Forum Research collaborates with the Department of Political Science

June 10, 2014

 

Forum Research, headed by Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, a former student of ours, recently donated to the Department a valuable collection of datasets from its library of political polls. The Forum Poll™ is among the most reliable sources of data on social and political issues at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels; its election polls are often among the most accurate. As a result, Forum Research has become one of Canada’s best known and most respected public opinion survey firms.

The donation by Forum Research includes thirty-six datasets compiled in 2013 and are comprised of twelve datasets at each of the municipal, provincial, and federal levels. Forum intends to donate its dataset collections to the Department annually. This on-going donation will enable researchers to study trends in public opinion, thereby facilitating the analysis of changing public attitudes to policy issues, political parties, and politicians.

Forum’s polling datasets have already benefitted students in the Department. In Professor Joseph Fletcher’s course, POL 242Y – Research Methods for Political Science Specialists – students have utilized the datasets in their research projects.

The Department is grateful to Forum Research for this significant contribution. This valuable addition to the University’s data archive, hosted on-line by Robarts Library, is available to all Ontario university students and faculty members. The data archive may be accessed at:

http://dataverse.scholarsportal.info/dvn/dv/MDL/faces/StudyListingPage.xhtml?mode=1&collectionId=241