Daniel Yankelovich (December 29, 1924 – September 22, 2017) was an American

public opinion Public opinion, or popular opinion, is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them. In the 21st century, public opinion is widely thought to be heavily ...

analyst and

social scientist Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...

Education and career

After attending

Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a Magnet school, magnet Latin schools, Latin Grammar schools, grammar State school, state school in Boston, Massachusetts. It has been in continuous operation since it was established on April 23, 1635. It is the old ...

, Yankelovich graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1946 and 1950 before completing postgraduate studies at the Sorbonne in France. As a psychology professor he has taught at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

and

The New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...

. In 1996 he served as Senior Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. In 2015, Yankelovich received the Warren J. Mitofsky Award for Excellence in Public Opinion Research from the board of directors of the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Also in 1995 he was awarded the Helen Dinerman Award by the

World Association for Public Opinion Research The World Association for Public Opinion Research (WAPOR) is an international professional association of researchers in the field of survey research. It is a member organization of the International Science Council. History Established in 194 ...

. In 2012, the

American Association for Public Opinion Research The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) is a professional organization of more than 2,000 public opinion and survey research professionals in the United States and from around the world, with members from academia, media, gover ...

honored him with the AAPOR Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement.

Research firms

In 1958 he founded the marketing and research firm Daniel Yankelovich, Inc., which was later renamed as Yankelovich, Skelly, & White, Inc., remaining chair till 1986. In 2008, Yankelovich merged with Henley HeadlightVision to create The Futures Company, a planning consultancy that exists under the WPP communications holding company. He also founded The New York Times/Yankelovich Poll, now The New York Times/CBS Poll. In 1976, together with

Cyrus Vance Cyrus Roberts Vance (March 27, 1917January 12, 2002) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the 57th United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1980. Prior to serving in that position, he was the United ...

, he founded Public Agenda, a nonpartisan group devoted to public opinion and citizen education.

Landmark Education study

Yankelovich conducted an analysis of Landmark Education, ''Analysis of The Landmark Forum and Its Benefits'', which consisted of a survey conducted of more than 1300 people who completed The Landmark Forum during a three-month period. Some details of the study

methodology In its most common sense, methodology is the study of research methods. However, the term can also refer to the methods themselves or to the philosophical discussion of associated background assumptions. A method is a structured procedure for bri ...

, especially concerning sampling methods and

demographics Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examin ...

of study participants, remain undefined in Landmark Education's "full report" on it. It is unknown whether any part of Yankelovich's study was based on direct empirical research through participation in any of Landmark Education's related coursework. Yankelovich concluded that 3 month after having participated 90% to 95% self-reported value in taking the course.

The New Framework Group

By 1982, Yankelovich had grown concerned that many of the postwar policies which had more or less succeeded between 1945-1980 were badly in need of rethinking. With Congressman Les Aspin, Yankelovich chaired The New (New York) Framework Group, which brought together prominent men and women in a variety of fields, to discuss fruitful areas of reform. They created four subgroups: in economic policy, foreign affairs, social policy, and the role of government.

Publications

His books include ''Coming to Public Judgment:Making Democracy Work in a Complex World'' (), ''The Magic of Dialogue:Transforming Conflict into Cooperation'' (), ''Profit With Honor: The New Stage of Market Capitalism'' (), and ''Uniting America: Restoring the Vital Center to American Democracy'' (editor, with Norton Garfinkle, Yale University Press, 2006 ()).

Trusteeships and advisory boards

He has served as a trustee at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Education, the Kettering Foundation,

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, and the UC San Diego Foundation. Yankelovich was Chair of the Advisory Board of the Future of American Democracy Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation in partnership with

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day and Clarence Day, grandsons of Benjamin Day, and became a department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and ope ...

and the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, "dedicated to research and education aimed at renewing and sustaining the historic vision of American democracy." He was elected to the

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Lyndon ...

National Governing Board in 1976.

Yankelovich Center

In 2012, he founded the Yankelovich Center for Social Science Research at the University of California, San Diego, devoted to using social science to find practical solutions to the nation's most pressing problems. The center's projects include a commission to recommend evidence-based strategies for increasing upward mobility.

References

External links

* at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

library
Public Agenda
* * *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yankelovich, Daniel 1924 births 2017 deaths Survey methodologists American social scientists New York University faculty Harvard Kennedy School alumni University of Paris alumni The New School faculty Scientists from Boston