We conduct opinion polls on a quarterly basis to gauge the nation’s sentiments on important sociopolitical issues and trust in institutions and public officials. Opinion polls are also an effective tool in the estimation of voter preferences. However, not all opinion polls are created equal. Oculum’s opinion polls utilize multistage probabilistic sampling, meaning respondents are drawn at random, to allow for reliable and generalizable results.

Our regular poll has 1,200 respondents distributed as follows: 300 from the National Capital Region (NCR) or Metro Manila, 300 from the rest of Luzon, 300 from the Visayas, and 300 from Mindanao. For each of these regions, the areas surveyed – cities and municipalities and barangays – are selected at random through a computer-assisted tool. While 1,200 respondents allow for an acceptable margin of error of +/- 3 points at the national level, Oculum will increase the sample size as needed, especially for election surveys.

Respondents are 18 years old and above, interviewed in-person on political, social, economic, trust issues. Field interviewers also obtain personal and household information with the respondents’ consent. The list of barangays, which are the smallest units of government in the Philippines, is taken from the latest edition of the Philippine Standard Geographic Code (PSGC) published online by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the government statistical agency.

In each barangay sampled, the “Skip 9, get 10” method is used to draw sample households. The starting point for each barangay is drawn at random. In the sampled household, the birthday method system is used, meaning the household member with the nearest birthday will be interviewed.

The survey instrument is prepared in English and Filipino and pre-tested. Translation is done if necessary to make sure that questions are conveyed accurately to the respondents.

Training of the field enumerators are conducted in central locations – Manila and Cebu City.  Field enumerators for NCR and North and South Luzon are trained in Manila. Field enumerators for the Visayas and Mindanao are trained using hybrid mode. Training activities discuss the objectives of the poll, the questionnaire, interview techniques, and sampling techniques.

Survey results are disseminated publicly through Oculum’s website, except from commissioned surveys, which will be disclosed only upon clearance of the commissioning party.