Image by Meghan Moore
07/06/2020
Lowell Sun
By Aaron Curtis
LOWELL 鈥� Polls written and conducted by UMass Lowell鈥檚 Center for Public Opinion this spring gauged the public鈥檚 views about COVID-19, the Democratic primary races in key states, and beliefs on a range of political and pop culture topics.
But, according to the center鈥檚 Director Joshua Dyck, the most important work done by the center 鈥� launched in 2011 鈥� is training future survey researchers and supporting projects proposed by UMass Lowell faculty.
鈥淥ne of the unique things is that we are a university survey research center run by faculty committed to making student engagement a core part of our mission,鈥� said Dyck, in a press release recently issued by UMass Lowell.
Student Lindsey Kilpatrick, of Manlius, N.Y., learned about the center 鈥� part of the American Association for Public Opinion Research鈥檚 Transparency Initiative 鈥� as a member of the university鈥檚 Honors College through its Emerging Scholars Program. This year she contributed to a project that combined sports and politics.
Kilpatrick analyzed a subset of data from a survey that explored respondents鈥� attitudes about football, concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. CTE is a degenerative brain condition caused by repeated head impacts.
According to the university press release, Kilpatrick wrote about her findings in 鈥淔riday Night Politics: Football Bans and American Polarization,鈥� a research paper so accomplished, professors are submitting it to academic journals for publication.
The experience helped Kilpatrick land a paid internship this summer with a professional polling firm that conducts survey research for political candidates, businesses and nonprofits.
鈥淚 liked this project because it started off where I was most comfortable: the data analysis, the math,鈥� Kilpatrick said. 鈥淭hen I eased into the writing of a formal research paper. Now, I鈥檓 at a job and I know what I鈥檓 doing.鈥�
Dyck, and the center鈥檚 Associate Director John Cluverius discuss the center鈥檚 work in classes they teach, from Introduction to American Politics to Quantitative Research Methods. It helps students understand that research 鈥渋s a living, breathing thing,鈥� Cluverius said in the release.
鈥淲e have more and more students every year who are interested in polling and in being part of the work we鈥檙e doing,鈥� Cluverius said. 鈥淎nd every time we bring students into the process, we create a better survey.鈥�