Emerson College Polling administers public opinion surveys to better understand the attitudes and beliefs of the public with a transparent and representative approach.
The Polling Center is a non-partisan organization dedicated to accurately reflect populations through public opinion research. Established 25 years ago as a classroom exercise, in 2012 Emerson College Polling was transformed into an innovative, nationally-ranked polling center. In addition, Emerson College Polling conducts and publishes research relating to voting trends, polling methodology, and public policy.
Emerson College Polling is a Charter Member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative. AAPOR is the leading professional organization of public opinion and survey research professionals in the United States, with members from academia, media, government, the nonprofit sector, and private industry.
Methodology
Emerson College Polling has developed a mixed-mode methodology that continues to develop as the way in which individuals communicate with one another evolves. To create a representative sample, Emerson College Polling uses a combination of:
Landline respondents
Cell phone respondents
Online panels
The Polling Center understands the importance of developing its methodology considerate of evolving communication technologies and methods. In 2016, ECP used a landline-only sample design. In 2017, it expanded to a mixed-mode methodology by integrating online panels into its sample. This IVR/Online mode of data collection led to a high rate of predictive and statistical accuracy in the 2018 Midterm Elections. In 2019, Emerson College Polling began to incorporate Text-to-Web data collection into its methodology to achieve the most representative sample possible. As of 2022, ECP’s mixed-mode methodology includes IVR, online panels and text-to-web data collection.
The Emerson Poll methodology pairs an automated system that collects data over landline phones, online panel of participants and a sample of cellphones through text-to-web data collection. The Polling Center utilizes a series of screening questions to identify targeted populations.
The results presented in our reports include univariate and bivariate analysis of the data. Frequency distributions for each item included on the questionnaire are shown in the tables. In all cases, cross-tabulation results are also shown. This type of bivariate analysis examines differences between sub-groups of the overall population.
The modes of data analyses are non-probability and deductive (from “general” to “specific”) in nature, so instead of using classical statistics to quantify the ‘uncertainty’ or range of scores a poll represents, we use Bayesian Statistical methods, that produce the mathematical likelihood of an event of interest, and that are inductive in nature (from “specific” to “general”), for data analyses in best estimate the true population mean proportion. Due to their inductive nature and probability oriented approach, Bayesian methods are often called “Evidence-Based” Statistics (Satake, 2014, 2016, and 2017).
Team
Who We Are
Spencer Kimball
Executive Director
Spencer Kimball is the founding Director of the Emerson College Polling Center. Kimball is an established expert in public opinion research. With over 20 years of experience, his innovative methodologies continue to lead the field.
His work is published in mainstream news sources around the globe and top tier journals including Nature Medicine and American Behavioral Scientist. In 2012, he established Emerson College Polling. His approach to data collection uses emerging communication technologies which includes text-to-web, email, online panels and Interactive Voice Response (IVR).
Kimball has been advising the CUNY School of Public Health on COVID-19 related surveys. In addition, he serves as an advisor to the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economic Polling Initiative that studies Hispanic Consumer sentiment.
Kimball is an Associate Professor at Emerson College, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Survey Methods and Political Communication.
Read More- Email: spencer_kimball@emerson.edu
Camille Mumford
Communications Director
Camille Mumford is the Director of Communications at Emerson College Polling (ECP). She oversees communication strategy and media relations, with an emphasis on a comprehensible and transparent polling approach.
Over the past several years, Mumford has led an extensive brand modernization of ECP’s innovative research, including refined messaging, a new website, and new social channels resulting in an increase of average web traffic by 200% from 2020 to 2022, and social following by 250% in two years.
Mumford’s primary area of research is related to women in public office, specifically on the differences in legislative and executive office through public opinion surveys and candidate debate content analysis.
Mumford is an Affiliated Professor at Emerson College where she teaches the undergraduate course in survey research.
Read More- Email: camille_mumford@emerson.edu