WAPOR 76th Annual Conference
September 19-22, 2023
Available Paper Awards

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 $500.

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 $750.

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.

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 2022. This award is given in memory of Dr. Harkness, distinguished cross-cultural survey methodologist, who passed away in 2012.  

This is a student-only award for best multinational/multicultural/multi-lingual (aka 3M survey research) paper. The award is open both to current students (graduate or undergraduate) and to recent graduates. All authors must be students or recent graduates.  The winning paper will appear on the program of the annual conference. The prize is $750 plus a travel stipend. Submissions are no longer being accepted for this award.

Submission: For the prizes above, the author(s) will have had their abstract accepted for presentation to the WAPOR 76th Annual Conference. Authors will then submit their full papers electronically (send to waporoffice@gmail.com) by the deadline of June 30, 2023. 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; all authors on an entry must meet the eligibility requirements for the award.

A panel of researchers from WAPOR’s membership–drawn from the academic, government, and commercial sectors–will judge submissions. Competitors will be notified of a decision prior to the start of the annual conference. The committees reserve the right not to give an award.

 

Other awards to be given at the upcoming WAPOR 76th 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, and Christian Haerpfer.
  • 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.