New White Paper Explores Strategies for Understanding and Managing Survey Costs
August 10, 2026
A new white paper emerging from the 2026 Workshop on Survey Costs examines the growing importance of understanding, monitoring, and managing survey costs to maintain high-quality research amid increasing budget constraints. Daifeng Han, PhD, a Westat Associate Vice President for Statistics and Data Science, is a coauthor of the paper.
Hosted by Westat in Bethesda, Maryland, the 2-day workshop convened approximately 100 survey researchers, statisticians, methodologists, field operations experts, and financial professionals to explore the role of costs throughout the survey life cycle, from design and data collection to analysis and reporting. The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), the American Statistical Association (ASA), Westat, SSRS, Miravoice, and the International Association of Survey Statisticians (IASS) sponsored the workshop.
The resulting white paper outlines 10 key themes that shape the future of survey cost research, including the need for standardized cost definitions, more transparent reporting practices, enhanced cost monitoring, and improved statistical models to evaluate cost–quality trade-offs. It also presents 12 recommendations to help organizations strengthen cost analyses, support better decision-making, and maximize the long-term value of survey research investments.
Learn More
Survey Costs: Summary and Commentary from the 2026 Survey Costs Workshop (PDF)
Authors: Kristen Olson, James Wagner, Jill DeMatteis, John Eltinge, Daifeng Han, Chris Jackson, and Eric Rancourt