UP Department of Communication Research calls out surveys with ‘unclear methodologies’
The University of the Philippines (UP) Department of Communication Research has expressed alarm over the proliferation of publicly-released surveys which used “unclear methodologies,” echoing the stand taken by the UP School of Statistics in an earlier statement.
In a press release, the UP Department of Communication Research emphasized that conducting surveys requires “rigor and discipline.” It further elaborated: “Ensuring research integrity becomes an urgent academic and ethical concern when surveys are used to promote partisan perspectives, especially during a crucial electoral exercise.”
“We caution against practices that appear to generalize the results to the population yet fail to conform to scientific standards of representative sampling,” the department said, urging polling organizations to be more transparent.
“It is essential for survey reports and the parties that disseminate them to clearly and sufficiently disclose the profile of the survey group, the funding source, and any potential for conflict of interest; the survey method employed, the target population, the sampling design, sample size, sample distribution, and response rate; the timeframe of data collection; the questionairre-phrasing of the items being reported; and the evidence-based interpretation of results,” the academic unit also said.
About Author
