EAST LANSING, Mich. — Larry Hembroff, director of the Office for Survey Research in MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, is the new president of the Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations.
Formed in 2008, AASRO is an association of the 60-plus survey research organizations within American universities and colleges. The organization includes many of the Big 10 universities, and is the leading voice in support and promotion of excellence in survey research conducted in colleges and universities.
“This is excellent recognition of Dr. Hembroff’s dedication to excellence in survey research,” said IPPSR Director Douglas Roberts. “He is truly among the nation’s leading authorities on survey research in all its aspects.”
Hembroff, a sociologist, is founding director of the Office for Survey Research, or OSR, which began operation in 1989 to serve the survey research needs of the faculty and MSU. He oversees all operations of the office, in addition to serving as senior methodologist with responsibility for sampling designs, training, questionnaire development, data collection, data processing and analysis.
OSR conducts telephone, mail and Web-based surveys for scientific or policy research for academic, government and nonprofit organizations, offering services ranging from design to cognitive interviewing, focus groups and instructional support. OSR administers more than 40,000 telephone, web and mail questionnaires per year.
Under Hembroff’s leadership, OSR has conducted needs assessments, epidemiological studies, opinion surveys and client feedback surveys on such subjects as healthcare, suicide prevention, environmental quality and neighborhood development approaches. It also conducts MSU’s quarterly State of the State Survey, known for its systematic measurement of the state’s economic confidence.
MSU’s Office for Survey Research has become nationally known for its surveys assessing human health and health behaviors on such subjects as student drinking, breast cancer and prostate cancer.
Hembroff has participated in and been published as part of groundbreaking research into the care and treatment of prostate cancer patients and their families.
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