Upcoming
Conferences and Seminars:

Annual Conference:

" Polls for the Public Good"
New Orleans, LA, USA
May 13-15, 2008
Click for more information

Thematic Seminar:

" Quality Criteria in Survey Research VII"
Cadenabbia, Lake Como, Italy
July 10-12, 2008
Registration Form
Preliminary Program

Sponsored Conference:

" International Conference on Survey Methods in Multinational, Multiregional, and Multicultural Contexts (3MC) "
Berlin, Germany
June 25-28, 2008
Conference Website

 

 

 

Dear Colleague:

Welcome to the website of the World Association for Public Opinion Research!

WAPOR was founded in 1947 by a group of experts and scholars interested in promoting and
improving public opinion research all over the world. For more than half a century, WAPOR members have worked together and with others, especially journalists who report on public opinion, to maintain high standards for the collection, analysis and dissemination of public opinion data.

More specifically, WAPOR is engaged in a number of activities designed:

• To promote in each country of the world the right to conduct and publish scientific research on what members of the mass public and relevant elites think and that influences actions in the government and the private sector;

• To promote the knowledge and application of scientific methods in the conduct of public opinion research;

• To assist and promote the development and publication of public opinion research worldwide, and

• To promote international cooperation and exchange among academic and commercial researchers, journalists and political actors, as well as between the representatives of the different scientific disciplines

Nearly 450 experts and scholars belonging to almost 60 countries are committed to these goals, working in close contact with other associations and agencies such as AAPOR (American Association for Public Opinion Research), the World Association of Research Professionals (ESOMAR), and other international and regional associations, as well as the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and private international organizations.

In order to pursue this mission, WAPOR organizes an annual international conference, alternately held in Europe in the odd-numbered years in conjunction with the annual conference of ESOMAR, and in America in the even-numbered years in conjunction with the annual conference of AAPOR. Through this arrangement, WAPOR provides its members with an extraordinary opportunity to be in touch with virtually everybody interested in public opinion and market research all over the world. You will find the latest information regarding those activities here on our website.

Beyond these annual conferences, WAPOR has recently been promoting a series of several specialized seminars in different regions of the world that offer valuable opportunities for people interested in the field in various geographic areas. This spring, WAPOR co-hosted a regional meeting of Latin American scholars interested in public opinion in Colonia, Uruguay, and we also co-sponsored a regional conference on political communication in Israel this summer.An extensive program of regional meetings is planned for other regions of the world and is described in greater detail on this website. WAPOR also cooperates in meetings, seminars and conferences organized by other organizations and agencies, providing specialized speakers to cover specific issues.

As WAPOR President, let me encourage you to join, or remain a member of WAPOR, by highlighting some of the reasons why WAPOR is such an important and unique organization. WAPOR members not only enjoy a reduction in fees when attending conferences or seminars; they also receive the International Journal of Public Opinion Research, the WAPOR Newsletter, the WAPOR directory and other useful information through the WAPOR list-serv. The International Journal of Public Opinion Research is published quarterly by the Oxford University Press, and it is now in its nineteenth volume. It has become an internationally recognized source of knowledge in our field.

Recently WAPOR approved a new dues structure that is sensitive to national economic circumstances and is very beneficial to potential new members coming from developing countries. In the Membership section of this website, you can find information about membership, including dues and an application for membership if you are not yet a member. The members of the Council are very open to and thankful for comments and suggestions. Please don’t hesitate to contact us whenever you like.

Thank you for your interest in WAPOR. Looking forward to meeting you at a conference soon!

Best wishes,
Michael W. Traugott
WAPOR President
University of Michigan
mtrau@umich.edu