The Delta Rural Poll (DRP), a telephone survey of residents living in 11 Mississippi counties, will begin in late January 2011 and will continue for a few weeks.
The topics and questionnaire are constructed and pilot-tested by partners with the Institute. Telephone survey data are collected by the Survey Research Laboratory at Mississippi State University’s Social Science Research Center. A random sample of households is selected to participate from eleven counties in the Delta region (Bolivar, Coahoma, Humphreys, Issaquena, Leflore, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tunica and Washington). In a typical round of data collection, approximately 1,000 people participate in the study.
“This is a very important project to inform community and economic development in the Delta region. I really hope that anyone contacted by MSU’s telephone interviewers will agree to participate in this survey,” said Dr. John Green, Director of the Center for Community and Economic Development. “I want people to know that this is a legitimate university study, and the information collected through it is critical to our understanding of the characteristics, needs and interests of people living in this region.” Summary reports from the DRP are made publicly available and shared with community organizations, policymakers, students and faculty, among others.
The DRP is an effort coordinated through the Institute for Community-Based Research in partnership with the Center for Community and Economic Development, Division of Social Sciences, and the Office of Graduate and Continuing Studies at Delta State University. Beginning in 2003, the telephone survey occurs every other year. It arose from recognition of the need to obtain socioeconomic data from individuals and households across the region.
For more information concerning the Delta Rural Poll, please contact Dr. Green at (662) 846-4339 or via e-mail to jgreen@deltastate.edu.
