Getting the Most Out of Your Surveys

Whether you're trying to take the pulse of the American public or simply trying to get a better understanding of your own membership, surveys are an essential tool for learning how to position and advance your advocacy work. However, while it's really easy to run a survey nowadays, it's not so easy to run one well.

Watch the recording to discover best use-cases for surveys, how to navigate questions around mode of contact and response rates, survey design tips, and some cheap and easy tools you can use to get started immediately. You’ll also gain a better understanding of how to maximize the impact of your surveys -- as well as how to avoid common polling pitfalls.

This presentation was recorded in September 2023.

Presenter

Jack Zhou helps to produce and manage the Climate Advocacy Lab's social science resources for its webinars, workshops, and website. He also oversees half of the Lab’s research programs. This work involves designing, tracking, and analyzing a range of experimental and non-experimental projects with advocate collaborators like the Sunrise Movement, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and the California Environmental Justice Alliance. He works at the Lab to help the climate community build deeper, more inclusive, and more effective relationships centered around mutual learning.

Jack’s research interests include identity-driven motivated reasoning, framing effects, and political polarization. In other words: how people think about climate change, how they process information on the issue, and what often gets in the way.

Prior to joining the Lab, he worked as a postdoctoral associate in energy policy and survey methods at Duke University. He received his B.S. in Society & Environment from UC Berkeley and his Ph.D. in Environmental Politics from Duke University. He lives in Durham, NC.