MINSK, 10 March (BelTA) - The nationwide sociological study "Social Thinking" conducted in the run-up to the Belarusian People's Congress gave a clear picture of the public opinion, Aleksandr Postalovsky, a senior researcher with the Center for Sociological and Political Studies of Belarusian State University, told BelTA.
“First of all, I would like to note the scale of the study. This is the first time that we have carried out such a large-scale poll. For the first time in our sociological practice, a poll has gotten so much attention. Even the head of state talked about it. We saw an interest at all stages of the study. Usually sociological polls are carried out as part of the effort to study the public opinion in relation to some events already taking place. In the latest case it was the Belarusian People's Congress. The study was conducted ahead of this large event to help with constructive governance decisions and to hear the voice of people. After all, sociology is a form of feedback between the state and society,” Aleksandr Postalovsky noted.
According to him, dynamics is needed to make a deeper analysis of the public opinion research. The study was conducted in early February, before the Belarusian People's Congress. A month has passed. Public opinion may change in any direction,” Aleksandr Postalovsky said. “In this regard, I would like to note that it was the state itself that turned to sociology. There is a demand for sociological analytical research. We believe that this study may be the starting point for further research projects on all topics covered in this survey.”
The national public opinion poll was commissioned by the BelTA news agency. It was conducted from 12 January to 8 February by the analytical center EcooM with the involvement of the Ukrainian Policy Foundation and in cooperation with the sociological centers accredited in Belarus. Using paper questionnaires and tablets, pollsters interviewed 9,896 respondents in 108 localities of all regions of Belarus, sampling the Belarusian population older than 18 by gender, age, level of education, municipality size and region. Statistical sampling error does not exceed 2.5%.
The two-stage field survey was preceded by the pilot telephone survey to prepare the necessary tools and build up the tactics for collecting primary sociological information. The first stage featured a territorial survey of the economically active population. Following the first stage a decision was taken to conduct the second stage with a wider coverage of different categories of citizens. Respondents were asked to fill in formal questionnaires. Pollsters also asked respondents of their needs and expectations, and collected proposals to improve the government policy in various fields. The emphasis was on open-ended questions.
