Fabrication in paper-and-pencil door-to-door survey

Abstract

The article considers massive control of the field work conducted by three companies based in Nizhny Novgorod (Vyazniki city); the survey control revealed deviations from the sample route plan and fabrications. The statistical data obtained contain significant violations of polling techniques, is semi fabricated and consequently presented as appropriate which pose a direct threat to scientific approach and may damage public trust in mass surveys. This uneasy situation caused by Russian internal and external policies and the total fabrication game of the regional companies to get rewards may lead to undermining the technological chain of mass surveys. On the one hand, we try to uncover the actual state of affairs, to let the polling community know the facts to help getting rid of ethical double standards allowing fabrications of the sample requirements. On the other hand, the release of this sensitive information outside of professional community may damage the leading polling companies conducing all-Russian opinion surveys with the regional subcontractors. Ambiguity of openness and transparency of the polling technology needs to be thoroughly considered and discussed; however, the benefits are evident. It is time to do the work according to the requirements for the standardized interviews or to review them and find the appropriate modern formats. This is why controlling the field work requires special attention. The author hopes that this article will help start a dialogue about professional interviewing and elaborate new quality and competency standards needed to properly conduct opinion polls.