Kristen Olson
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olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson
@olsonkm.bsky.social
1.1K followers 1.4K following 150 posts

Survey Methodologist. University of Nebraska-Lincoln Sociology Professor. Proud director of an academic survey research organization (Bureau of Sociological Research). Former Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology Editor (2020-2024). AAPOR Devotee. .. more

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Kristen Marie Olson is an American sociologist and statistician specializing in survey methodology. She is the Leland J. and Dorothy H. Olson Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) and also directs its Bureau of Sociological Research. .. more

Political science 28%
Sociology 25%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Brendan Nyhan, Linda J. Skitka, John Kane , and 15 more

nickvalentino.bsky.social
Nick Valentino @nickvalentino.bsky.social · 9d
ANES Data Release! electionstudies.org/data-center/...

The 3-wave ANES panel is now available. It merges data from 3 election studies (2016-2020-2024), the first time the ANES has collected interviews of the same respondents across 3 presidential elections.
2016-2020-2024-panel-merged-study - ANES | American National Election Studies
electionstudies.org

Reposted by Florian Keusch

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · 18d
New article! About a year ago, I asked ChatGPT 3.5 to calculate the reading level of survey questions. It was totally wrong. And this paper was born! Trent Buskirk and I examine multiple ChatGPT and Claude models for evaluating question reading levels & inputs.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
“ChatBot” is a Two Syllable Word...Or Is It?: Using Generative AI for Survey Question Readability Assessments - Kristen Olson, Trent D. Buskirk, 2025
Market and survey researchers aim to write survey questions so that the target population can understand them. A common recommendation for general population st...
journals.sagepub.com

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · 21d
New paper alert! We examine the effectiveness of sending a follow-up incentive to nonrespondents after an initial prepaid incentive (a sequential incentive). Response rates increased with higher seq incentives, but costs skyrocketed with $5 vs. $1 or $2.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Will One More Dollar Help? The Effect of Sequential Incentives on Survey Participation and Costs in a Concurrent Mixed-mode Survey - Kristen Olson, Amanda Ganshert, Mia Bourek, 2025
Prepaid monetary incentives increase response rates in surveys. Whether offering a second monetary incentive to nonrespondents in web-and-mail surveys increases...
journals.sagepub.com

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · 29d
Survey costs drive almost every data collection decision, but are woefully understudied. @aapor.bsky.social, @amstatnews.bsky.social, and @westatofficial.bsky.social are cosponsoring this important workshop on Survey Costs in February 2026! Submit your abstract today!

aapor.org/aapor-2026-s...
2026 Survey Costs Workshop - AAPOR
aapor.org

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · Aug 12
Yes, that's a great example. Thanks! And contemporary.

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · Aug 12
Yes, it's a great example! But I'm also interested in other examples of social science (or health) research ethical problems or issues or questions that don't make the "classic" examples list....

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · Aug 12
I'm teaching a research ethics class for upper division undergraduates this semester. Looking for case study examples of ethical issues that aren't the BIG ones (e.g., Tuskegee, Milgram, Zimbardo) in a digestible form for undergrads (news articles, podcasts, videos, shorter articles).

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · Aug 8
It was an honor to speak in this memorial session for Don Dillman at #JSM25. Don's influences on the science of surveys are extraordinary. But the primary words that people use to describe him at his memorial are kind, generous, honest, humble, and welcoming - I think he did something extra right.
bradytwest.bsky.social Brady West @bradytwest.bsky.social · Aug 3
A word cloud of the responses!

Reposted by Kristen Olson

bradytwest.bsky.social
Brady West @bradytwest.bsky.social · Aug 3
A word cloud of the responses!

Reposted by Kristen Olson

bradytwest.bsky.social
Brady West @bradytwest.bsky.social · Aug 3
@olsonkm.bsky.social kicks off our session celebrating Don Dillman at #JSM2025 with a discussion of Don’s contributions to survey methodology. Thanks to @statstas.datascience.blue for setting this up! 💯

Reposted by Claudia Sahm, Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Richard S.J. Tol , and 23 more

erikamcentarfer.bsky.social
Erika McEntarfer @erikamcentarfer.bsky.social · Aug 2
It has been the honor of my life to serve as Commissioner of BLS alongside the many dedicated civil servants tasked with measuring a vast and dynamic economy. It is vital and important work and I thank them for their service to this nation.

Reposted by Kristen Olson

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · Oct 7
I am teaching an Introduction to Survey Methodology class in the spring (undergrad and grad). Somewhat amazingly, I last taught this class 10 years ago.

What are your favorite textbook and other (podcast, videos, etc.) resources for nascent survey methodologists?

Reposted by Kristen Olson

jssam.bsky.social
Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology @jssam.bsky.social · Dec 19
This is the last day of posts from the Univ. of Nebraska-based social media team. We set up the JSSAM social media accounts 4 years ago to spread the word about the great work published in the journal. The account has been managed by editor @olsonkm.bsky.social, Angelica Phillips, & Ryan Doud.

Reposted by Kristen Olson

kwcollins.bsky.social
Kevin Collins @kwcollins.bsky.social · Dec 19
No, you really shouldn't field surveys (in the US) over Christmas and other major US holidays. Our team pulled together some data to show why this isn't good for your surveys (not to mention your survey respondents)

www.survey160.com/methodologic...
How Texting Around the Holidays Impacts Survey Performance — Survey 160
A common question we get at Survey 160 when trying to decide the fielding window for a text message survey is whether texting around major U.S. holidays is likely to impact performance. In short, the ...
www.survey160.com

Reposted by Kristen Olson

Reposted by Kristen Olson

emgusk.bsky.social
Emily Guskin @emgusk.bsky.social · Mar 4
This is very cool!! www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How Americans Feel About Trump’s Tariffs (Gift Article)
Trump loves tariffs. Do Americans? It depends how pollsters ask the question.
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Kristen Olson, Florian Keusch

aapor.bsky.social
American Association for Public Opinion Research @aapor.bsky.social · May 10
As you pack your suitcase, wait in security lines, or run into other AAPORites in the Uber line, snap a pic and share your journey to #aapor25!

Reposted by Kristen Olson

aedwardslevy.bsky.social
Ariel Edwards-Levy @aedwardslevy.bsky.social · May 12
A perennial tip for writing about surveys: the base population (who comprises the group that the survey question is talking about?) is SO important.

e.g. a poll finding that X% of "Americans who want to have kids" don't feel financially able to do so is totally different from "X% of all Americans"

Reposted by Brady T. West, Kristen Olson, Florian Keusch

rnishimura.bsky.social
Raphael Nishimura @rnishimura.bsky.social · May 10
🚨 Call for all AAPOR board gamers! 🚨
GAMEPOR is finally officially on the conference schedule, now named "Longitudinal Leisure Study (with board games)".
Bring your favorite (and luggage friendly) board games to the conference and come join us for an epic game night! 🎲
#AAPOR @aapor.bsky.social

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · Jul 24
I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the #ESRA25 @esrasurvey.bsky.social conference last week in Utrecht. A fantastic conference all around, with great talks on data collection methods, AI, data donation, questionnaire design, and much more.
Me (Kristen Olson) standing in front of my title slide that says "From Mail Surveys to Chatbots: Changes in Survey Modes, Methods, and Data Sources Over Time" at the keynote address at the European Survey Research Association conference in Utrecht

Reposted by Kristen Olson, Gayle Kaufman

weedenkim.bsky.social
Kim Weeden @weedenkim.bsky.social · May 26
Good news! Release 1 of the 2024 GSS is available for download.

The 2024 GSS, like 2022, uses web, in-person, and phone modes. For some variables this can complicate analyses of trends. See documentation.

Still a prob sample & gold standard survey w/ high resp rates (by contemporary standards).
Get the Data | NORC at the University of Chicago
gss.norc.org

Reposted by Kristen Olson

kathleenweldon.bsky.social
Kathleen Weldon @kathleenweldon.bsky.social · May 23
A scale for the ages. How exactly is one “a little neutral”?
Survey question: 1. How would you express your attitude toward gambling la lot Springa: (PRESENT CARD "A") 1. I am firmly and morally against it. 2. I am against it, but it's always been there. 3. I am a little neutral on this question. 4. If they want to gamble in Hot Springs I don't mind. 5. I think it is perfectly all right. I am in favor of it.

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · May 12
I give comments to my students of “what’s the denominator?” all the time!This level of precision matters not only for understanding the group about whom one is making inference, but also to suggest whether it’s the whole set of respondents or a subset of them (and all the errors therein).
aedwardslevy.bsky.social Ariel Edwards-Levy @aedwardslevy.bsky.social · May 12
A perennial tip for writing about surveys: the base population (who comprises the group that the survey question is talking about?) is SO important.

e.g. a poll finding that X% of "Americans who want to have kids" don't feel financially able to do so is totally different from "X% of all Americans"

Reposted by Kristen Olson

conradhackett.bsky.social
Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · May 11
If you encounter what seems like an implausible survey finding, ask:
1. Were survey respondents selected randomly or was this an opt-in poll?
2. Could the results, especially for young adults, be driven by bogus respondents?

Keep this post in mind: www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
In an experiment, Pew Research Center demonstrated that opt-in and probability-based surveys produced very different results about young adults' views of the Holocaust and abortion.

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · May 10
Looking forward to the #AAPOR25 conference next week!

I will be giving papers on visible incentives in mixed-mode surveys, mode preferences in today’s survey landscape, and using generative AI for reading level calculations of survey questions.
aapor.bsky.social American Association for Public Opinion Research @aapor.bsky.social · May 10
As you pack your suitcase, wait in security lines, or run into other AAPORites in the Uber line, snap a pic and share your journey to #aapor25!

Reposted by Christopher J. Fariss, Kristen Olson, Jeff Carter

electionstudies.bsky.social
American National Election Studies @electionstudies.bsky.social · May 1

Reposted by Kristen Olson

esrasurvey.bsky.social
European Survey Research Association (ESRA) @esrasurvey.bsky.social · Mar 21
📢 Registration for #ESRA25 conference is now open! We are so excited 🎉 Let's have a big reunion of survey researchers in #Utrecht!

⏰️ The early-bird registration deadline is on May 12 ⏰️

www.europeansurveyresearch.org/conference/u...
Registration and Fees
The European Survey Research Association (ESRA) is the leading professional organisation of survey researchers in Europe, with members from the academic, government, non-profit and commercial sectors
www.europeansurveyresearch.org

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · Mar 5
This article is a great example for a questionnaire design class!

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · Mar 4
*area ….

olsonkm.bsky.social
Kristen Olson @olsonkm.bsky.social · Mar 4
We have a paper in this Special Issue of @surveypractice.bsky.social! Spanish translation of self-administered surveys in a rural are with higher concentrations of Spanish speakers yielded very few Spanish language completes, but they came from addresses w/a Hispanic surname indicator on ABS frame.