British Polling Council publishes journalists’ guide to opinion polls

UK – The British Polling Council has published guidance for journalists on the use and reporting of opinion polls.

Typing keyboard laptop_crop

The document forms part of the Council’s response to the recommendations of the House of Lords’ committee on polling and digital media, which found "disturbing problems" with the way in which voting intention polls are reported on by the media. 

The publication includes an overview of how polls are conducted, including what to look out for when judging whether sample is representative, advice on how to evaluate the questions covered and guidance on interpreting the results.

Last year, press regulator Impress and the Market Research Society jointly developed a quick guide on surveys and polling data.

Professor Sir John Curtice, president of the British Polling Council, said: "In its report, the House of Lords committee expressed a number of concerns about how the media report polls. Our guide is intended to help address some of these concerns by providing a quick five-minute accessible introduction to polls.

"It describes both the strengths and the limits of polls, outlines five key questions that should be asked of any poll, and identifies the major potential pitfalls to avoid in writing a poll story. We hope that it will help journalists in newsdesks up and down the country report polls in a way that their audience finds both interesting and informative."

We hope you enjoyed this article.
Research Live is published by MRS.

The Market Research Society (MRS) exists to promote and protect the research sector, showcasing how research delivers impact for businesses and government.

Members of MRS enjoy many benefits including tailoured policy guidance, discounts on training and conferences, and access to member-only content.

For example, there's an archive of winning case studies from over a decade of MRS Awards.

Find out more about the benefits of joining MRS here.

0 Comments

Display name

Email

Join the discussion

Newsletter
Stay connected with the latest insights and trends...
Sign Up
Latest From MRS

Our latest training courses

Our new 2025 training programme is now launched as part of the development offered within the MRS Global Insight Academy

See all training

Specialist conferences

Our one-day conferences cover topics including CX and UX, Semiotics, B2B, Finance, AI and Leaders' Forums.

See all conferences

MRS reports on AI

MRS has published a three-part series on how generative AI is impacting the research sector, including synthetic respondents and challenges to adoption.

See the reports

Progress faster...
with MRS 
membership

Mentoring

CPD/recognition

Webinars

Codeline

Discounts