WAPOR awards and prizes are intended to recognize significant accomplishments in the Public Opinion field. Specifically, we encourage future advancements through student awards and yearly accomplishments for exemplary papers and presentations at the annual conference. 

Naomi Turner Prize: This prize honors the best paper written and presented at the annual conference by a student(s). This prize was endowed by WAPOR past president Fred Turner in memory of his mother. Fred was president of WAPOR from 1989-1990. The author(s) will receive $1000.

Elizabeth Nelson Prize that is presented to the best paper written and presented at the annual conference by one or more persons from a society in transition (tiers B, C or D). This prize was endowed by WAPOR past president Elizabeth Nelson who was president of WAPOR from 1991-1992. The author(s) will receive $1500.

Alexis de Tocqueville Award that is given annually for the best conference paper concerned with democracy and public opinion, whether in a consolidated or in an emerging democracy. De Tocqueville is best known for his still highly cited book On Democracy in America. A panel of public opinion scholars drawn from WAPOR’s membership will judge submissions. The de Tocqueville Award, founded jointly by three WAPOR Presidents (Marita Carballo, Claire Durand and Timothy Johnson), comes with a $500 prize.

Submission: For the prizes above, the author(s) will have had their abstract accepted for presentation to the WAPOR 78^th Annual Conference. Authors will then submit their full papers electronically (send to waporoffice@gmail.com) by the deadline of March 30, 2025.

Entries are expected to be approximately 15 to 25 pages in length, font Times New Roman 12, double-spaced. References citation format: APA.  Lengthy tables or other statistical calculations (over 1 page length) should be included in an appendix. The appendix is not counted towards the overall paper length. The paper may have multiple authors; every co-author is required to meet the eligibility criteria (if specified). Information about the authors should be included on the first page of the manuscript, indicating name, affiliation, and contact details.

A panel of researchers from WAPOR’s membership–drawn from the academic, government, and commercial sectors–will evaluate the submissions. Competitors will be notified of a decision prior to the start of the annual conference. Every award committee reserve the right not to give an award. The same paper can be nominated only for one award at a time.

Janet A. Harkness Student Paper Award: The World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) and the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) request submissions to be considered for the Janet A. Harkness Student Paper Award, as part of the program for WAPOR’s annual conference in 2024. This award is given in memory of Dr. Harkness, distinguished cross-cultural survey methodologist, who passed away in 2012.

Paper topics must be related to the study of multi-national/multi-regional/multi-cultural survey research (aka 3M survey research), or to the theory and methods of 3M survey research, including statistics and statistical techniques used in such research. Paper topics might include: (a) methodological and/or statistical issues in 3M surveys; (b) public opinion in 3M settings; (c) theoretical issues in the formation, quality, or change in 3M public opinion; and/or (d) substantive findings about 3M public opinion.

The winning paper will be announced at the WAPOR annual conference, which will be held on May 12-15, 2025 in St. Louis, USA. The lead author of the paper will be invited to deliver it as part of the conference program. In addition to a $750 award, the conference registration fee will be waived. In addition, one or more papers may receive an Honorable Mention designation.

Eligibility. All authors of any submission must be current students (graduate or undergraduate) at the time of the submission or have recently graduated, i.e., have received their degree no later than the 2023 calendar year. The research must have been substantially completed while the author was enrolled in a degree program. Judges will give preference to papers based on research not presented elsewhere or previously published.

Submission

1. Submit your full paper to the award committee chair (Dr Chan-Hoong Leong) at ischanhoong.leong@ntu.edu.sg by March 1, 2025. Entries are typically 15-25 pages long (not including the title page, abstract, tables, references and appendices). Font: Times New Roman 12, double-spaced; references citation format: APA. Lengthy tables or other statistical calculations (over 1 page length) should be included in an appendix.
2. Each submission must include a cover page that:
   1. Includes the applicant’s name, telephone number and email address;
   2. States whether the paper has been presented elsewhere, published, or accepted for publication at the time of submission.
3. Also, by the deadline for submission, a faculty advisor must email the award committee chair, attesting to the role that the applicant played in conceptualizing the study and writing the paper. For instance, whether the research variables and analytical framework are designed or proposed by the applicant, and how much of the paper is performed independently by the applicant.

Evaluation. A panel of researchers from WAPOR’s and AAPOR’s memberships–drawn from the academic, government, and commercial sectors–will judge submissions. Competitors will be notified of a decision by June 15, 2024. The committee reserves the right not to give an award.

Other awards to be given at the upcoming WAPOR 78^th Annual Conference include:

• Helen Dinerman Award: Given since 1981, this award honors particularly significant contributions to survey research methodology. The award, presented annually to an individual or individuals, is in memory of Helen Dinerman’s scientific achievements over three decades of public opinion research. Recent recipients of the award include Takashi Inoguchi, Mitchell Seligson, Juan Díez Nicolás, Michael Traugott, Christian Haerpfer, Daniel Kahneman, and Hans-Dieter Klingemann. The award comes with a cash prize of $3,000 plus a travel stipend covering conference attendance up to $2,000, if applicable.
• Robert M. Worcester Prize: Given for the previous year’s outstanding paper contributed to the International Journal of Public Opinion Research. An award committee appointed by the WAPOR council, with input from the IJPOR editorial board, selects the winning article. The award is given at the award ceremony at the WAPOR annual conference. This prize was endowed by Sir Robert Worcester. Sir Robert was president of WAPOR from 1983-1984. The author(s) will receive $1000.