BOSR Director's Message
The Bureau of Sociological Research continued to serve our clients with the highest quality data collection and research support services in 2024-2025. With over $2.3 million in revenue and 129 projects, BOSR had a strong year. We supported projects across the University of Nebraska system and beyond, with clients from all four University of Nebraska campuses, University of Iowa, University of Virginia, Oregon Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, and Hiroshima University. We also continued our long-standing partnerships with researchers at Doane University (read more in this report) and the State of Nebraska. One of BOSR’s unique areas of expertise is in surveys of agricultural producers; five of BOSR’s projects in 2024-25 collected data from these populations. Learn more about these projects later in this report.
BOSR contributed broadly to the data infrastructure at UNL and in Nebraska this year. We co-sponsored access (with UNL’s University Libraries) to the Roper iPoll, a data archive for high quality public opinion and survey data. This archive is a crucial outlet for social science research, and BOSR is extremely pleased to be able to partner with the Libraries for access for the entire campus. BOSR also continued our Nebraska Snapshot series, analyzing Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey data, to look at how Nebraska adults are doing today. Nebraska Snapshot reports come out every other month, and are available on BOSR’s website.
BOSR had a banner year for peer-reviewed publications, technical reports, conference presentations, and awards. Methodological research as part of BOSR’s internal research and development program helps us improve methods and keep costs reasonable for our clients, along with trying the latest innovations in the field. This work on survey costs, innovations in web access options for mixed-mode surveys, Spanish-language materials, incentives, and more is described in this report. We are also so pleased that BOSR’s staff have been recognized for their excellence, including Minshuai Ding receiving the John Tarnai Memorial Scholarship from the Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations and Lizzy Golightly and Deb Predmore receiving Applause awards from the College of Arts and Sciences. As BOSR Director, I was also honored with the Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award from the University of Nebraska-System.
As with most research organizations, BOSR was not unaffected by shifts in the federal funding landscape this year. We worked with our clients in real-time to adjust projects as needed. We continue to provide scientifically-based research services and support for all of our clients, and look forward to doing so in the years to come.
A Mission of Research
BOSR regularly conducts experiments on modes of data collection and methods for recruiting people into web surveys, analyzes data related to interviewers, and does other methodology research and development work to improve the quality of data for our clients and contribute to the science of surveys.
In addition to presenting at the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research and American Association for Public Opinion Research conferences, BOSR has been hard at work writing reports and journal articles to disseminate our results for the field to use.
- These papers have all been published in journals:
- Examining Variation in Survey Costs Across Surveys
- Published in Sociological Methods & Research
- Remember, You Can Complete This Survey Online! Web Survey Links and QR Codes in a Mixed-Mode Web and Mail General Population Survey
- Published in Social Science Computer Review
- The Effects of Spanish-Language Materials in a Local Area ABS Mixed-Mode Survey on Response Rates and Sample Composition: An Experiment
- Published in Survey Practice
- Will One More Dollar Help? The Effect of Sequential Incentives on Survey Participation and Costs in a Concurrent Mixed-Mode Survey
- Published in Field Methods
- Examining Variation in Survey Costs Across Surveys
- Some experiments and analyses are not suited for journal publication, but are still important to the field. These have been published as technical papers on BOSR’s website:
- An experimental study on the effects of incentive packaging on response rates and sample composition
- Effects of images in mail survey materials for local geographic areas on survey participation
- Web Access Choice for 19-25 Year Olds and When to Offer a Paper Survey
The recently launched Nebraska Snapshot series has continued to give insights into Nebraska adults’ perspectives using Nebraska Annual Social Indicators Survey (NASIS) data.
BOSR also partnered with the University Libraries to give researchers access to Roper iPoll, a database of public opinion data from U.S. and international polling firms. BOSR-collected NASIS data is now archived here for dissemination to a wide audience.
Research with Agricultural Producers
Because Nebraska is an agricultural state, helping researchers hear from members of the agricultural community about their attitudes and experiences is an important part of BOSR’s research support services. BOSR has years of experience collecting data from agricultural producers, including access to sample frames for different agricultural producers, including specifying different crops or size of operations, and knowledge of the best time of year and modes to reach producers. In 2024-2025, we worked with five agricultural producer populations through a variety of modes.
- BOSR contacted farmers across the U.S. through email and mailed letters to encourage completion of a web-based activity and survey about the role of information and attitude towards information in grain marketing.
- BOSR collected paper and web survey data through emailed and mailed invitations and telephone call reminders from Grassland Conservation Reserve Program participants about their attitudes toward grazing, soil health, and conservation programs.
- BOSR collected paper survey data through mailed invitations to farmers who previously participated in the Conservation Innovation Grant Precision Nitrogen Project about their experiences with that project and attitudes on digital agriculture technologies.
- BOSR collected paper and web survey data through emailed and mailed invitations to Nebraska women agricultural producers about their experiences.
- BOSR is currently collecting data through paper and web surveys distributed at Nebraska and Colorada sugar beet co-op meetings to ask about fertilizer and conservation practices of sugar beet farmers.
Evaluating Doane University Programs
Doane University faculty and staff frequently partner with BOSR as the external evaluator for grant-funded programs. In 2024-2025, BOSR evaluated four programs led by Doane University faculty using various combinations of pre-program and post-program web surveys, 6-month and one year follow-up web surveys, qualitative interviews, and focus groups. In addition to collecting data, BOSR provides these projects with an annual summary report, and will conclude each evaluation with an overall summative report.
- International Research Experience for Students at Doane University – a three-year program that gives undergraduate students an international research experience that impacts their long-term career and academic goals in STEM.
- Sustaining Undergraduate Classroom and Career Excellence for STEM Students – a six-year program that provides activities and scholarships to 150 underserved and low-income students in financial need who are pursuing Bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields to encourage them to pursue graduate education.
- Digital Imaging and Vision Applications in Science – a three-year program to generate knowledge and development of self-efficacy in computing and computational thinking skills, especially among underrepresented groups.
- Master of Arts in Counseling Rural Partnerships Program – a three-year program in which 25 behavioral health counseling student trainees serve 10 underserved eastern Nebraska counties, including areas with high Native American and Hispanic/Latino populations.
Awarded for Excellence
BOSR employees show up and stand out in the field of research, and people are taking notice. Here are the awards our staff has won in the past year.
Outstanding Research and Creative Activity (ORCA) Award
Kristen Olson was awarded this University of Nebraska System award for her work in the field of survey methodology. She is recognized as widely published, has been elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Society and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has served on a number of national task forces and panels related to survey methodology and public opinion research. Her work shapes data collection at the highest levels and has put UNL on the map in the field.
See official announcementJohn Tarnai Memorial Scholarship
Minshuai Ding was given this award by the Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations for his great promise for long-term involvement in and contributions to the field of survey research. He is recognized as managing complex, mixed-mode data collections, leading a BOSR’s internal community and engagement group, and contributing to BOSR’s research mission through conference presentations.
College of Arts and Sciences Applause Award
Lizzy Golightly and Deb Predmore each won a monthly Applause award. They are recognized for their outstanding performance and service beyond the call of duty.
See official announcement