Our Mission
The Center for Opinion Research empowers leaders, organizations, and communities to answer important questions and make strategic decisions by providing exceptional research design, reliable high-quality data, and insightful analysis. We also foster learning among researchers, students, and the public to encourage clear thinking about survey methods, polling, and public opinion research. We are deeply committed to seeing our community thrive, and we combine academic excellence with a community-based participatory approach that helps clients transform research into action to strengthen organizations and improve lives.
The Center is a non-profit and non-partisan survey research organization within Franklin & Marshall College. We are unique in Pennsylvania, and our research capabilities are greatly enhanced by our relationship with F&M. In addition to conducting surveys, we also pursue scholarly research, studying the methods and mechanisms of survey research itself. Therefore, evidence-based practices guide our choice of methodologies, which produces highly accurate data and actionable results for our clients.
Our research has been trusted and leveraged to develop policy, provide the public with clear and reliable information, and promote impactful change across many sectors, including nonprofits, healthcare, business, education, government, and community organizations. Our director, Berwood Yost, is a nationally recognized leader in survey research and public opinion polling. He is regularly contacted by journalists, scholars, and community leaders to discuss polling methodology, Pennsylvania and national public opinion trends, election surveys, and the implications of survey findings for politics, public policy, and community services. Learn more about Mr. Yost’s research, publications, and expertise at berwoodyost.com .
What Makes Our Research Different
Academic Rigor
Rooted in Franklin & Marshall College and guided by evidence-based research practices.
Trusted and Objective
Nonprofit and nonpartisan values that support trust, credibility, and objectivity.
Deep Expertise
Deep subject-matter expertise developed through decades of applied and scholarly research.