The National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA) announced on Friday that it will start, in the context of the election year, an extensive research process on topics under public debate. Rector Remus Pricopie stated that online polls are a weapon with which politicians influence public opinion.
Remus Pricopie: Manipulation should not be tolerated PHOTO Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea
“In the context of this election year, the National School of Political and Administrative Studies (SNSPA), through the Department of Sociology within the Faculty of Political Sciences, will start an extensive research process, related to relevant topics, in the public debate, such as the democratic culture of the population, the agenda of public issues, pro and anti-European values and attitudes, the presence of xenophobic, racist, extremist opinions, etc.”, according to a statement sent by SNSPA.
According to the cited source, the SNSPA rector, prof. dr. Remus Pricopie, took this decision, at the proposal of the Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Political Sciences (SNSPA), led by prof. Dr. Alfred Bulai.
Remus Pricopie points out that it is necessary for the public to be aware of the problems behind some online surveys.
“Online polls have become a tool in the arsenal of communicators and politicians to influence public opinion. Often, they are conducted without adhering to rigorous scientific standards, jeopardizing the validity and representativeness of the data, as well as the public's trust in this social research tool.
It is imperative that the public be aware of these issues and be more discerning in evaluating the data presented in the public space. The results of online surveys should be viewed with caution, nuance and without generalizations. This is because online polls are not representative of the population of Romania, especially when we talk about political options and electoral behavior. Without such clear clarifications from those who promote them in the public space, they become simple tools to manipulate the population. Manipulation must not be tolerated and access to information must be a guaranteed right for all citizens”, claimed the SNSPA rector.
Bulai: A deontological duty for sociologists
The research will be carried out by a team of experts, coordinated by prof. Dr. Alfred Bulai, director of the Department of Sociology of the Faculty of Political Sciences (SNSPA).
Alfred Bulai stated that the online system “does not provide a control over how subjects are selected”.
“It is mandatory for people to be aware that the value of some data presented in the public space is fundamentally related to the methodology used in the research. From this point of view, the online system has problems both in terms of the lack of access for a large part of the population, and the fact that it does not ensure control of the way subjects are selected.
It is an ethical duty for us sociologists, especially those of us working in the academic space, to draw attention to the fact that the population needs to know that such data are being used to manipulate the population and, under no circumstances, to research a phenomenon” , Bulai stated.
Alfred Bulai pointed out that statistical representativeness “it is an essential element of the validity and fidelity of research data, along with the control of the data collection process.”
“A research that is done online cannot be representative of the population of Romania, primarily because almost a fifth of rural households do not have access to the Internet. Moreover, in the case of more than half of the households in Romania that have access to the Internet, at least one member of the household does not use a computer, so he cannot answer an online questionnaire. Therefore, an important part of the population cannot become a respondent to a research done in the online environment. A survey is representative only to the extent that each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample.” Bulai added, noting that SNSPA will provide free access to all research methodology tools for anyone interested, including public access to all collected data.
