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Survey research facility hires director, expands capabilities

By Amy J. Baumer IPPSR

When Jody Dougherty begins her new job as director of survey operations in the Office for Survey Research (OSR), she will bring not only extensive experience in survey operations—from two of the nation’s leading survey research organizations — she will also bring a passion for MSU.

An alumna of MSU’s College of Social Science, Dougherty graduated with a degree in political science and will return to her alma mater and OSR; the survey research arm of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR).

Most recently, Dougherty worked for the U.S. Bureau of the Census where she served as a program analyst in the field division’s decennial management training, recruiting and oversight branch. She has also worked for the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago.

As an undergraduate, Dougherty began her career in survey research at OSR as a telephone interviewer, an interviewing shift supervisor and an assistant project manager. She served as the interim operations manager for OSR from 1994 to 1995.

In her new position at OSR, she will be responsible for hiring, scheduling and managing the day-to-day data collection activities of telephone interviewing staff. With 45 telephone interviewing stations, the facility now has a staff of 80 to 120 trained interviewers, and 10 shift supervisors.

“We’re particularly fortunate to have Jody join us because when she was at NORC she led their efforts to move to a larger, more cost effective data collection facility,” said Larry Hembroff, OSR director. “She has already helped grow an organization like ours while maintaining high standards of quality.”

Dougherty will be part of a leadership team at OSR that has been expanding over the last year to accommodate a growing client list and service offerings.

Currently over 40,000 telephone and mail surveys are administered by OSR annually. Newer to its repertoire are Web surveys and enhanced data-analysis capabilities.

“Web surveys provide a lower-cost alternative to our clients who are interested in reaching a population like students or others who have ready access to the Internet,” said Hembroff. “Not only have we added this new Web survey capability, we have recently expanded our analytic capacity with the addition of another senior level researcher.”

Clients utilizing OSR services range from governmental organizations like the Michigan Department of Community Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and county health departments, to other research institutes like the Michigan Public Health Institute, as well as MSU faculty researchers and administration.

The Institute for Public Policy and Social Research’s Office for Survey Research (OSR) was established in 1989 to produce rigorous survey research on pressing public policy and scientific issues. For more information, visit the Web at
www.ippsr.msu.edu/OSR