Straus, Roger A.

Roger A. Straus, Ph.D. has over twenty-five years of experience as a marketing researcher and sociological practitioner. A Certified Clinical Sociologist and 2021–2022 President of the Association for Applied and Clinical Sociology, he maintains an independent consulting practice. He previously served as a research executive with such leading custom research houses as the Blackstone Group, GfK, TVG, Opinion Research Corporation, and National Analysts Division of Booz Allen Hamilton. 

In addition to countless focus groups, depth interviews and other qualitative studies, Dr. Straus has been responsible for dozens and dozens of quantitative surveys, typically involving advanced analytics. He has provided domestic and global research to a wide range of clients from Fortune 100 companies across industry verticals to universities, professional associations and start-ups. Dr. Straus has also served as head of Market Insight for ZymoGenetics, now a Division of Bristol Myers Squibb.  

Growing up in Great Neck, NY, he attended Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio and the New School for Social Research in New York City, then moved to the West Coast. After receiving his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Davis, with a specialization in qualitative methodology, Dr. Straus decided to apply social science to solving real-world problems. He co-founded the Clinical Sociology Association, and he remains an internationally recognized leader in the emerging field of sociological practice. He has published many articles on marketing research and social science, two textbooks on sociological practice, and a number of books for clinicians and the general public, one of which has been a bestseller. He has taught at the University of California, Alfred University, the MBA program at Maryhurst University, and elsewhere.  

After many years in the Philadelphia area, he moved to Portland, Oregon in 2006. Just to keep things interesting, he assists his wife with her independent music labels focusing on good-time Americana music. Currently mammal-free, they live with a number of koi, tropical fish, and an extremely personable box turtle.