Baruch Survey Research Unit, School of Public Affairs, Baruch College (CUNY)

The Survey Research Unit in the Baruch School of Public Affairs designs and conducts telephone and other surveys for government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other partners on wide range of public affairs topics. Combining a state-of-the-art telephone center with the expertise of Baruch School of Public Affairs faculty and graduate students, the BSRU specializes in careful objective survey research on policy-relevant issues at both the national and local levels. In addition to fielding the research, the unit staff provides assistance with all stages of the survey research project - from questionnaire design to sample selection to the final report.

The unit's telephone center in housed on the Baruch College campus and has 20 interviewing stations that run an industry-leading computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) system. The Survey Research Unit regularly conducts a variety of telephone surveys, with a focus on New York City and on important public affairs issues.

Recent projects include an extensive survey for the New York City Department of Health on the health conditions and behaviors of New Yorkers (conducted in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Polish, Greek, Yiddish, and Haitian Creole), a regular comprehensive survey of resident satisfaction with New York City government services conducted for the New York City Council, a community survey about youth violence in the Rockaways (Queens), and a survey of how non-profit organizations utilize information technology in delivering services to their constituencies.

The Baruch Survey Research Unit adheres to the American Association of Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Code of Standards and Ethics for Survey Research. Additionally, all research staff and interviewers have completed a certification for Research With Experimental Subjects, which fulfills the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulatory requirement for human research subjects’ protection.