ESRA 2027 sessions by theme

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Session Details

Academic researchers increasingly rely on external organisations for survey data collection, including sampling and recruitment, access to probability and non-probability panels, questionnaire programming, fieldwork management, and data processing. Yet relationships between academic institutions and data collection providers are often approached primarily as procurement arrangements rather than as collaborations that can influence research quality.

This session invites contributions examining how academic researchers, universities, research infrastructures, and commercial or non-commercial data collection providers can work together to deliver high-quality, transparent, and cost-effective survey research. We are particularly interested in the interface between academic research requirements and professional survey practice, and in how decisions made when commissioning and conducting fieldwork affect data quality and the research process.

Contributions may address models of academic–provider collaboration; selection and procurement of data collection services; division of methodological responsibilities; transparency in sampling, recruitment, fieldwork and data processing; quality assurance and Total Survey Error; balancing methodological quality, costs and timelines; data documentation and reproducibility; and the advantages and challenges of long-term partnerships compared with project-based commissioning.

We particularly encourage joint submissions from academic researchers and representatives of data collection providers presenting projects or initiatives they have worked on together. These contributions could reflect on the collaboration from both perspectives, including challenges encountered, lessons learned, and how the partnership influenced methodological decisions, efficiency, and research quality. Individual submissions offering either an academic or provider perspective are also welcome.