The Program on Survey Research is an interdisciplinary scientific program within IQSS that encourages and facilitates research and instruction in the theory and practice of survey research. The primary missions of 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.
2009 PSR Spring Conference on Survey Quality
April 17, 2009
How should we evaluate survey quality? What are the tradeoffs that must be considered? Which quality metrics should be reported in published research? What are the challenges and opportunities for improving survey quality? This important conference will include experts from the academic, government, commercial, and media worlds to discuss this important topic.
Note: An agenda is not available at this time.
2008 Harvard Program on Survey Research Spring Conference
New Technologies and Survey Research
May 9, 2008
Rm K354, 1737 Cambridge St (CGIS Knafel Building)
New technologies and changes in the ways people communicate with each other present new challenges and new opportunities for researchers. This conference focused on the challenges and opportunities of new technologies for survey research. We explored how strategies and standards for reaching respondents are changing in the face of new technological challenges. We also learned about new laws and regulations about the use of these technologies and discussed how they may impact research practice. A session focused on the internet looked at the challenges and opportunities posed by the internet, focusing both on the accuracy of volunteer internet samples and on the opportunities for survey research presented by Web 2.0. A session looking at mobile phones discussed the growth of this new technology, the challenges it presents for survey research, and reviewed methods of sampling and interviewing mobile telephone users.