Details of my work

Current/recent consulting engagements include:

  • NBC News: Manager of Election Polling, Jan. 2011-present. Direct exit poll analysis for network and MSNBC; work with producers and talent to execute live election night and follow-up coverage of exit polls in general elections and presidential primaries. Previously served as NBC News senior exit poll analyst, writing/producing stories/graphics that aired live as part of Emmy-nominated broadcast in the November 2010 midterm elections.
  • Harvard Opinion Research Program, Harvard School of Public Health: consultant, July 2011-present.
  • Pew Research Center:
    • Data analysis and reporting for Pew Global Attitudes Project: Japan a year after Fukushima (released June 5, 2012) | Russia after Putin election (released May 23, 2012)
    • War and Sacrifice in the 9/11 Era, parallel Pew surveys of veterans and the general public. Released October 2011. Questionnaire design consultation, data analysis and contributing author to the report.
    • Project for Excellence in Journalism, The Tablet Revolution: How People Use Tablets and What It Means for the Future of News, released October 2011. Survey questionnaire design consultation.
    • Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey, released September 2010. Project manager and polling consultant - coordinated questionnaire design with advisory board and Pew staff, monitored field work, analyzed data and led drafting of report.
  • ABC News, consultant, January-July 2010. Wide-ranging assistance as Polling Unit transitioned into an independent company.
  • The Washington Post, consultant, January 2010. Poll of Massachusetts voters right after Republican Scott Brown won the special election for U.S. Senate.

Prior professional experience includes:

  • The Associated Press. Directed polling unit of global news organization from its inception in 2004 to 2009. As AP representative to National Election Pool starting in 1994, helped design more than 400 exit polls of voters nationally and in all 50 states. Established, enforced and educated AP journalists on how to apply rigorous standards for poll coverage. Previously held numerous other AP positions including national editor, reporter in NYC and Concord, N.H., bureaus. Read here for more detail

Publications

  • "Cell-Phone-Only Voters in the 2008 Exit Polls and Implications for Future Noncoverage Bias." Michael Mokrzycki, Scott Keeter and Courtney Kennedy. Public Opinion Quarterly, 73 (#5), 2009: 845-865. PDF | HTML
  • "What's Missing from National RDD Surveys? The Impact of the Growing Cell-Only Population." Scott Keeter, Courtney Kennedy, April Clark, Trevor Tompson and Mike Mokrzycki. Public Opinion Quarterly, 71 (#5), 2007: 772-792. PDF | HTML

Conference papers/presentations

  • American Sociological Association, August 2012, Denver, Colorado: "A History of Survey Research and Its Professional Associations." Sole author/presenter.
  • AAPOR, May 2011, Phoenix, Arizona:
    • "Cell-Only Voters in the Exit Polls: An Update from the 2010 Midterms," co-presented and co-authored with Scott Keeter.
    • "Not Getting it Right: Incorrect Answers vs. 'I Dont Know' in Knowledge Surveys." With Gregory A. Smith, Rob Suls, Jocelyn Kiley and Scott Keeter.
  • AAPOR, May 2009, Hollywood, Florida: Presented "Cell-Phone-Only Voters in the 2008 Exit Polls." With Scott Keeter and Courtney Kennedy. Paper | PowerPoint
  • AAPOR, May 2007, Anaheim, California:
    • "What's Missing From National RDD Surveys? The Impact of the Growing Cell-Only Population." With Scott Keeter, Courtney Kennedy, Trevor Tompson, and April Clark.
    • "Voters and Non-Voters in Midterm Elections." With April Clark, Robert Suls and Trevor Tompson.
    • "Consumer Confidence and the 2006 Election." With Trevor Tompson, Michael Gross and Dennis Junius.
  • AAPOR, May 2005, Miami Beach, Florida: "The Impact of Question Order on the Measurement of Party Identification." With Trevor Tompson.

Professional affiliations and service

  • Member: American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), New England Association for Public Opinion Research (NEAAPOR)
  • AAPOR:  Elected by 2,000-member organization to the association's Executive Council as Communications chair 2008-2010; member 2012 Conference Program Subcommittee; current chair, Heritage and Archives committees.
  • Manuscript referee: Public Opinion Quarterly (Oxford University Press), 2010-present; The Social Science Journal (Elsevier), 2014-present; Field Methods (Sage Publications), 2011

Invited appearances and media interviews include:

  • Moderator, New England Association for Public Opinion Research panel on polls and politics, Boston, upcoming: Oct. 17, 2014
  • Guest lecturer, Harvard University, Department of Government, class GOV1013 "Election Polling and Public Opinion," March 28, 2012
  • "Using Polls To Enhance Your Election Coverage." New England Society of Newspaper Editors 2011 Annual Conference, Tewskbury, Mass., Nov. 11, 2011
  • Panelist, forum on Occupy Wall Street movement, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Nov. 8, 2011
  • Panel moderator, "The Challenge of Polling in Congressional Races: A View from 2010"; and discussant for session "Historical Perspectives on Survey Research," American Association for Public Opinion Research annual conference, Phoenix, Arizona, May 2011.
  • "Polling During the 2008 Election." Invited talk, Utah- Idaho-Spokane Associated Press Association, Spokane, Wash., June 2008. (See one audience member's blog post)
  • "Talking About Polls: How To Communicate Effectively With Journalists, Clients and Other Non-Scientists." With Nancy Belden, Belden, Russonello and Stewart; and Rich Morin, Pew Research Center. Invited panelist, professional development breakfast, American Association for Public Opinion Research annual conference, Anaheim, Calif., May 2007.
  • "The 2004 Election Exit Polls." Invited talk, New England Associated Press News Executives Association, Concord, N.H., 2005.
  • "The 2004 Presidential Primary Polls." With J. Ann Selzer, Selzer & Co., Gary Langer, ABC News, and Warren Mitofsky, Mitofsky International. Invited panel, American Association for Public Opinion Research annual conference, Phoenix, Ariz., May 2004.

Education

  • B.S. in Journalism, Boston University
  • Graduate-level study (audited with all coursework successfully completed), University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, Summer Institute in Survey Research Techniques
    • 1994: Introduction to Statistics; Survey Research Methods; Cognitive Aspects of Questionnaire Design
    • 2007: Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research Design

 

Site tour / next: contact / social media

Published on