Council of American Survey Research Organizations

Council of American Survey Research Organizations
Name	Council of American Survey Research Organizations
Formation	1978
Type	Trade association
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Region served	United States

Council of American Survey Research Organizations is a trade association representing firms engaged in public opinion polling, market research, and survey research in the United States. Founded in the late 20th century, it brings together research firms, academic centers, and industry stakeholders to promote methodological standards, professional ethics, and quality assurance. Member organizations collaborate with regulatory bodies, academic institutions, and media outlets to shape practice in areas such as telephone research, online panels, and mixed-mode surveys.

History

The organization was established in 1978 amid debates that involved entities such as American Association for Public Opinion Research, National Council on Public Polls, Gallup, Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, and Pew Research Center; early activity intersected with events involving United States Supreme Court rulings and legislative actions including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, and industry responses to decisions by the Federal Communications Commission. Its timeline includes interactions with firms and individuals like Louis Harris, Elmo Roper, George Gallup, Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Zogby International, and Nielsen as well as collaborations with academic programs at Harvard University, Stanford University, University of Michigan, University of Chicago, and Columbia University. The body responded to controversies involving media outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC News, CBS News, and NBC News over methodology critiques and disclosure practices. Over time it engaged with technology providers including AT&T, Cisco Systems, Microsoft, and panel platforms connected to Amazon and Google as survey modes evolved.

Membership and Structure

Membership includes corporations, independent research firms, academic research centers, and international affiliates such as Ipsos, YouGov, Kantar, Westat, RTI International, NORC at the University of Chicago, Dynata, SSI (Survey Sampling International), and smaller boutique firms. Governance has featured boards with representatives from entities like Edison Research, Public Opinion Strategies, Benenson Strategy Group, Hitachi, and university centers like Annenberg Public Policy Center and Institute for Social Research (ISR). Committees coordinate with standards groups such as International Organization for Standardization, American National Standards Institute, and professional associations like American Statistical Association, Royal Statistical Society, and Market Research Society. Regional chapters have worked alongside municipal entities including New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco to address local sampling frames and regulatory compliance.

Standards and Best Practices

The organization promulgates disclosure guidelines and methodological protocols referencing influences from regulatory precedents such as Federal Trade Commission guidance, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and court cases involving United States Court of Appeals. Practice guidance addresses sampling, weighting, questionnaire design, and mode effects with technical discussion drawing from scholarship at Princeton University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, and University of Pennsylvania. It has aligned best practices with survey vendors and platforms tied to Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and panel providers to manage issues like panel conditioning, respondent privacy, and data security. Ethical considerations relate to codes from American Association for Public Opinion Research, American Psychological Association, and American Sociological Association.

Certification and Accreditation Programs

The association runs or endorses certification schemes for research professionals and standards for firms, comparable to accreditation practices at ISO/IEC and training models used by Project Management Institute and Chartered Institute of Marketing. Programs include auditor panels, peer-review processes, and practitioner certification that intersect with university continuing education offerings at Georgetown University, George Washington University, and New York University. These efforts coordinate with legal compliance teams familiar with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and data protection regimes influencing interaction with European Union frameworks such as General Data Protection Regulation.

Advocacy and Industry Influence

The organization engages in advocacy before bodies like the Federal Communications Commission, United States Congress, and municipal regulators, and it files comments related to telecommunications policy, survey disclosure, and privacy law. It has submitted amicus perspectives in cases involving polling transparency and worked with coalitions including Advertising Research Foundation, Association of Public Opinion Research, National Press Club, and Association of Market and Social Research Organizations. Its influence extends to media reporting norms among outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, Associated Press, and Bloomberg News.

Publications and Research

The organization produces methodological reports, technical white papers, and guidance documents often cited in academic and industry literature alongside journals and publishers like Public Opinion Quarterly, Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, and Demography. Collaborative research projects have involved funding or partnership with foundations and institutes such as Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Rockefeller Foundation, Sloan Foundation, and MacArthur Foundation. Its outputs address topics studied at think tanks and research centers including Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation, and Council on Foreign Relations.

Events and Training

The organization hosts conferences, workshops, and webinars featuring speakers from universities and institutions such as Harvard Kennedy School, London School of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, Yale Law School, and MIT Media Lab; industry participants have included representatives from Facebook Research, Google Research, Microsoft Research, Amazon Web Services, and leading polling firms. Training covers topics found in curricula at professional educators like Coursera, edX, Udemy, and executive programs at Columbia Business School, Wharton School, and INSEAD.

Category:Trade associations based in the United States