 |
“Naisahan kita!”
|
ASKING LEADING QUESTIONS—A TOOL OF POLITICAL MANIPULATION
Pulse
Asia Question: “Compared to last year, I feel that it is less dangerous now in
our place because of the campaign against illegal drugs.”
More
than 8 out of 10 Metro Manila residents feel safer because of the government’s
war on drugs, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said, citing a
Pulse Asia survey.
According
to a statement posted on its website, the NCRPO said Pulse Asia did a survey
from Dec. 6 to 11, 2016, in Metro Manila and asked: “Compared to last year, I
feel that it is less dangerous now in our place because of the campaign against
illegal drugs.”
Based
on the response of “randomly selected respondents from all walks of life,” the
NCRPO said its efforts on the war on illegal drugs gained an 82 percent
approval rating from the public.
SWS
Question: “Gaano po kayo nangangamba na kayo o sino mang kilala ninyo ay maging
biktima ng ‘Extra-Judicial Killing o EJK’? [How worried are that you or anyone
you know will be a victim of ‘Extra-Judicial Killing or EJK’?]”
45%
answered talagang nangangamba (very worried), 33% answered medyo nangangamba
(somewhat worried), 10% answered medyo hindi nangangamba (not too worried), and
12% answered talagang hindi nangangamba (not worried at all)
Results
of the Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey -- conducted Dec. 3-6 via
face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults nationwide and with sampling error
margins of ±3 points -- found that 78% of adult Filipinos are worried that
they, or anyone they know, will fall victim to such killings.
So what
really is the public attitude? 82% of Metro Manila residents feel safer or 78%
of adults nationwide feel unsafe, i.e. at risk that they or someone they know
will be an EJK victim?
Results
depend on HOW YOU ASK THE QUESTION. You can manipulate survey results to get
the outcomes you want by asking leading questions.
Image: Untitled (2012) by Yue Minjun
ReplyDeleteGonzalinho
THE SOCIOLOGY OF OPINION SURVEYS
ReplyDeleteBy: Randy David - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:25 AM October 11, 2020
…there are other crucial factors worth considering when one attempts to interpret survey results. Aaron Cicourel, in his book “Method and Measurement in Sociology,” points to what he calls “intrusions which impinge upon survey researchers.” Among these is “the problem of controversial subject matter.”
…On something as controversial as, say, President Duterte’s performance and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, interviewees must be assured there are no “right” or “wrong” answers. Indeed, a guarantee of strict confidentiality is routinely given in almost all opinion surveys. But that guarantee may not mean much to people who cannot tell the difference between a legitimate private survey and one conducted by a government agency. Even if they can, what are the chances that they would not be deterred in their responses by the simple thought that the “kapitan” might know how they answered?
One need not go to the country’s remotest barangays to find people who would readily give “safe” answers than say something that could expose them to unwanted drug raids or to being denied “ayuda.” To people who have felt vulnerable and powerless all their lives—and they are the majority in our country—nothing could be more dangerous than expressing their true opinion about their leaders at the wrong time.
Read more: https://opinion.inquirer.net/134356/the-sociology-of-opinion-surveys#ixzz7120wCsQv
Respondent fear of the vindictive, murderous Duterte administration is a major reason why the results of even reputable survey outfits like SWS are dubious when they report the popularity and performance evaluation survey results for the current tyrant in power.
Gonzalinho