Politically useful data not getting enough attention – Wickham

Political Scientist Peter Wickham says too much attention is paid to aspects of his survey which are more politically exciting and not those which are more politically useful.{{more}}

In an interview by email with SEARCHLIGHT yesterday, Wickham said in conducting the survey, his organization CADRES conducted face-to-face interviews with approximately 1,000 people in all thirteen consistencies on the mainland.

When asked to respond to critics who assert that he is biased in favour of the Unity Labour Party (ULP), who commissioned the poll, Wickham said “frankly I, think my defense is futile, since these persons have their biases which are understandable.

“I would nonetheless agree that the survey was extensive and only some of the data has been made public. This is entirely reasonable, since the client has the right to retain exclusive access to some aspects of the data that are considered strategic.”

When asked about the accusation that he would not release any aspect of the data that is flattering to the New Democratic Party (NDP), the experienced pollster said “I am not sure what is meant when it is said that we would not release any aspect of the data that is flattering to the NDP, since the extent to which some finding is beneficial to the NDP or ULP is a matter of perception which the ULP and NDP’s spin doctors can address themselves to, as this is not a concern for CADRES.

“We have for example noted that the PM is more popular than the Leader of the Opposition and while that is presumed to be a finding which is supportive of the ULP, the context of the finding is perhaps also important. NDP spin doctors might therefore want to research previous CADRES surveys which are in the public domain and comment on the extent to which Eustace’s popularity now represents an improvement, especially in the context of an election that is not due for another year. It should also be stated that this survey was not designed to predict the outcome in any single constituency since the sample size at that level would have been too small. Again, the methodology used in this survey has been the same employed by CADRES in all surveys done in St Vincent and we have been working there since 1999 and have made accurate predictions in respect of the last three elections there.

“Regarding the extent to which these data are useful to political parties, I would agree that the information is quite useful, but sadly too much attention has already been given to the aspects of the survey that are more politically exciting and not those which are more politically useful. In the latter regard, the information on marijuana decriminalization and issues of importance to the public should perhaps catch the attention of political parties more. A knowledge of what voters are concerned about should be very important to political parties that should already be planning their campaign at this time,” he said.