Researchers raise concerns over design of wellbeing consultation

Readers contacted Research after seeing our story about the National Wellbeing Project and its accompanying consultation, which takes the form of an online survey designed and hosted using the DIY market research tool, SurveyMonkey.

Researchers expressed concern at a lack of controls preventing people from outside the UK taking part in the survey – which is open to all visitors to the site – nor are there any means of stopping the same person completing the survey more than once.

Prime Minister David Cameron asked the ONS last week to look at ways of measuring the UK’s progress as a country “not just by how our economy is growing, but by how our lives are improving; not just by our standard of living, but by our quality of life”.

National statistician Jil Matheson (pictured) said: “We want to develop measures based on what people tell us matters most” – but the fear is that the results of the online survey will be skewed at best, and in no way representative of the population as a whole.

Stephen Hicks, the assistant deputy director of the societal wellbeing division at the ONS, acknowledged the “potential limitations” of the research method used, but said the online survey was “only part of a broader engagement process”.

He told Research: “ONS launched the consultation paper and questionnaire to engage the public with the development of broader measures of wellbeing and to give us a picture of the issues people think are important when assessing the nation’s wellbeing…

“It is not designed to give us definitive answers for deciding what questions should be placed on our Integrated Household Survey from April 2011. When developing and deciding upon the questions that we will ask, we will take account of input from multiple sources, including advice from expert academics as well as drawing on questions already used in existing surveys to assess people’s own views of their wellbeing.”

Pressed for more details on other aspecs of the consultation, an ONS spokesman said: “We want to consult with the public, organisations and businesses across the UK, as well as central and local government, to ask what matters most in people’s lives and what is important for measuring the nation’s wellbeing. We plan to host a number of events around the country to gauge people’s views, and we would like schools, civic groups and professional societies to take part. The National Statistician will also be convening an advisory forum, to discuss the main themes that emerge from the national debate and help advise on new measures.”