The SSRS Approach
Collecting data that inform the public and policy-makers is all about effectively reaching the people who will be impacted by elections and policy decisions. SSRS has developed multiple ways of reaching these crucial populations within a given state or subnational area, especially those that are traditionally underrepresented in survey research.
- Strategies to Provide Accurate and Up-to-date Election and Breaking News
- Address-based Samples, Small Area Estimation, and Statistical Modeling for Health and Other Policy Work
- Building Proprietary State Panels to Reduce Costs and Maintain Methodological Rigor
- Innovative Qualitative and Quantitative Study Design Approaches to Best Meet Project Needs
- Develop Experimental Designs to Test Hypotheses and Question Wording Innovations
Strategies to Provide Accurate and Up-to-date Election and Breaking News
SSRS has been at the forefront of innovation for election-related and news surveys, including quick turnaround solutions for breaking news. SSRS leverages a variety of sample frames and multi-modal approaches that ensure representation across state residents. Some of these include:
- Leveraging the probability-based SSRS Opinion Panel, which has over 50,000 panelists across the U.S., to target residents, citizens, and registered voters of a particular state
- Pairing the SSRS Opinion Panel with other sample types, including Address-Based Sample (ABS), Registration Based Sample (RBS), Random Digit Dialing (RDD), Prepaid Cell Phone, and Nonprobability (Opt-in) Panel sample to grow the universe of state-level respondents
- Using the SSRS Encipher® calibration technique to improve survey estimates at the state-level
- Building a state-level proprietary panel, such as the Garden State Panel, to conduct state-level election and public opinion surveys
- Offering qualitative solutions, such as recruiting our SSRS Opinion Panelists to participate in focus groups, in-depth interviews, and Online Bulletin Boards, to gather opinions – often in real time – to react to a news event or other topical issue
- Conducting both cross-sectional and longitudinal research, such as pre-and post-election surveys on the SSRS Text Message Panel, to gather changes in opinion over time or related to a specific event
Address-based Samples, Small Area Estimation, and Statistical Modeling for Health and Other Policy Work
Health and other policy work requires highly representative samples that often include oversampling of underrepresented populations or those with specific health concerns or other challenges. SSRS understands how to use Address-based samples to target these groups of interest and cover state populations with precision. We also incorporate advanced statistical modeling to increase accuracy in targeting of specific areas and groups.
SSRS maintains a proprietary address-based sample database maintained by our advanced methods team and archives sampling data, deidentified responses, and paradata from previous SSRS-administered ABS collections. The database is used to create more effective and accurate predictive models that are used to stratify sample in order to reach desired groups more efficiently.
Building Proprietary State Panels to Reduce Costs and Maintain Methodological Rigor
Building proprietary state panels reduces costs and maintains methodological rigor. SSRS has a proven track record of helping clients establish, maintain, and conduct surveys via representative custom proprietary web panels.
SSRS works with clients to find the most efficient methods of conducting custom research while simultaneously empaneling respondents. We help clients maintain these panels and provide efficient methods of conducting statewide research moving forward, often providing a resource for additional researchers in government, academia, media, and other state organizations.
Innovative Qualitative and Quantitative Study Design Approaches to Best Meet Project Needs
Rigorous and complex research designs require applying a variety of approaches to meet project goals. These may include qualitative explorations to understand sentiment and/or for instrument testing and idea generation as well as following up with respondents to gather more rich, detailed understanding of issues of interest.
Even the most sophisticated address-based sample and mail push-to-web designs can sometimes produce fewer interviews with underrepresented groups than desired. The incorporation of prepaid cell phone samples at the state level can enhance sample representation by reaching these important populations.
Using manual texting methods is an emerging method used to contact respondents and invite them to participate in surveys. SSRS is experimenting with these new methods in state studies to evaluate efficacy and data quality.
Develop Experimental Designs to Test Hypotheses and Question Wording Innovations
SSRS works with our clients to design and execute experiments with recruitment methodologies, incentivization, and question wording to constantly improve our data collection techniques.
SSRS applies our methodological and statistical expertise to creating experimental designs, ensuring accurate random assignment to condition of sample, and working with clients to analyze and interpret results.
Strategies to Provide Accurate and Up-to-date Election and Breaking News
SSRS has been at the forefront of innovation for election-related and news surveys, including quick turnaround solutions for breaking news. SSRS leverages a variety of sample frames and multi-modal approaches that ensure representation across state residents. Some of these include:
- Leveraging the probability-based SSRS Opinion Panel, which has over 50,000 panelists across the U.S., to target residents, citizens, and registered voters of a particular state
- Pairing the SSRS Opinion Panel with other sample types, including Address-Based Sample (ABS), Registration Based Sample (RBS), Random Digit Dialing (RDD), Prepaid Cell Phone, and Nonprobability (Opt-in) Panel sample to grow the universe of state-level respondents
- Using the SSRS Encipher® calibration technique to improve survey estimates at the state-level
- Building a state-level proprietary panel, such as the Garden State Panel, to conduct state-level election and public opinion surveys
- Offering qualitative solutions, such as recruiting our SSRS Opinion Panelists to participate in focus groups, in-depth interviews, and Online Bulletin Boards, to gather opinions – often in real time – to react to a news event or other topical issue
- Conducting both cross-sectional and longitudinal research, such as pre-and post-election surveys on the SSRS Text Message Panel, to gather changes in opinion over time or related to a specific event
Address-based Samples, Small Area Estimation, and Statistical Modeling for Health and Other Policy Work
Health and other policy work requires highly representative samples that often include oversampling of underrepresented populations or those with specific health concerns or other challenges. SSRS understands how to use Address-based samples to target these groups of interest and cover state populations with precision. We also incorporate advanced statistical modeling to increase accuracy in targeting of specific areas and groups.
SSRS maintains a proprietary address-based sample database maintained by our advanced methods team and archives sampling data, deidentified responses, and paradata from previous SSRS-administered ABS collections. The database is used to create more effective and accurate predictive models that are used to stratify sample in order to reach desired groups more efficiently.
Building Proprietary State Panels to Reduce Costs and Maintain Methodological Rigor
Building proprietary state panels reduces costs and maintains methodological rigor. SSRS has a proven track record of helping clients establish, maintain, and conduct surveys via representative custom proprietary web panels.
SSRS works with clients to find the most efficient methods of conducting custom research while simultaneously empaneling respondents. We help clients maintain these panels and provide efficient methods of conducting statewide research moving forward, often providing a resource for additional researchers in government, academia, media, and other state organizations.
Innovative Qualitative and Quantitative Study Design Approaches to Best Meet Project Needs
Rigorous and complex research designs require applying a variety of approaches to meet project goals. These may include qualitative explorations to understand sentiment and/or for instrument testing and idea generation as well as following up with respondents to gather more rich, detailed understanding of issues of interest.
Even the most sophisticated address-based sample and mail push-to-web designs can sometimes produce fewer interviews with underrepresented groups than desired. The incorporation of prepaid cell phone samples at the state level can enhance sample representation by reaching these important populations.
Using manual texting methods is an emerging method used to contact respondents and invite them to participate in surveys. SSRS is experimenting with these new methods in state studies to evaluate efficacy and data quality.
Develop Experimental Designs to Test Hypotheses and Question Wording Innovations
SSRS works with our clients to design and execute experiments with recruitment methodologies, incentivization, and question wording to constantly improve our data collection techniques.
SSRS applies our methodological and statistical expertise to creating experimental designs, ensuring accurate random assignment to condition of sample, and working with clients to analyze and interpret results.
