AAPOR 2010: Courtney Kennedy

Some of the items I was most interested in learning about at AAPOR this year were the findings of the task force on cell phone survey research. Given my particular interest in understanding young voters, I am particularly concerned about the lack of coverage among that group with landline-only research. The task force presented a number of findings that acknowledged the increased costs and challenges of cell-phone sampling (cognitive shortcutting, potential risks to respondent safety, response rates, etc.) Courtney Kennedy's award-winning student paper on whether or not cell phone respondents employ cognitive shortcuts when responding to surveys. Essentially, are respondents paying attention and giving us good data? As the recipient of the Seymour Sudman student paper award, Kennedy tackled a critical question in understanding how to conduct better research using this sample frame. I was lucky enough to be able to ask her about her work for a moment at the AAPOR conference this weekend in Chicago.