Affiliations: [a] The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research,
University of Connecticut, CT, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: The Roper Center, 369
Fairfield Way, Unit 2164, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-2164, USA.
Tel.: +1 860 486 4440; E-mail: marc.maynard@uconn.edu
Abstract: The research value of survey data is measured by its utility, which is driven by
researchers' ability to evaluate survey quality. The proliferation of polls
combined with new and emerging technologies for data collection and analysis
have made it more difficult for researchers, journal editors, journalists and
the general public to evaluate survey quality and reliability. In a time of
innovation and ever-changing technologies the very definition of "disclosure" is
fluid, further hampering efforts to evaluate survey quality. This paper provides a review of the benefits and challenges of full
methodological disclosure from various vantage points, and a detailed assessment
of efforts to codify disclosure requirements and recommendations from four
leading professional organizations in opinion research. By examining major
sources of opinion data, focusing on the unique role of data archives and their
historical interest in documenting and preserving research data, we propose a
proactive extension of the archives' role to support several on-going efforts to
provide clear and consistent disclosure of survey methods.
Keywords: Methodology, disclosure, research methods, metadata
