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University of Southern California

CIPHER Conferences

CIPHER 2027

February 24 – 26, 2026

Now in its ninth year, the Current Innovations in Probability-Based Household Internet Panel Research (CIPHER) Conference will continue to examine the nuts and bolts of probability-based online panels – from recruitment and retention to survey design, data quality, and analysis – while exploring the rapidly evolving implications of artificial intelligence (AI) for the field. The 2027 conference will once again bring together researchers and policymakers to discuss both the practical challenges facing probability-based panels today and the forces shaping their future. We invite you to join the conversation.

UAS Research Forum

In 2027, CIPHER will offer the UAS Research Forum, featuring presentations that highlight data and data products from the Understanding America Study (UAS). The session will begin with a brief introduction to the UAS, followed by presentations demonstrating available data products and their potential research applications. Managed by the USC Center for Economic and Social Research, the UAS is a probability-based online panel of more than 15,000 respondents across the United States.

Call for Abstracts

The conference will focus on the innovations, challenges, and opportunities of population-representative probability-based online panels.

This year’s call for papers focuses on the following areas:

  • Artificial Intelligence / Machine learning;
  • Transparency and best practices in probability-based panel recruitment and retention;
  • Survey methodology and practice;
  • Experiments;
  • Data management and linkages;
  • Developments and analysis techniques;
  • Applications of research;
  • Combination of wearable devices data with self-reports;
  • Contextual data; and
  • Naturally occurring data.

Guidelines

Proposals for papers are invited from all sectors in the field and will be evaluated by the Conference Scientific Committee. The following guidelines apply:

  • All submissions must focus on methodological or analytical aspects of probability-based internet panels;
  • Innovative or interactive formats are encouraged;
  • Please indicate in the submission if you will join in person or virtually; and
  • Submissions must include an abstract of no more than 250 words.

The deadline for paper proposals is 15 November 2026. The results of this call for proposals will be announced later in November 2026.

To submit an Abstract, please complete this form.

To submit a Panel, please complete this form.

Conference Registration and Fees

CIPHER is free to attend in person or virtually, but registration is required.

Because space for in-person attendance is limited, please select the in-person option only if you plan to attend onsite. If your plans change, please let us know so that your space can be made available to another attendee.

To register for CIPHER and/or the UAS Research Forum, please complete this form.

Location and Format

The hybrid conference will take place February 24 – 26 in Washington D.C. The preliminary program is as follows:

  • February 24: UAS Research Forum
  • February 25: CIPHER
  • February 26: CIPHER

Scientific Committee

Arie Kapteyn, Tania Gutsche, Livia Montana, Marco Angrisani, and Francisco Perez-Arce (USC Center for Economic and Social Research); and Nick Bertoni (Ipsos Public Affairs) and Jan Karem Höhne (DZHW, Leibniz University Hannover).

Sponsorship

CIPHER is supported by funding from the National Institute on Aging under grant U01AG077280.