Doug Rivers is one of the world’s leading experts on survey research and a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur. He has taught at Harvard University, Caltech, UCLA, and, most recently, Stanford University, where he is Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Doug has founded two successful technology companies, Preview Systems and Knowledge Networks. Preview Systems pioneered the field of digital rights management, conducted a successful IPO in 1999 and was sold in 2001. As CEO of the company he was named Executive of the Year (2000) by Research Business Report and received the Innovator's Award by the American Association of Public Opinion Research (2001).
He is also a CBS News consultant and has published academic papers in numerous journals including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science and the American Economics Review, to name a few. He holds a B.A. from Columbia University and a Ph.D. from Harvard University
ArticleHow the YouGov model for the 2017 General Election works
Doug Rivers, YouGov's chief scientist, sets out how YouGov's 2017 General Election model works
31 May 2017- Article
First thoughts on polling problems in the 2016 U.S. elections
Doug Rivers provides an initial analysis of what went wrong - and what went right - with YouGov's 2016 election polling
11 Nov 2016 - Article
Beware the phantom swings: why dramatic bounces in the polls aren't always what they seem
We think that weighting to past vote is important, and that the bouncing polls seen in recent weeks are deceptive
01 Nov 2016 - Article
The YouGov Model: The State of the 2016 US Presidential Election
YouGov conducts thousands of interviews every day, and uses the data to model the vote, state by state
04 Oct 2016 - Article
Introducing the YouGov Referendum Model
A new statistical model making use of all YouGov data shows support for leaving the European Union increased in early June only to peak on June 13th
21 Jun 2016 - Article
Civil War in the G.O.P.
Doug Rivers: Mitt Romney has some sway in the Republican Party – but not with Trump voters
06 Mar 2016 - Article
Do Ordinary Syrians Want the US to Intervene?
Most of the reporting on the Syrian crisis, aside from occasional man-on-the-street interviews in Damascus, has come from outside Syria. The internet and mobile technology allow the voices of ordinary Syrians to be part of this debate. YouGov operates market research panels around the world and over the past week ...
14 Sep 2013 - Article
Do Ordinary Syrians Want the U.S. to Intervene?
Most of the reporting on the Syrian crisis, aside from occasional man-on-the-street interviews in Damascus, has come from outside Syria. The internet and mobile technology allow the voices of ordinary Syrians to be part of this debate. YouGov operates market research panels around the world and over the past week ...
13 Sep 2013