Overview
As a survey center that subscribes to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Code of Professional Ethics and Practices, we pledge to maintain the highest standards of scientific competence, integrity, accountability, and transparency in designing, conducting, analyzing, and reporting our work, and in our interactions with participants, clients, and the users of our research.
Principles of Professional Responsibility in Our Dealings With People
Survey Participants
- We will avoid practices or methods that may harm, endanger, humiliate, or unnecessarily mislead participants and potential participants.
- We recognize that participation in our research is voluntary except where specified by regulation or law. Participants may freely decide, without coercion, whether to participate in the research, and whether to answer any question or item presented to them.
- We recognize the critical importance of protecting the rights of minors and other vulnerable individuals when obtaining participation decisions and conducting our research.
- We will act in accordance with laws, regulations, and the rules of data owners (providers of research or administrative records previously collected for other purposes) governing the collection, use, and disclosure of information obtained from or about individuals, groups, or organizations.
Clients or Sponsors
- When undertaking work for a private client, we shall hold confidential all proprietary information obtained about the client and about the conduct and findings of the research undertaken for the client, except when the dissemination of the information is expressly authorized by the client, or when disclosure becomes necessary under terms of Section I-C or II-A of this Code.
- We shall be mindful of the limitations of our techniques and capabilities and shall accept only those research assignments which we can reasonably expect to accomplish within these limitations.
Principles of Professional Practice in the Conduct of Our Work
We will exercise due care in developing research designs, samples, and instruments, and in collecting, processing, and analyzing data, taking all reasonable steps to assure the reliability and validity of results.
- We will recommend and employ only those tools and methods of analysis that, in our professional judgment, are fit for the purpose of the research questions.
- We will not knowingly select research tools and methods of analysis that yield misleading conclusions.
- We will not knowingly make interpretations of research results that are inconsistent with the data available, nor will we tacitly permit such interpretations. We will ensure that any findings we report, either privately or for public release, are a balanced and accurate portrayal of research results.
- We will not knowingly imply that interpretations should be accorded greater confidence than the data actually warrant. When we generalize from samples to make statementsabout populations, we will only make claims of precision and applicability to broader populations that are warranted by the sampling frames and other methods employed.
We will describe our methods and findings accurately and in appropriate detail in all research reports, adhering to the standards for disclosure specified in Section III of the Code.
SURVEY PARTICIPANTS
Return to the overview page where you can access important information for survey participants.
Our team conducts a range of surveys for non-profit and public-interest organizations. Review our active projects.
We are a full-service academic survey research facility at The University of Virginia with 32 years of experience.