Survey Research Workshop

Survey Research Workshop Spring 2026

Organizers: Pablo Argote and Daniela Urbina

Survey data is available everywhere. However, we should not take for granted that it is always high-quality, representative, or reliable. In fact, the current flurry of data sources and AI tools makes it more important than ever to have the skills to judge the quality of the measures we use. This will allow us to work with survey data rigorously, so we can answer substantive research questions. This workshop has three goals:

1. Learn core statistical and practical tools to work with existing survey data and design a new survey from scratch. These include building post-stratification weights, implementing multiple regression and post-stratification (MRP), using Qualtrics, designing appropriate survey questions, and designing and analyzing survey experiments, among others.

2. Provide a platform for graduate students, postdocs, and assistant professors to present ongoing work and receive feedback from an expert audience.

3. Create a network of social scientists at USC who work with survey data, facilitating the sharing of skills, practical knowledge, and contacts in the survey research world.

The audience for this workshop consists mostly of USC graduate students in Political Science, Sociology, and other social science departments. Because the workshop has a strong “how-to” component, it will be especially helpful for students who lack practical skills in this area but want to use survey data in their dissertation.

In the coming days, we will provide a link for people to register, and a tentative schedule of the first 3 sessions.