Wolf POL staff gather data “Most polls cited in the news are being conducted in a very professional manner and can be considered representative of public opinion. However, consumers of this information must be very careful to pay close attention to what questions are being asked.” —Jim Wolf, director, POL

As we move closer to Election Day, it’s nearly impossible to open a newspaper or news Web site without seeing at least one public opinion poll. Several questions loom large: How are polls conducted and by whom? How accurate are they? 

According to Jim Wolf, director of the IU Public Opinion Laboratory (POL) at IUPUI, election polling in particular is under a lot of scrutiny this year, because the media are relying on them more as news in themselves. “Most polls cited in the news are being conducted in a very professional manner and can be considered representative of public opinion. However, consumers of this information must be very careful to pay close attention to what questions are being asked,” said Wolf. “Professional survey researchers are actively ‘self-policing’ their peers. This year is very controversial, but I see very little evidence of foul play by the major survey centers.”

Wolf began his career in survey research in 1981 while in graduate school and has been director of the POL since 2003. Founded in 1986, POL conducts interdisciplinary survey research that serves a wide variety of private, non-profit and governmental organizations, as well as faculty members, students and various IU departments. The majority of the research conducted by the POL is applied work in the fields of public opinion, marketing, health care and customer satisfaction. In the past year alone, the POL has conducted nearly two dozen studies for state government agencies (Family and Social Services Administration, the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute), municipal agencies (Marion County Health and Hospital Corp., Hamilton Southeast Schools), private organizations (Goshen College, the marketing firm Richard Harrison Bailey/The Agency) and, of course, various on-campus surveys at IUPUI.

Using the best and latest research techniques at their disposal, the POL customizes its research to fit the needs of the client. First, a questionnaire is designed—sometimes by the client and the POL staff, sometimes entirely by the client, sometimes by the POL—and then thoroughly pre-tested before dissemination. Mail surveys are based upon the industry standard—The Tailored Design Method (by Donald Dillman)—and each is carefully designed by the POL staff. Professional interviewers from the POL telephone/computer facilities in Walker Plaza on the IUPUI campus conduct the telephone interviews. The POL uses a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing system which allows for the efficient, organized collection of data.

Wolf says the workload keeps the full-time staff of five very busy. “We currently have one vacant full-time position and have about 30 interviewers on the books, though we may be increasing that as we head into a very busy fall season.”

Because the POL is a non-profit organization, its rates vary and services are provided on a cost recovery basis, which is not typical for private survey research centers. The POL is atypical for other reasons as well. “Most major universities have a survey research center. IU is somewhat unique in that it has one large center on the Bloomington campus, that does a lot of basic research, and a smaller center in Indianapolis that does more applied public policy studies,” said Wolf.>br>http://polecat.iupui.edu