The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research is moving its world-class archive of public opinion surveys to a new base of operations, the Center's Board of Directors announced Monday. There will be no break in service for providers or members. "After a 40-year tenure at the University of Connecticut at Storrs, we're looking forward to a bright future under a new operating relationship," Board Chairman Robert Shapiro said. "Our growing revenues, burgeoning membership and 501(c)3 non-profit status position us well for the transition ahead."
The Roper Center and the University announced that they are ending their relationship due to changing financial and academic priorities at the University. The Center's Board of Directors, owner of its vast public opinion database - the world's largest - is inviting proposals for a new home and has begun initiating discussions with prospective hosts to ensure a smooth transfer of the archive by late 2015.
"While UConn has been a valued partner, our independent ownership of the polling archive and its operating systems ensures seamless continuation of the Center's services," Shapiro said. "Our valued subscribers and data donors can rest assured that the Board will work diligently in the year ahead to select the host that is the best fit for the Center."
Founded by polling pioneer Elmo Roper, with early support from George Gallup, the Roper Center has grown to include more than 600,000 survey questions in its iPOLL system and 20,000 datasets from U.S. and international polls from 1935 to the present, available via state-of-the-art online access. Researchers from academic institutions and other member organizations search, select and download survey results and datasets more than 100,000 times each month to assess the history of public opinion on issues of interest and to add context and insight to understanding public attitudes today. The Center's staff adds new surveys and datasets to its collection on an ongoing basis, making new data sources rapidly available to the Center's members.
For information contact: Roper Center Board Chairman Robert Y. Shapiro Professor of Political Science, Columbia University rys3@columbia.edu