Author: Stephanie Odia

It was Falz the bahd
guy who recently called out critics for “shooting
down the messenger and missing the message”, as he responded to blacklash
on his “This is Nigeria” video.
Perhaps, this is new territory for Falz, but not so for social researchers and
public opinion pollsters. We are often criticized for the results and findings
of our polls; more so, by people who have neither read the research report nor
understand the methodology adopted in conducting the poll, survey or research study.
The rise or fall of any piece of research or public opinion poll lies in its
methodology. In other words, what determines whether anyone should give a hoot
about the findings of a poll or what confers credibility on any piece of
research are in its ability to answer some questions – how was the poll
conducted? how was primary data collected? how were the questions worded? how
representative is the data? what’s the sample size of the poll? and what’s the
margin of error, amongst other questions.

Public opinion polls are an essential part of politics,
democracy, markets and social life in developed societies. From political
predictions and approval ratings, to titles of Hollywood movies and song-of-the-week
picks, polls are tools used to measure and gauge public opinion on issues
affecting the society. Let’s take a step backward to define “public opinion”; it simply refers to the
mind, thought and expression of the general population on a particular issue or
subject matter.

Stephanie Odia

Hi there! my name is Stephanie, and i am a Presenter (TV/RADIO), Audio producer/voice over artist, Blogger, and, an Amazing Woman !