Readings
Provisional Fall 2026 reading plan
The reading plan combines foundational survey methodology with current professional guidance and applied cases. Required readings should normally total approximately 40–70 pages per week; selections marked Recommended provide depth, alternative explanations, or useful reference material.
Readings that require library access will be distributed through Canvas. Public resources are linked below.
Core references used across the semester
- Groves, Robert M., Floyd J. Fowler Jr., Mick P. Couper, James M. Lepkowski, Eleanor Singer, and Roger Tourangeau. Survey Methodology, 2nd ed.
- Tourangeau, Roger, Lance J. Rips, and Kenneth Rasinski. The Psychology of Survey Response.
- Dillman, Don A., Jolene D. Smyth, and Leah Melani Christian. Internet, Phone, Mail, and Mixed-Mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method, 4th ed.
- Vannette, David L., and Jon A. Krosnick, eds. The Palgrave Handbook of Survey Research.
- American Association for Public Opinion Research. Standards, ethics, reports, and professional guidance.
Students are not expected to read every core reference cover to cover.
Session 1 · Polls, evidence, and error
Required
- AAPOR. 2024 Pre-Election Polling: Executive Summary.
- AAPOR. Polling Accuracy.
- Groves et al., Survey Methodology, chapter 2, “Inference and Error in Surveys” (selected sections).
Recommended
- AAPOR. Full Task Force Report on 2024 Pre-Election Polling.
- Asher, Herbert. Polling and the Public, introductory chapter.
Session 2 · Research objectives, ethics, and total survey error
Required
- AAPOR. Code of Professional Ethics and Practices.
- AAPOR. Best Practices for Survey Research.
- Groves et al., chapter 3, “Target Populations, Sampling Frames, and Coverage Error” (overview) and the total survey error framework from chapter 2.
Recommended
- AAPOR. Disclosure Standards.
- Biemer, Paul P. “Total Survey Error: Design, Implementation, and Evaluation” (selection).
Session 3 · Concepts, measurement, and questionnaire architecture
Required
- Fowler, Floyd J. Survey Research Methods, selections on measurement and question design.
- Tourangeau, Rips, and Rasinski, selections on the four-stage response process: comprehension, retrieval, judgment, and response.
- Schuman, Howard, and Stanley Presser. Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys, selected examples.
Recommended
- Krosnick, Jon A., and Stanley Presser. “Question and Questionnaire Design,” in Handbook of Survey Research.
- Converse, Jean M., and Stanley Presser. Survey Questions: Handcrafting the Standardized Questionnaire.
Session 4 · Wording, response options, order, and sensitive questions
Required
- Pew Research Center. Methods 101: Survey Question Wording.
- Schwarz, Norbert. “Self-Reports: How the Questions Shape the Answers.”
- Tourangeau and Yan. “Sensitive Questions in Surveys.”
Recommended
- Pew Research Center. When Online Survey Respondents Only ‘Select Some That Apply’.
- Holbrook, Allyson L., et al. selections on social desirability and survey mode.
Session 5 · Cognitive testing and multilingual equivalence
Required
- Willis, Gordon B. Cognitive Interviewing: A Tool for Improving Questionnaire Design, selected chapters.
- U.S. Census Bureau. Cognitive Interview Protocol Guide, selected sections.
- Survey Research Center. Guidelines for Best Practice in Cross-Cultural Surveys, selections on questionnaire development, translation, adaptation, and pretesting.
Recommended
- Harkness, Janet A., et al. selections on translation and cultural comparability.
- U.S. Census Bureau, selected bilingual cognitive-testing report on race and Hispanic-origin measurement.
Session 6 · Sampling and representation
Required
- Groves et al., chapters on sampling and coverage.
- Pew Research Center. Comparing Two Types of Online Survey Samples.
- Baker et al. “Report of the AAPOR Task Force on Non-Probability Sampling,” executive summary and selected sections.
Recommended
- Mercer, Andrew, and Arnold Lau. Benchmarking Methodology.
- Kennedy et al. “Evaluating Online Nonprobability Surveys.”
Session 7 · Modes, recruitment, coverage, and nonresponse
Required
- Dillman, Smyth, and Christian, selected chapters on tailored design and mixed modes.
- Pew Research Center. The Challenge of Mode-of-Interview Effects in Public Opinion Polls.
- Groves and Peytcheva. “The Impact of Nonresponse Rates on Nonresponse Bias.”
Recommended
- AAPOR, Transitions from Telephone Surveys to Self-Administered and Mixed-Mode Surveys, executive summary.
- Pew Research Center. Text Message Notification for Web Surveys.
- AAPOR, Texting for Research: A Brief Guide to the Regulatory Environment and Operational Considerations.
Session 8 · Programming, mobile design, randomization, and QA
Required
- U.S. Census Bureau. Design Guidelines for U.S. Census Bureau Web Surveys and Digital Forms, selected sections.
- Dillman, Smyth, and Christian, selections on visual design and web/mobile questionnaires.
- Course instrument quality-assurance protocol and test-case template.
Recommended
- Couper, Mick P. selections on web survey design.
- AAPOR disclosure checklist as a design-stage audit tool.
Session 9 · Fieldwork, paradata, fraud, and respondent quality
Required
- AAPOR. Data Quality Metrics for Online Samples: Considerations for Study Design and Analysis, executive summary and selected sections.
- Pew Research Center. Assessing the Risks to Online Polls From Bogus Respondents, selected sections.
- AAPOR, selected guidance on falsification and quality controls.
Recommended
- Pew Research Center. Answers That Did Not Match the Question Were Concentrated in Opt-In Polls.
- Course fieldwork monitoring examples.
Session 10 · Cleaning, coding, weighting, and documentation
Required
- Valliant, Richard, Jill A. Dever, and Frauke Kreuter. Practical Tools for Designing and Weighting Survey Samples, selected weighting chapters.
- Pew Research Center. For Weighting Online Opt-In Samples, What Matters Most?.
- Lumley, Thomas. Complex Surveys: A Guide to Analysis Using R, introductory selections.
Recommended
- Pew Research Center. How Different Weighting Methods Work.
- Pew Research Center. Variability of Survey Estimates.
Session 11 · Estimation, uncertainty, and subgroup analysis
Required
- Gelman, Andrew, and Jennifer Hill, selected discussion of estimates, uncertainty, and comparisons.
- Lumley, Complex Surveys, selections on weighted estimation and regression.
- AAPOR guidance on interpreting margins of sampling error for probability and nonprobability samples.
Recommended
- Wasserstein, Schirm, and Lazar. “Moving to a World Beyond ‘p < 0.05.’”
- Course case study comparing unweighted, weighted, and model-based estimates.
Session 12 · Visualization and public interpretation
Required
- Cairo, Alberto. How Charts Lie, selected chapters.
- Schwabish, Jonathan A. Better Data Visualizations, selected chapters.
- AAPOR. Disclosure Standards.
- Two contrasting public polling releases selected during the semester.
Recommended
- Healy, Kieran. Data Visualization: A Practical Introduction, selected chapters.
- Evergreen, Stephanie D. H. Effective Data Visualization, selections on accessibility.
Session 13 · Reporting, peer review, and partner briefing
Required
- AAPOR Transparency Initiative disclosure checklist.
- Selected high-quality public polling reports from Univision, Pew Research Center, and other news or research organizations.
- Course report style guide and reproducibility checklist.
No additional long reading will be assigned so teams can concentrate on the full report draft.
Session 14 · Presentation and retrospective
There is no new reading. Students will review the final report, peer feedback, decision log, and their own contribution record before class.
Reading-list principles
The final list will be adjusted to:
- keep weekly workload realistic;
- provide accessible alternatives for highly technical material;
- include work by a diverse set of survey methodologists;
- connect readings directly to that week’s project decision;
- distinguish required selections from useful reference works; and
- incorporate timely materials that emerge during the 2026 polling cycle.