Our Research Methods

Quantitative surveys are the foundation of American Viewpoint's research practice. We design and field large-scale telephone and mixed-mode surveys that produce statistically representative samples, giving clients reliable data on public opinion, voter preferences, message effectiveness, and market perceptions.

Our quantitative research informs strategic decisions across political campaigns, corporate communications, policy advocacy, and brand positioning. From benchmark surveys early in a campaign cycle to tracking polls that monitor movement over time, our data provides the foundation for smart, targeted decision-making.

Every survey is designed to be both rigorous and actionable — not just a snapshot of public opinion, but a tool for directing resources, refining messages, and winning.

Online surveys provide a fast, cost-effective way to gather high-quality data from targeted audiences. American Viewpoint designs and fields web-based studies for message testing, issue tracking, brand perception research, and more — delivering results on the timelines that campaigns and organizations demand.

Our online surveys are built with the same methodological rigor as our telephone research, with careful attention to questionnaire design, sample quality, and data integrity. We work with trusted panel providers to ensure respondents match the audiences our clients need to understand.

Online surveys are particularly well-suited for reaching niche or hard-to-reach audiences, conducting A/B message tests, and fielding rapid-turnaround studies during fast-moving news cycles.

Focus groups are an essential complement to quantitative research, providing the qualitative depth that surveys alone cannot capture. American Viewpoint conducts both in-person and online focus groups with carefully recruited respondents who reflect the audiences our clients need to understand.

A skilled moderator guides participants through structured discussion, probing attitudes, reactions, and the emotional drivers of opinion. The result is a richer understanding of not just what people think, but why — and what kinds of messages, frames, and communications are most likely to move them.

We have conducted focus groups on behalf of political campaigns, corporate clients, trade associations, nonprofits, and government agencies — covering topics from campaign messaging and policy communications to brand development and customer satisfaction.

Dial testing — also known as Perception Analyzer™ research — gives clients an unparalleled look at how audiences respond to content in real time. Participants turn a handheld dial continuously as they watch a speech, advertisement, debate, or news broadcast, registering their moment-by-moment reactions on a scale from strongly negative to strongly positive.

The result is a continuous response curve overlaid on the video timeline, pinpointing exactly which moments resonate and which fall flat — with precision that post-viewing surveys cannot replicate. Clients can see second-by-second how different demographic groups responded, enabling targeted edits and strategic refinements.

American Viewpoint President Randall Gutermuth has conducted over 100 Perception Analyzer dial tests, including tests of presidential primary debates whose results aired on ABC, NBC, CNBC, CNN, Headline News, and Fox News. We have conducted dial tests for presidential campaigns, corporate advertisers, issue advocacy groups, and media organizations.

Online ad testing allows campaigns and organizations to evaluate the effectiveness of digital advertising before committing to a full buy. American Viewpoint presents respondents with ads in a simulated online environment and measures a comprehensive set of metrics including recall, message clarity, favorability, and persuasion.

We test across a range of ad formats — video, display, social, and more — and can evaluate both political and corporate creative. Our testing identifies which ads move the needle, which messages land, and which executions may backfire, giving clients the confidence to invest in advertising that works.

Online ad testing pairs seamlessly with our qualitative focus group work, allowing clients to combine the statistical rigor of survey data with the explanatory depth of group discussion to fully understand how their creative is performing.

QualBoards are an innovative asynchronous online research format that combines the depth of focus groups with the flexibility of digital platforms. Rather than gathering respondents together at a single time, participants engage with questions, prompts, and discussions over multiple days — logging in on their own schedule to respond and interact.

This format produces richer, more considered responses than traditional focus groups, because participants have time to reflect before answering. It also makes it possible to recruit hard-to-reach audiences — busy professionals, geographically dispersed populations, or specialized respondents — who may not be available for in-person or live online sessions.

QualBoards are well-suited for concept testing, brand exploration, communications research, and any study where clients want deep qualitative insight from a carefully selected audience without the logistical constraints of traditional group research.