Two GfK research divisions in North America – Government & Academic and Public Communications & Social Science – have been accepted for membership in the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Transparency Initiative.

Launched in 2014, the Transparency Initiative advocates simple, efficient approaches to sharing the methods behind publicly released opinion research, with the goal of making the science of survey research more open.

Members of the Initiative are required to submit documentation and agree to make their basic research methods available to clients and for public inspection. Other members include AARP, the Kaiser Family Foundation, and leading universities and organizations conducting opinion studies.

GfK’s Government & Academic researchers serve numerous federal, state, and local government agencies, non-profits and civil society organizations. Its Public Communications and Social Science team specializes in providing leading companies and organizations with top-quality research services designed for high-profile public release and high-stakes strategic communications. The company’s KnowledgePanel® is the largest commercially available online panel based on a statistically valid population sample; this makes it one of the few online resources that meet the standards for government and university studies.

“These two teams are demonstrating GfK’s long-standing commitment to high-quality research,” said Annie Weber, GfK’s Managing Director for Public Communications and Social Science. “By joining the Transparency Initiative, they have taken a voluntary pledge to abide by AAPOR’s highest standards for the disclosure of research methodology. This sets GfK apart from most commercial research firms, and helps to maintain confidence in the reliability of MR studies.”