The Michigan Daily wrote about the Institute for Social Research celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day which was held January 19, 2026 with the presentation, “Extending the Legacy: Innovations of the 25-Year Follow-up of the National Survey of American Life“. The event demonstrates how foundational principles of interdisciplinary collaboration, relationships and team resilience are crucial in modern efforts to conduct social science in the interest of the public.

Stephanie Chardoul said recruiting participants to the National Survey of American Life was difficult, and SRC’s Survey Research Operations trained more than 330 interviewers and worked to build trust in predominantly Black neighborhoods, “The questionnaire averaged two and a half hours, so just getting respondents to agree to do that in person was difficult. We learned lots of really valuable lessons on implementing this large, complex study of a special population and we are better for it: protocol, design, interview and respondent engagement.”