In 1937, as a student in high school in Princeton, New Jersey, Mervin Field first became infected with the concept and activity of survey research when in a chance occurrence he was introduced to the polling pioneer, Dr. George Gallup. Soon after, Mr. Field conducted his first poll which measured student preferences during the school’s senior class presidency campaign.

After attending Rutgers University and the University of Missouri, Mr. Field founded Field Research Corporation (FRC) in 1946, and The Field Poll in 1947. Since 1956, The Field Poll and FRC have maintained a continuing relationship with the University of California and California State University campuses wherein all of The Field Poll survey data is regularly deposited.

While Mr. Field is best known for his work in the political and public policy area, a great deal of his professional time during his long and still active career has been devoted to the direction and involvement in hundreds of marketing and consumer research projects conducted by FRC. These studies have covered a wide range of topics: consumer behavior for a variety of products and services, reaction to various forms of advertising, measures of different media audiences, public relations effectiveness, corporate image, trade and dealer surveys, and studies among employees, stockholders, executives and community influentials.