SOCIS

SOCIS is a Ukrainian research organization operating in political sociology, public-opinion measurement, and market research. Its Ukrainian name identifies it as the Center for Social and Political Research, while a later version of its name emphasized both social and marketing research. The organization is associated particularly with election polling in Ukraine and has conducted rolling polls and exit polls connected with several important national electoral events. SOCIS was among the organizations carrying out polling work during the 1998 and 2002 Ukrainian elections. It also conducted polling during the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, a politically consequential contest whose disputed results contributed to the Orange Revolution. Exit-poll findings associated with SOCIS were among the evidence cited in the political dispute surrounding that election. The organization also participated in polling connected with the Ukrainian referendum held in 2000. The company has been a member of The Gallup Organization since 1994, linking it to an international polling and research network. Between 1999 and 2002, the original organization was divided or restructured, with a part developing into TNS Ukraine and subsequently becoming part of the Taylor Nelson Sofres market-research group. This history distinguishes the SOCIS identity from the later TNS Ukraine organization, even though the two have roots in the same earlier research structure. In 2007, SOCIS changed its development strategy and restored a marketing-research direction alongside its social and political work. At that time, the organization adopted the name SOCIS Center for Social and Marketing Research and changed its logo. The stated scope of the center includes the full research cycle: designing a research program, collecting and analyzing information, and preparing a final report. Its services therefore extend beyond election polling to various forms of social, political, and commercial research. Publicly available reference material provides limited detail about the organization’s ownership, leadership, financial performance, legal structure, and current operating footprint. No reliable information in the supplied material establishes a founder, a current parent company, a stock-market listing, or a specific headquarters city. SOCIS is best characterized as a Ukrainian professional-services and research brand whose public profile rests on opinion polling and its participation in major episodes of Ukraine’s electoral history.

SOCIS is a Ukrainian political sociology and market-research organization. Its original Ukrainian name described it as a center for social and political research. The organization became known for measuring public opinion and conducting polling associated with Ukrainian elections and referendums. The supplied reference material identifies SOCIS as a member of The Gallup Organization from 1994. This affiliation placed the organization within an international polling and research context during the period when Ukraine’s political institutions and electoral competition were developing after independence. SOCIS subsequently participated in rolling polls and exit polls for the 1998 and 2002 Ukrainian elections, as well as research related to the Ukrainian referendum in 2000. The organization’s history is also connected with a corporate and organizational split. Between 1999 and 2002, the original company forked, with part of the resulting operation becoming TNS Ukraine. TNS Ukraine later joined the Taylor Nelson Sofres market-research group. The available reference does not provide enough detail to reconstruct the precise legal structure, ownership transfers, or management arrangements involved in that process, so SOCIS and TNS Ukraine should be treated as historically related but distinct identities. SOCIS played a visible role during the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election. It conducted exit-poll research, and the results were used as one of the arguments in the dispute over the election outcome. That dispute became a major factor in the Orange Revolution. The polling episode gave SOCIS significance beyond its role as a commercial research provider because its work entered the public debate over electoral legitimacy and the reliability of official results. In 2007, the organization changed its development strategy. It restored a marketing-research direction and adopted the name SOCIS Center for Social and Marketing Research, accompanied by a logo change. This represented a broadening or re-emphasis of the organization’s commercial research activities while retaining its social and political research identity. The center’s described capabilities cover the research process from start to finish: developing a research program, carrying out the relevant research, and preparing a report. The available material does not enumerate particular current clients, methodologies, sample sizes, offices, revenue, ownership, or senior executives. It also does not provide a confirmed current website URL. Accordingly, the most supportable description of SOCIS is a Ukrainian professional research-services brand with historical strength in election polling and an expanded mandate encompassing social and marketing research.

• 2007

  Return to marketing research

  [1]SOCISen.wikipedia.org

  SOCIS restored its marketing-research direction, changed its name to SOCIS Center for Social and Marketing Research, and revised its logo.

• 2004

  Exit polling during the presidential election

  [1]SOCISen.wikipedia.org

  SOCIS exit-poll results became part of the public arguments surrounding the disputed presidential election and the Orange Revolution.

• 2000

  Polling for the Ukrainian referendum

  [1]SOCISen.wikipedia.org

  The organization conducted polling associated with the Ukrainian referendum.

• 1998

  Polling for the Ukrainian elections

  [1]SOCISen.wikipedia.org

  SOCIS participated in rolling and exit-poll work connected with the Ukrainian elections.

• 1994

  Membership in The Gallup Organization

  [1]SOCISen.wikipedia.org

  SOCIS is identified as having been a member of The Gallup Organization from 1994.

A Ukrainian research-services organization combining political sociology, public-opinion polling, and market research, with a public reputation built around election and exit-poll work.

• Political research

  Election polling

  SOCIS has conducted rolling polls and exit polls for Ukrainian elections. These studies collect voter attitudes or reported voting behavior around an electoral event and can be used to analyze public opinion and compare survey findings with official results.

• Political research · 2000

  Referendum research

  The organization conducted polling connected with Ukraine’s 2000 referendum. The available material does not specify the exact questionnaire, sample design, fieldwork process, or reporting format.

• Social research

  Social and political research programs

  SOCIS provides research capabilities in social and political inquiry, including the development of a research program, implementation of the study, analysis, and preparation of a report. Specific current methodologies and named study products are not identified in the supplied sources.

• Market research · 2007

  Marketing research

  Marketing research became an explicitly restored part of SOCIS’s direction after its 2007 strategic change. The service is presented as part of a broader research offering rather than as a separately documented product line.

• 2007

  Restore marketing research and revise the brand identityStrategy

  Background

  SOCIS changed its development strategy after a period in which its identity was associated primarily with social and political research.

  Action taken

  The organization restored its marketing-research direction, adopted the name SOCIS Center for Social and Marketing Research, and changed its logo.

  Aftermath

  The change positioned SOCIS as a provider of both social and marketing research. The supplied material does not report financial results or a subsequent ownership change.

  Source

• 2007

  SOCIS restores marketing research and adopts a revised name[1]SOCISen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Following a change in development strategy, the organization restored its marketing-research practice, changed its name to SOCIS Center for Social and Marketing Research, and introduced a new logo.

• 2004

  SOCIS exit-poll findings become relevant to the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election dispute[1]SOCISen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  SOCIS conducted exit-poll work during the presidential election. The reported findings were among the arguments used in the political dispute that preceded the Orange Revolution.

• 2002

  SOCIS participates in polling during the 2002 Ukrainian elections[1]SOCISen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  SOCIS was involved in rolling and exit-poll research for the 2002 Ukrainian elections.

• 2000

  SOCIS participates in polling during the 2000 Ukrainian referendum[1]SOCISen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The organization conducted polling connected with the Ukrainian referendum held in 2000.

• 1998

  SOCIS participates in polling during the 1998 Ukrainian elections[1]SOCISen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  SOCIS was among the organizations conducting election-related polling in Ukraine during the 1998 electoral cycle.

1. 1SOCISen.wikipedia.org