Methodology

Transparency and the British Polling Council

Populus has always been the champion of transparency about polling methods. In a world where people are busier and less keen to be polled the challenges of getting a politically and demographically representative sample has grown increasingly difficult.

As explained above, this has forced pollsters into methodological innovation which has led to different polling companies making different judgements. Since there is no demonstrable 'right way' to poll on political attitudes - and views differ significantly and honourably about the best approach – Populus believes that the only guarantor of integrity is openness: clearly showing the ways in which we weight poll data and why, so people can put the findings of each company in context.

In 2004, Populus co-founded a new self-regulatory organisation, the British Polling Council (BPC). The BPC, launched on 15th November 2004, has defined unprecedented standards of openness about polling.

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