The Public Opinion Laboratory at NIU conducts a variety of research surveys. The surveys can be used to poll anything from public health status to general public opinion on government issues.

Academic research, community planning, public policy, businesses, organizations and internal NIU projects are all areas the lab may collect data for. The lab uses several different types of data collection that include telephone, online electronics, conventional mail and focus groups.

Robert Ard, director of the lab, said the lab conducts many different types of surveys for the state of Illinois because they are one of the largest public opinion labs in the state.

“The main study that we conduct consistently on a monthly basis is a health survey for the Illinois Department of Public Health,” Ard said. “With the data collected, the state can then decide where to spend money for health programs.”

This is not the only type of study the lab conducts. It recently conducted a survey to find whether tattoos and body piercings in America cause medical problems. The results showed that 13 percent of those with tattoos reported having medical problems within a few weeks. Twenty percent of respondents with piercings reported such problems.

“This is just one of the interesting surveys that we conduct,” Ard said. “Usually professors from all over the country with grants come to us in order to collect data for research they are conducting. Another interesting study was done by a psychologist from Colgate University, Professor Kevin Carlsmith, that looked at the behavioral aspects of why we went to war in Iraq.”

Ard said many of the students who participate in the interviews find the results to be interesting. If they are curious about the results, they can get them through study directors who post relevant information. The lab hires up to 100 interviewers and its current staff is about 75 percent NIU students.

Some of the surveys they conduct include the CHANCE Program Assessment, Founders Library Usage and the Alumni Survey, which is conducted annually.

Bill Leighly, a supervisor at the lab and NIU alumnus, said the lab is a great place for college students to get a good paying job with flexible hours.

“What I liked most about working here when I first started was the fact that the hours were never too overwhelming and mostly consisted of night and weekend hours, so it did not interfere with my classes,” Leighly said.

Elida Jaime, a senior mechanical engineering major, said the experience she has gotten out of the job will help her in her future career.

“Since I started working at this job, I have gained leadership skills as well as communication skills,” Jaime said. “I think that this can be beneficial for any student in any major.”