Meet Dr. Ashley Kirzinger, survey geek
Dr. Ashley Kirzinger had barely been on the job as director of the Survey Research Office at the University of Illinois Springfield one week in August 2012 when she was asked to design a major county-wide survey to measure public opinion on several issues. A self-described “survey geek,” Kirzinger had just earned her doctorate in media and public affairs from Louisiana State University, with a specialization in survey methodology. She oversaw the Sangamon County Citizens Survey when it was first conducted in 2013 and again in spring 2015.
“People ask me, ‘Why would you want to be a pollster? That sounds awful,’ ” Kirzinger said with a laugh. “This is the one time in modern society where people get a chance to voice an opinion. I think it’s really interesting.”
The 100-question survey was conducted by calling landlines and cellphones in Sangamon County. Kirzinger says the survey took about 33 minutes per person, and 576 people participated, which was more than she expected.
“I think people were willing to do the survey because when else do they get asked these types of questions?” Kirzinger said. “A lot of times when people are calling, it’s either robo-calling for a horserace election or market research where people are pushing an agenda. This is the one time people actually get asked about things in their lives. I think that’s why people stay on the phone. Once we get them started on the questions, people don’t hang up on us.”
While 576 may not sound like enough participants to represent the 198,000 people in Sangamon County, Kirzinger says it works because the sample demographics approximate the demographics of the general population. She adds that the responses were weighted based on a participant’s age, ethnicity and other factors to make up for any differences between the survey sample and the general population.
For more information on the Survey Research Office at UIS, visit www.uis. edu/surveyresearchoffice. –Patrick Yeagle
At a glance: 2015 Sangamon County Citizen Survey
• 576 people participated: 392 by cellphone, 184 by landline
• conducted between April 15 and May 18, 2015
• 100 questions
• jointly funded by United Way of Central Illinois, Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln and University of Illinois Springfi eld
