help oversee AAPOR’s web site, its members-only newsletters and listserv and other efforts to communicate its mission to the general public.
Now having said that, the views expressed here are mine and mine alone, and it will stay that way. I do not speak for AAPOR or its membership, nor will I in the forseable future.
And as long as we are on the topic of the AAPOR conference, one note: Last year I tried to attend the conference, soak up all it had to offer, and still try to post to the blog at the end of each day. The end result was one very sleep deprived MP, and some blog posts that would have benefited with a few more days of reflection. So no repeat performance this year, although I do not rule out the possibility of posting a quick item or two as time allows. I’m told we have wireless internet access in the conference rooms, so you never know. However, expect posting to be on the light side this week, with plenty to follow in the weeks to come.
Stay tuned…
[Typo corrected]
