The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll this week covers the 2016 election, current political standings and views on a nuclear deal with Iran. Beyond ABC and the Post, we’ve seen pickup by outlets including USA Today, Time magazine, the Kansas City Star, Politico, the National Journal, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the Philadelphia Tribune and NJ.com, among others. Langer Research Associates directs news polling for ABC News. See our reports here.

Gary Langer spoke today at a workshop on research transparency in the social sciences organized by the American Political Science Association, the Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry at Syracuse University and the Center for Political Studies at the University of Michigan. Held in Washington, D.C., the session brought together representatives from a range of academic associations in the social sciences and academic publishers to discuss the movement for greater research transparency. Langer summarized his efforts on disclosure over the last 15-plus years at ABC News, the National Council on Public Polls, the American Association for Public Opinion Research and the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research.

A new statewide survey released today by Blue Shield of California Foundation finds a shortfall in treatment for low-income Californians with behavioral health needs. Among those who’ve wanted to speak with a healthcare professional about their emotional health in the past year, only half have done so.

Lack of access and communication are barriers. Six in 10 say they didn’t know whom to talk to. Comparatively few rate their providers highly for asking about their emotional well-being. And while three-quarters say it’s important to have access to a counselor at their place of care, just about half say one actually is available.

The study finds a strong relationship between behavioral health services, successful patient-provider relationships and a personal connection between patients and their place of care, all key elements of patient engagement, satisfaction and loyalty.

Produced for the Foundation by Langer Research Associates, the report, “Exploring Low-Income Californians’ Needs and Preferences for Behavioral Health Care,” is the latest in a four-year series of studies examining the healthcare experiences of low-income Californians. See it here.

John Parker Sweeney, president of DRI-The Voice of the Defense Bar, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice today on “The State of Class Actions,” in part drawing on data from the DRI’s annual national public opinion poll on civil justice issues, produced by Langer Research Associates. See his testimony here.

We’re announcing the creation of “preferred partner” status for our research partners who obtain accreditation as members of the Transparency Initiative of the American Association for Public Opinion Research. In contracting for data collection and data processing services we will strive whenever possible to work with fellow TI members, in recognition of their commitment to transparency in research.

We’re honored currently to work with three such firms – SSRS, SRBI and D3 Systems – and we encourage other field work providers interested in partnering with Langer Research Associates to seek TI accreditation. See more on our commitment to transparency here, and on the TI here.

We’re excited to welcome Margaret Clare Tyson as a new research analyst at Langer Research Associates.

Tyson combines professional and academic experience in creating and implementing research designs, designing questionnaires and conducting complex statistical analyses. She joins us from Educational Testing Service, where she analyzed data for item quality, bias, reliability and validity.

Tyson earned her M.A. from Columbia University’s Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences program, focusing on survey methodology, and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Drew University in Madison, N.J., with a BA in sociology. Welcome, Meg!

In what it calls “a deeper dive into consumer attitudes,” Wells Fargo Bank’s “Global Macro Strategy Report” makes extensive use of our ongoing Bloomberg® Consumer Comfort Index™. Gary Thayer, head of global macro strategy, characterizes our recent results and adds, “We believe the Bloomberg consumer comfort measure adds an important dimension to gauging consumer attitudes.” See his report here, and more on the CCI here.

We’re proud to share in a 2015 Ogilvy Award to ESPN and its research partners for “WHO’S IN?,” ESPN’s highly successful marketing campaign for this year’s College Football Playoffs.

The Advertising Research Foundation’s David Ogilvy Awards for Excellence in Advertising Research “honor the creative use of research in the advertising development process by research firms, advertising agencies and advertisers.” The award, announced this week, cites ESPN and its six partners in the project; in addition to Langer Research Associates they include Weiden and Kennedy, NowWhat, Global Strategy Group, SSRS and Point Logic.

Our role in ESPN’s multi-pronged campaign was to design, manage and analyze a series of national surveys tracking fans’ awareness of the new playoff system, their interest in hearing more about it and their levels of excitement about watching the games. Our statistical analysis identified the strongest predictors of fan excitement; as ESPN reported, “we discovered a positive correlation between knowledge and excitement, making education a key priority of the campaign.” Topline data found an 11-point increase in fans’ knowledge about the new system in the weeks leading up to the playoffs.

Our research identified a core audience of 24 million highly engaged fans. Ultimately each of the two playoff games drew just more than 28 million viewers, and the championship game drew more than 33 million – the top three most-viewed programs in cable television history.

Congratulations to ESPN and the rest of its research partners!

More than half of low-income Californians now rate the quality of their health care positively, and a new statewide survey shows improvement in a range of other key measures as well, including continuity of care, waiting times, availability of appointments, staff courtesy and the cleanliness and appearance of healthcare facilities.

The gains, detailed in a report released today by Blue Shield of California Foundation, indicate the impact of patient-focused improvements among healthcare facilities serving low-income Californians, as well as expanded coverage brought about by the federal Affordable Care Act. The survey finds a dramatic drop in the number of low-income Californians who lack health insurance, from 30 percent in 2013 to 15 percent after the ACA’s first enrollment period.

The statewide survey is the fourth in a series sponsored by the Foundation since 2011, examining low-income Californians’ experiences and satisfaction as healthcare patients, and evaluating primary care redesign through the prism of patient engagement. It was produced, managed and analyzed by Langer Research Associates of New York, N.Y., with sampling, data collection and tabulation by SSRS of Media, Pa.

See the Foundation’s announcement here, with links to the full report.

We’ve seen coverage of the report by Kaiser Health News, Politico Pulse, California Healthline and Fierce Healthcare.

A newly released national survey in Afghanistan finds overwhelming support for the outcome of the country’s disputed 2014 presidential election, despite widespread suspicion of electoral fraud and broad recognition of the deep challenges facing the country.

Ratings of local living conditions and optimism for the future are up, the survey finds, but persistent problems remain. The availability of jobs and other economic opportunities, the supply of electricity and support for agriculture remain poorly rated. Complaints about corruption are widespread. And an increasing number of Afghans express willingness to tolerate the cultivation of opium poppy.

The survey finds continued substantial support for the presence of U.S. forces and near-unanimous preference for the current government rather than the Taliban. Despite the country’s travails, eight in 10 still call the U.S.-led overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 a good thing for Afghanistan.

Released today, the survey was produced by the Afghan Center for Socio-economic and Opinion Research and D3 Systems, Inc., as the latest in their ongoing Afghan Futures survey project, with analysis by Langer Research Associates. See the analysis here and a summary of the survey methodology here.

See also our extensive January 2014 assessment of Afghanistan’s civil society sector, produced for Counterpart International’s Initiative to Promote Afghan Civil Society (I-PACS II) program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Based on a national survey of civil society organizations and more than four dozen qualitative interviews, the report evaluates progress and prospects for CSOs in the country.