Mission Statement

Department of Political Science | Carl Albert Center |

OU POLL Mission Statement

OU POLL serves two functions:

· To provide a learning environment for the teaching of survey design, public opinion research, and data analysis for the purpose of developing student capabilities to conduct academic and professional research and analysis.

· To conduct research on public opinion, in order to foster knowledge about public affairs and to assist in the conduct of research on public policy of import to state and local governments, media organizations, other public and private entities, and the general public.

With respect to the first function, OU POLL seeks to become recognized as a state-of-the-art educational program offering excellence in survey research training to a wide range of undergraduate and graduate students. Towards this end OU POLL will work cooperatively with the Department of Political Science to develop appropriate academic course work, to recruit and train student workers, and to foster an environment marked by intellectual curiosity and academic rigor.

The second function involves OU POLL working cooperatively with academic and non-academic clients to provide the highest quality survey research capability. It will reach out to all sectors of the community and offer its services on a non-partisan basis. It will stress the integrity of the survey research process, objectivity in the collection of data in the interpretation of results, and impartiality with respect to the political process. Towards this end, OU POLL will not engage in political polling for any political party or candidate for public office connected to any political campaign or election.