World Association for Public Opinion Research

The World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR), founded in 1947 with the objective of providing a worldwide meeting ground for those working in survey research with particular emphasis on bringing together those working in academic settings with those doing similar work in the private sector.

From the description of World Association for Public Opinion Research records, 1947-1999 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 26064127

The World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) is a professional association of individuals, rather than organizations or institutions. The purpose of WAPOR is to establish a worldwide meeting ground for those working in the area of survey research. Through its activities, WAPOR unites the world of survey research within the universities and the world of survey research within private organizations--two worlds that are often strictly separated. It is the express goal of WAPOR to bridge the gap existing between practitioners of social research in commercial institutes and theoreticians of academe. In particular, WAPOR seeks the membership of those social scientists who have professional experience in both academics and the commissioned research of privately owned business organizations.

WAPOR was founded in Williamstown, Mass., in 1947. Jean Stoetzel was its first elected president. In 1948, the Association had 129 members. In the early 1990s, the number of formal members was around 550 distributed throughout the world in 57 countries.

WAPOR is governed by an Executive Council elected by the membership in an international mail ballot. The Council consists of three officers: president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer; heads of the four standing committees: membership, publications, electoral, and Unesco liaison; and two members-at-large. Management of the Association is handled by the WAPOR secretariat.

From the beginning, WAPOR sponsored annual conferences that alternated between Europe and the United States. In even years, WAPOR met jointly with the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) in the United States. In odd years, it met with the ESOMAR (European Society for Opinion and Market Research) in Europe. In recent years, WAPOR has increasingly joined other international associations in organizing conferences. This arrangement permits WAPOR members to meet with academic, commercial, and government researchers from the main centers of survey research on both sides of the Atlantic.

(Adapted from information in various WAPOR publications.)

From the guide to the World Association for Public Opinion Research Records, 1947-2001, 2013, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)