CRIC Sets Standards for Canadian Pollsters

With elections pending in Canada, professional industry body CRIC has issued standards, specific to the country, for the conduct and release of public opinion research.

The new Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements will help the public and media assess the quality and validity of publicly released survey results in the run-up to federal elections on October 21st and promise Canadians the reassurance of knowing a poll's findings are 'accurate, honest and grounded in statistical science'. The release follows hard on the heels of the organisation's Research Verification Service, which allows the public to check online the legitimacy of research projects, and to submit feedback or register complaints about CRIC member companies and others inviting them to participate in research. CRIC has also published a list of '10 questions journalists should ask before publishing the results of a survey'.

Chairman Barry Watson comments: 'In today's era of misinformation, fake news, click bait and foreign interference, fact checking outlier or bad polls is more important than ever. No poll is better than a bad poll, as bad or misleading polls misinform voters and hinder democracy'.

In addition to complying with the standards for conducting and reporting polls, companies must make available sufficient details to help the media and members of the public verify its quality, including: the exact wording and presentation of questions and response options; a definition of the population under study; dates of data collection; a sufficient description of the sample design and sampling error where applicable; and details of weighting, as we all as tables showing both weighted and unweighted data.

Web site: www.canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca .