The Roper Center: The World's Largest Archive of Survey Data Available to Purchase

In 1986 The Roper Center celebrated its fortieth year as the largest archive of survey data in the world. It was, in fact, 1946 when Elmo Roper founded the center at Williams College. A collection of 177 surveys conducted by Roper Research Associates served to establish the center as the first archive of polling data. From the start, the center laid the framework by which other pioneers in the field of opinion research, especially George Gallup, Sr., came to appreciate its scholarly nature. Subsequently many of these pioneers helped increase its holdings by donating survey material of their own.