Self-regulation
SIMAR co-ordinates the industry platform of providers of public opinion research. The platform discusses, among other things, how appropriate particular data collection methods are, the quality parameters of fieldwork, and the transparency of published results. It also looks at how research findings are published in the media, since that is a shared responsibility of the media, the provider and the client.
Besides these discussions, the platform runs training seminars for professionals, journalists and the wider public. Presentations from past seminars can be found here.
The platform has also issued several self-regulatory documents and statements that help transparency in this field:
- The public opinion research passport
- A comparison of surveys before the 2017 parliamentary elections
- Questions and answers on public opinion research
- Translations of ESOMAR and WAPOR documents, such as the Key requirements for opinion polls and published surveys
The international research community
ESOMAR and WAPOR publish professional rules for conducting research. The following documents are available:
- Guidelines for the Publication of Public Opinion Poll Results — in English
- Key requirements for opinion polls and published surveys — in Czech, in English
- ICC/ESOMAR International Code — in Czech, in English
The international research association ESOMAR, together with WAPOR, the association of public opinion researchers, publishes a regular study, Freedom to publish opinion polls. The latest — the seventh edition since 1984 — is from 2023.
The report looks at the rules for publishing pre-election research, at legislative and other restrictions on publication, at awareness of the industry’s rules and standards, and at how research quality is assessed, and it points out the pitfalls of conducting surveys.
