In Memoriam: Don Dillman

The WAPOR community is deeply saddened about the passing of Don Dillman, the recipient of the 2006 WAPOR Helen Dinerman Award for significant contributions to survey research methodology. 

Don Dillman’s work spans the entire field of survey research—from the mailed questionnaire to the internet surveys —all with a focus on how our respondents grapple with the questions we ask them. The need for accurate data collection crosses disciplinary and international boundaries, and the presentation of paper and internet surveys is important no matter the language.

He was the Regents Professor at Washington State University, where he spent his entire career since 1969. While there he has added knowledge to our discipline. His ‘Total Design Method,’ first formulated in his 1978 book, Mail and Telephone surveys: The Total Design Method, is widely regarded as the ‘Bible’ for conducting mail and self-administered surveys. In 2000, he published Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method, which has become even more of a standard for self-administered surveys, now including online data collection (the Fourth Edition, with Jolene Smyth and Leah Christian, was published in 2014).

Most survey researchers hope they are noticed; Don Dillman affected public policy in the United States. As Senior Survey Methodologist in the Office of the Director, U.S. Bureau of the Census, he helped to modernize the United States Decennial Census form, which after all, is a self-administered questionnaire. His work led to changes in what had been a complex, difficult to follow document to one easier to understand and less prone to error.

Don Dillman received honors from colleagues reflecting the fields of rural sociology, history, applied sociology, and federal statistics. The Gallup Organization named its internal award for mail survey methods after Don, calling it the ‘Dillman Award.’

Don was an amazing leader in the field of survey research. He served as president of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, and we were very proud to count him as a member of WAPOR.

WAPOR was pleased to present its 26th Helen Dinerman Award honoring particularly significant contributions to survey research methodology to Don Dillman in 2006,and to add him to the distinguished company of previous award winners. 

WAPOR sends its condolences to Dillman’s family and friends.