February 25 – 27, 2026

In its eighth installment, the Current Innovations in Probability-Based Household Internet Panel Research (CIPHER) Conference expands its scope to include artificial intelligence (AI) as a new area of focus. As always, CIPHER builds on a rich legacy of methodological innovation, international collaboration, and emerging data modalities. Bringing together researchers, technologists, and policymakers, this year’s conference will explore how AI can enhance panel design, data quality, respondent engagement, and ethical governance. Join us as we chart the future of probability-based internet panels at the nexus of artificial intelligence and survey science.

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

  • 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.

Call for Abstracts

The call for abstracts is now closed. Stay tuned for the program by registering for the conference.

Keynote

Trent D. Buskirk, Professor and Provost Fellow-Data Science and Professor Biostatistics at the School of Data Science and Joint School of Public Health at Old Dominion University, will deliver the keynote address.

Conference Registration and Fees

CIPHER is free to attend in-person or virtually, but registration is required. To register for CIPHER and/or the UAS Data Use Workshop, please complete this form.

Location and Format

The hybrid conference will take place February 25 – 27 in Washington D.C. The preliminary program is as follows:

  • February 25: UAS Data Use Workshop
  • February 26: CIPHER
  • February 27: CIPHER

UAS Data Use Workshop

In 2026, CIPHER will again offer the Understanding American Study (UAS) data use workshop. This is a half-day workshop for those interested in learning more about the UAS panel and its data and data products. The UAS is a probability-based online panel of over 15,000 respondents in the US, managed by the Center for Economic and Social Research at USC.

 

Scientific Committee

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

Sponsorship

CIPHER is supported by funding from the Social Security Administration and the National Institute on Aging under grant U01AG077280.

 

Closed Captioning will be available.

For questions, please email Tarra Kohli (tkohli@usc.edu; d-cipher@usc.edu).