Methods and Practices

LAPOP: Methods and Practices

Each country survey is implemented based on a national probability design. In some cases, oversamples are collected to allow precise analysis of opinion within sub-national regions. Survey participants are voting-age adults interviewed face to face in their households, except in Canada and the United States where the interviews are web-based.

Cutting-edge methods and transparent practices ensure that data collected by LAPOP Lab are of the highest quality. These methods and practices include the following:

Pre-Survey

• Solicitation of input from a vast network of academics, practitioners, and policymakers
• Use of Vanderbilt University's experimental research lab to test new items
• Extensive in-country pre-testing of survey items
• Translation of surveys into several languages in the Americas
• Expert design of national probability samples
• Approval of Vanderbilt University's Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subjects

Implementation

• Rigorous training of all interviewers using guidelines published in detailed training manuals
• Partnerships with reputable survey organizations in the region
• Widespread use of electronic handheld devices and specialized software by LAPOP Lab to allow multilingual interviews and extensive validity checks

Post-Survey

• Use of cutting-edge statistical programs and methods to audit, process, and analyze the data sets
• Clear, user-friendly graphs featured in reports
• Public dissemination in surveyed countries
• Uploading of data onto LAPOP Lab's website and into LAPOP Lab's free interactive data analysis program