Intern, Lester Crown Center: Public Opinion

Interns in this role have the opportunity to draft and publish blog posts as well as co-authoring survey briefs with team members.
Applications for this internship are now closed.

For more than forty years, the Chicago Council Survey has captured the sense of particular eras ― post-Vietnam, post-Cold War, post-9/11 ― and highlighted critical shifts in American public thinking on US foreign policy. Since first conducted in 1974, the Chicago Council Survey has been a valuable resource for policymakers, academics, media, and the general public. The 2015 survey examined political partisanship and US foreign policy in advance of the 2016 presidential primary season. The 2014 survey analyzed American public opinion in the age of retrenchment. And the 2012 survey tracked public opinion on US foreign policy since 9/11. Now conducted annually by a team of fellows and research associates, it continues to be one of the signature research products of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Each year the survey is cited in an array of sources including major regional, national, and international media and receives substantial interest from officials in both US and foreign governments.

In addition to surveying the American public, from time to time the Council on Global Affairs has surveyed American leaders in government, business, religious organizations, and the academy to compare trends in their thinking with overall trends. The Council also works with partner organizations in other countries to periodically conduct parallel surveys of public opinion in Asia. More recently the Council has conducted surveys on specific topics within its areas of expertise, including a survey of Midwestern business professionals on their opinions of national immigration policies and American public attitudes on food and the use of scientific techniques in food production.

Interns for the public opinion team should have a broad interest in foreign policy and politics, an interest in research and analysis, and strong writing skills. Interns will have the opportunity to draft and publish blog posts as well as co-authoring survey briefs with team members. The Intern, Public Opinion will work under direct supervision of the Research Associate.

This intern performs a variety of tasks including:
  • Assisting with the development, production, and dissemination of Chicago Council Survey reports and briefs, including:
    • Editing and proofreading briefs and reports
    • Producing figures for reports, briefs, and blog posts
    • Assembling trend results using Council data sources
    • Analyzing Council survey data 
    • Drafting blog posts for publication on the Council survey blog, Running Numbers
  • Providing research support to the Survey team on a wide variety of topical areas
  • Performing administrative duties as needed
  • Other tasks as assigned
Qualifications
  • Undergraduate junior or senior or graduate student
  • Demonstrated interest in public opinion research and data
  • Strong research and editing skills
  • Outstanding organizational skills
  • Consistent, conscientious attention to detail
  • Experience with Excel
  • Excellent written and interpersonal skills
  • Proficiency in one or more foreign languages is helpful, but not required
  • Experience with statistical methods and/or software (SPSS, SAS, STATA, R, etc.) is helpful, but not required