The Bureau of Sociological Research celebrated our 60th anniversary in 2023-2024. We had another fantastic year, with $2.5 million in revenue and 135 projects. Because of our continued success and growth, BOSR restructured our leadership team in 2023-24, providing support and oversight of BOSR’s projects and client needs. After conducting widespread national searches, BOSR selected Kim Meiergerd to be the Assistant Director for Operations and Amanda Ganshert to be the Assistant Director for Research and Methods, each an expert in the science of surveys and in research center operations. Our award-winning staff continued to be recognized this year - Project Manager I Ryan Doud (2023) and Senior Project Manager Nikki Gohring (2024) won staff Applause awards from the College of Arts and Sciences. BOSR is in excellent shape for the future! Click here to read the Director's Message.
BOSR turned 60!
This year, BOSR celebrated 60 years of providing excellent service as a one-stop survey research shop. To celebrate and highlight the role of academic survey research centers within the survey industry, we planned a series of speakers throughout the academic year.
2024
At a Glance
This year, BOSR had $2,563,415 in revenue for the 2023-24 fiscal year. These funds were dispersed across 135 projects, including 19 grants and 40 translation projects.
See 2024 by the numbers2024
Notable Events
This year BOSR celebrates its community! BOSR gives its thanks to 5 years of partnership with UNL's Print & Mail Services and 15 years of collaboration with the State of Nebraska.
See what we've been up toKeeping Busy All Summer Long with Field Work
BOSR had a summer full of in-person observation and survey work. We recruited 16 students to travel across Nebraska for work in the field.
Seat Belt Use Survey
BOSR was commissioned by the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) to send observers to 72 locations in nine counties throughout the state to record seat belt use in passenger vehicles. This information is used to determine Nebraska’s “belted rate” which is then reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This information is important as it allows for more strategic efforts on behalf of the state to encourage and enforce seat belt laws. 2024 was the sixth year BOSR completed these observations and reported the results to NHTSA. Over 13,000 motorists were observed during data collection in summer 2024 by five observers.
Child Safety Seat Use Survey
The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) also commissioned BOSR to collect child safety seat use observations in nine counties in Nebraska. The 2023 data collection was the second year that BOSR conducted the data collection. BOSR prepared materials, recruited and trained personnel, scheduled data collection, and collected 573 child safety seat observations.
SYNAR Coverage Study
Every three to five years, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) must conduct random, unannounced inspections of all businesses to determine whether their tobacco licensee list is up to date. BOSR sampled 19 census tracts, found all retailers in each tract, determined whether each retailer sold tobacco or had a tobacco license, and calculated the coverage rate of NDHHS’s tobacco licensee list. Over 2,500 businesses were visited during the 2023 canvassing period.
Double Up Food Bucks Customer Survey
Researchers from UNL’s Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences recruited BOSR to aid in surveying grocery store and farmers’ market customers. Those that used Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) when buying groceries were directed to waiting BOSR staff to complete a survey online or by paper about their experiences with DUFB. Data were collected at eight grocery stores and farmers’ markets and 114 surveys were completed by the end of the data collection period.
