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Survey Data Collection

NORC has long been an innovator in survey design and operations, adept at data collection across multiple modes—landline, cell phone, paper, the web, and in-person interviews, as well as non-interview data sources. Our survey experts can not only work on surveys to be conducted by NORC, but can also consult with clients on internal survey development and implementation.

NORC’s experience ranges from small studies to larger longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, and includes multiple data collection modes. Our range of expertise means we are particularly skilled at helping clients evaluate the trade-offs between various survey modes and at identifying the optimal approach to data collection given a client’s research needs, available resources, characteristics of the respondent population, and survey complexity. We survey an array of respondents, including individuals and organizations, and cover a range of general topics as well as very sensitive subjects.

NORC excels at obtaining high-quality data and achieving high response rates from populations sometimes hard-to-reach or hard to survey. Our portfolio includes surveys of older adults on topics that include health and sexual behavior, racial and ethnic minorities on health topics, young people recently out of foster care on life experiences and prospects, immigrants, and high-income individuals on financial issues. NORC also has particular expertise in the collection of longitudinal data. NORC’s careful, respectful approach to respondents of longitudinal surveys, an approach anchored in careful training and regular supplemental training, has yielded high retention rates for projects of more than 30 years duration.

Specific survey data collection expertise includes:

Representative Projects

Making Connections. The Making Connections survey, launched in ten poor urban communities, examines mobility, social capital, neighborhoods, resident participation, economic hardship, the availability and utilization of services, and child and adolescent well-being. More

Reintegration of Ex-Offenders Random Assignment Evaluation.

The Reintegration of Ex-Offenders Random Assignment Evaluation Study (RExO), funded by Department of Labor, is designed to provide a rigorous, random assignment evaluation of a demonstration program serving formerly incarcerated individuals through employment-centered programs. More

Resident Relocation Survey. NORC at the University of Chicago has been conducting the Resident Relocation Survey (RRS) to gain an understanding of the impact of the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) Plan for Transformation, an ambitious effort to rehabilitate or replace substandard high-rise public housing developments in Chicago, on the lives of those relocated. More

Strengthening Institutions to Improve Public Expenditure Accountability. NORC studied Global Development Network's impact on (a) the quality of policy research produced by grantee/partner institutions, and (b) through opinion research, an understanding of grantees’ perceived effectiveness in the policy arena. More

Survey of Economically Successful Americans. Economically successful Americans have views about national problems that can be of great value to scholars and policy makers. But little is known about the views of the most successful Americans which leads to these views being ignored and sometimes distorted by the media. The Survey of Economically Successful Americans and the Common Good (SESA) gives this select group a rare opportunity to make their voice heard by academics and policy makers engaged in matters of national importance. More

See all Survey Data Collection projects