Presented By: Michigan Program in Survey and Data Science
MPSDS JPSM Seminar Series - Balancing Theory with Practice: How to Develop Successful Industry Research Practitioners
Curtiss Cobb - Vice President of Research at Meta, Demography and Survey Science Team
MPSDS JPSM Seminar Series
MPSDS M3 Series
In person, room 1070, Institute for Social Research and via Zoom.
The Zoom call will be locked 10 minutes after the start of the presentation.
While industry researchers need practical skills, survey training often involves a balance of theory and practice. Training that focuses too heavily on practical applications may skip over foundational concepts, such as sampling theory, error reduction, or bias minimization. Without these foundations, researchers might design surveys that overlook important methodological considerations, potentially compromising data quality in ways that negatively affect insights and decision-making. At the same time, strong training programs often teach sophisticated survey methods (e.g., stratified sampling, regression analysis, psychometric scaling) that are used in academic or governmental research, but are impractical or overly complex in most industry contexts without adaptation to the time and cost constraints often present. A middle ground of training is often missing--one that trains researchers on how to adapt or simplify these more complex methodologies for practical use in the real world and how to make them accessible without sacrificing quality. The presenter will discuss the holes often seen in hiring trained survey researchers and the complimentary development that is necessary to bring them up to speed to be successful industry practitioners.
Curtiss Cobb is a Vice President of Research at Meta where he leads the Demography and Survey Science Team, a quantitative focused research team that works across Meta to identify and share best practices and methodological innovations in demographic and survey research. His team oversees the collection of millions of survey responses a day from around the world using mobile, web, face-to-face and other methods. Prior to Meta, Curtiss was a senior director of survey methodology at GfK and has independently served on advisory panels or consulted for the U.S. State Department, CDC, Associated Press, World Health Organization, OECD and various academic studies. He holds a PhD in Sociology from Stanford University.
MPSDS M3 Series
In person, room 1070, Institute for Social Research and via Zoom.
The Zoom call will be locked 10 minutes after the start of the presentation.
While industry researchers need practical skills, survey training often involves a balance of theory and practice. Training that focuses too heavily on practical applications may skip over foundational concepts, such as sampling theory, error reduction, or bias minimization. Without these foundations, researchers might design surveys that overlook important methodological considerations, potentially compromising data quality in ways that negatively affect insights and decision-making. At the same time, strong training programs often teach sophisticated survey methods (e.g., stratified sampling, regression analysis, psychometric scaling) that are used in academic or governmental research, but are impractical or overly complex in most industry contexts without adaptation to the time and cost constraints often present. A middle ground of training is often missing--one that trains researchers on how to adapt or simplify these more complex methodologies for practical use in the real world and how to make them accessible without sacrificing quality. The presenter will discuss the holes often seen in hiring trained survey researchers and the complimentary development that is necessary to bring them up to speed to be successful industry practitioners.
Curtiss Cobb is a Vice President of Research at Meta where he leads the Demography and Survey Science Team, a quantitative focused research team that works across Meta to identify and share best practices and methodological innovations in demographic and survey research. His team oversees the collection of millions of survey responses a day from around the world using mobile, web, face-to-face and other methods. Prior to Meta, Curtiss was a senior director of survey methodology at GfK and has independently served on advisory panels or consulted for the U.S. State Department, CDC, Associated Press, World Health Organization, OECD and various academic studies. He holds a PhD in Sociology from Stanford University.
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Livestream Information
ZoomOctober 1, 2025 (Wednesday) 12:00pm
Meeting ID: 94043639579
Meeting Password: 2526
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