EDITORIAL
Election Surveys
Election surveys are now among the basis of voters in deciding who among the candidates are getting strong. However, the public should understand how surveys are being conducted and which types of surveys and survey groups are reliable.
Surveys are conducted to find the public’s opinion on certain matters or to measure the situation of a place at a given time. One company had hired a survey firm to find which colors are appealing to the consumers and used the result in deciding what colors to use on their products and branches. The Iloilo City Government had conducted a socio-economic survey of the city residents and used the result as baseline data for its development planning.
While many surveys are conducted by legitimate groups with legitimate purposes, and while there are politicians who are seeking realistic survey results, there are surveys conducted by groups simply to serve the political purposes of the politicians hiring them. These are done to make it appear that a politician or a group of politicians is gaining more support and is winning the elections. This is what the voting public should be aware of.
A survey usually uses the sampling type in which a representative group of members of a society is being asked their opinions on certain issues and certain candidates. The result is then made the probable representation of the total of the general population. For example, the survey group interviews 3,000 who are supposed to represent the practical total population. If the representatives are not chosen properly, then the result of the survey would be defective.
By and large, we believe that surveys cannot be realistic as the opinion of respondents can vary in different places and regions. In fact, the opinion of people in the same building, compounds or school can vary. As such, survey cannot always be reliable.
Surveys should only serve as guides not as propaganda instruments.
Election surveys are now among the basis of voters in deciding who among the candidates are getting strong. However, the public should understand how surveys are being conducted and which types of surveys and survey groups are reliable.
Surveys are conducted to find the public’s opinion on certain matters or to measure the situation of a place at a given time. One company had hired a survey firm to find which colors are appealing to the consumers and used the result in deciding what colors to use on their products and branches. The Iloilo City Government had conducted a socio-economic survey of the city residents and used the result as baseline data for its development planning.
While many surveys are conducted by legitimate groups with legitimate purposes, and while there are politicians who are seeking realistic survey results, there are surveys conducted by groups simply to serve the political purposes of the politicians hiring them. These are done to make it appear that a politician or a group of politicians is gaining more support and is winning the elections. This is what the voting public should be aware of.
A survey usually uses the sampling type in which a representative group of members of a society is being asked their opinions on certain issues and certain candidates. The result is then made the probable representation of the total of the general population. For example, the survey group interviews 3,000 who are supposed to represent the practical total population. If the representatives are not chosen properly, then the result of the survey would be defective.
By and large, we believe that surveys cannot be realistic as the opinion of respondents can vary in different places and regions. In fact, the opinion of people in the same building, compounds or school can vary. As such, survey cannot always be reliable.
Surveys should only serve as guides not as propaganda instruments.