Polling and Survey Research
Statewide and community-level survey research, designed and fielded by Alaskans who understand what it actually takes to produce credible data in Alaska.
Quantitative survey research in Alaska is uniquely difficult. The total population is small enough that statewide samples require careful sourcing to remain statistically defensible. Half the state lives off the road system, in communities where conventional sampling methods — random digit dialing, address-based sampling, online panels — return unusable response rates or systematically miss key segments of the population. Alaska Native communities, rural and remote households, and non-English-speaking residents are routinely underrepresented in research fielded by firms without in-state experience. Hays Research Group has spent more than two decades building the infrastructure, panel, methodology, and field experience to overcome these challenges and produce survey research that genuinely represents Alaskans. Whether you need a 400-respondent statewide political poll, a 1,200-respondent healthcare access study with regional breakouts, or a community-level intercept survey in a single village, we have the methods and the people to do it right.
Survey methodologies
We field surveys across every mainstream methodology, mixing modes when the project requires it.
Telephone surveys (CATI)
Live-interviewer telephone surveys remain one of the most reliable ways to reach Alaskans, particularly older respondents, rural households, and demographics that are underrepresented in online panels. Our telephone fieldwork is conducted in a fully staffed CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing) call center, with rigorous interviewer training, real-time supervision, multiple call-back attempts, and quality control on every completed interview. We field both landline and cellular samples, with sampling frames built specifically for Alaska geography.
Online surveys
Online surveys are fast, cost-effective, and well-suited to most quantitative research needs — particularly when paired with the Alaska Panel for sample sourcing. We program surveys with skip logic, randomization, quota management, and multimedia stimuli (images, video, audio) as needed. Surveys are mobile-optimized by default, which matters in Alaska where mobile is the primary or only internet connection in many households.
Mail surveys
Mail surveys remain valuable for specific applications — particularly community surveys where coverage of a defined geography matters more than speed. We handle questionnaire design, printing, mailing, return processing, data entry, and analysis end-to-end.
In-person intercept surveys
Intercept surveys at specific locations — events, businesses, transit hubs, retail environments — are ideal for measuring attitudes among populations that are hard to reach through other modes, or for capturing behavior at the point it occurs. We staff and manage intercept teams in Anchorage and statewide.
Mixed-mode surveys
Many of our most successful projects combine modes. A statewide community survey, for example, might pair online and telephone fieldwork to capture both younger online-first households and older or rural respondents who respond better by phone. Mixed-mode design — done correctly — improves response rates and reduces coverage bias without sacrificing data quality.
Survey types we specialize in
Statewide public opinion polling - Political races, ballot measures, policy issues, statewide attitude tracking. Sample sizes from n=400 to n=1,200+ with regional breakouts.
Community surveys - City, borough, or village-level studies measuring attitudes, needs, satisfaction, or behaviors. Often used by municipalities, tribal governments, and health organizations.
Healthcare and public health surveys - Patient experience, access, behavioral health, community health needs assessments, KPI tracking for health systems.
Shareholder and member surveys - Alaska Native corporations, cooperatives, credit unions, professional associations. We handle eligibility verification and confidential data handling.
Employee surveys - Engagement, satisfaction, climate, and exit surveys for Alaska employers across industries.
Customer and brand surveys - Awareness, satisfaction, NPS, brand perception, and competitive positioning research for Alaska-market businesses.
Program evaluation - Pre/post studies, longitudinal tracking, and outcome measurement for grant-funded programs, nonprofits, and government agencies.
Tracking studies - Repeated waves of identical instruments to measure change in attitudes, behaviors, or perceptions over time.
Statistical rigor and sampling
We design every quantitative project around the level of statistical confidence you need to defend the results. That means thinking carefully about sample size, margin of error, sampling frame, and weighting before fieldwork begins — not after.
The right sample size depends on what you need to do with the data. A statewide top-line read on a single question can be produced with n=400. Cross-tabbing by region, age, and political affiliation simultaneously requires significantly more — and we'll tell you that during scoping rather than after the data comes back too thin to support the conclusions you wanted.
We can also weight every dataset to known population parameters from the most recent American Community Survey, Alaska Department of Labor, or other authoritative sources, so that sample composition reflects the actual Alaska population on key demographics.
What you get
A typical quantitative engagement includes:
Project scoping. A detailed conversation about your research questions, decision needs, audience, timeline, and budget. We propose methodology and sample size to match.
Questionnaire design. Collaborative development of the instrument, with attention to question wording, response scales, ordering effects, and length. We pretest before launch.
Sample design and sourcing. Sampling frame, stratification, and quota design — pulling from the Alaska Panel, telephone sample vendors, address-based frames, or other sources as appropriate.
Programming. Online surveys built in modern survey platforms with skip logic, validation, and mobile optimization. Telephone surveys programmed in our CATI system.
Fieldwork. Active project management throughout data collection, with daily progress monitoring against quotas and quality controls on every interview.
Data processing. Cleaning, weighting, coding of open-ended responses (using AI-assisted coding where appropriate, with human verification), and dataset preparation.
Analysis and reporting. Tabular data, written reports, executive presentations, and consultation on what the findings mean for your decisions. We deliver what you actually need to act on the research, not 200-page report dumps.
Why HRG?
Two decades of Alaska fieldwork. We have made the mistakes you don't have to make.
In-state infrastructure. A proprietary panel of 10,000+ Alaskans and a fully staffed CATI call center based in Anchorage.
Statistical defensibility. Every project is designed and weighted to produce results you can publish, present to a board, defend in court, or release to the press.
Methodological flexibility. We pick the right method for the question, not the method we happen to be selling.
Local accountability. Our reputation in Alaska is built one project at a time. We treat every engagement accordingly.