The abstracts and presentations that D3 shared at WAPOR’s 77th Annual Conference in Seoul are included below:

Fieldwork Challenges in LMICs: Case Studies from Southeast Asia  

Authors: Libby Seremet, Elizabeth Weatherly, Timothy Van Blarcom 

Conducting public opinion research is pivotal in amplifying global voices, especially in difficult times and environments. This exploration of case studies from face-to-face opinion surveys in Sri Lanka, Mongolia, and Vietnam, delves into the experienced research challenges that can be common in low- and middle-income countries. In Sri Lanka, researchers navigated the task of conducting research during the 2022 political crisis. In Mongolia, the team had to reconsider sampling methods to attempt to reach its nomadic population. In Vietnam, government interference and censorship presented obstacles to conducting a survey that explored sensitive topics. This presentation concludes with a discussion of outcomes and offers suggestions for future research. 

The 2022 Sri Lanka survey consists of 2,515 interviews conducted from June to August. The Aragalaya, or the 2022 Sri Lankan protests, kicked off during data collection. These protests posed a plethora of challenges during fieldwork. Logistically, fuel and electricity shortages hindered interviewers’ mobility, making travel for fieldwork increasingly challenging. Curfews further impeded productivity, as interviewer’s working hours were reduced. Finally, the protests and heightened tension contributed to an increase in respondent unavailability and refusals. In response, D3 and the local field team worked together to ensure that fieldwork was completed while maintaining interviewer safety. 

The 2023 Mongolia Pilot Study consists of 200 interviews conducted from February to March. Politically, the country transitioned to capitalism just 30 years ago, with communism’s influence still evident. Additionally, the country spans 1.564 million square kilometers and has a large nomadic population. These geopolitical realities created challenges for D3 researchers, primarily in the realms of sampling and fieldwork. In a country like Mongolia, a traditional census-based area sampling methodology was difficult to implement. Concerns emerged regarding coverage, particularly in reaching the rural, hard-to-access PSUs where nomadic populations reside. Nonetheless, D3 investigated sampling options in and around Ulaanbaatar that allowed our team to successfully complete the pilot survey. This pilot will ultimately help to inform the sampling methodologies for potential future national surveys in countries with hard-to-reach populations. 

The 2023 Vietnam survey consists of 2,255 interviews conducted from June to August. The questionnaire explored sensitive topics related to religion, regional tensions, and civic engagement during a period of heightened religious skepticism and increased law enforcement presence nationwide. As a result, the field team faced a significant number of respondent refusals and encountered frequent interactions with law enforcement and government officials. D3 collaborated with the local field team to conclude the survey, prioritizing both compliance with the directives of the Vietnamese government and interviewer safety. 

Innovation in Opinion Polling: Testing Three Modes and the Feasibility of Hybrid Polling, the Case of Finland, 2024  

Presenter: Dr. David A. Jodice, CEO and Founder, D3 – Designs, Data, Decisions, USA  

Co-Authors: Tim Van Blarcom, Principal Survey Statistician, D3 – Designs, Data, Decisions, USA, and Pasi Huovinen, COO, Taloustutkimus Oy, Finland  

D3, in cooperation with its field partner for Finland, Taloustutkimus Oy, is conducting three national surveys in Finland (500 with CAPI, 1,000 with CATI and 1,100 with CAWI), polling the 18+ general population. The surveys include 15 fixed-response questions plus demographics and survey management questions which are the same across all three modes, polling the Finns on a range of international affairs and national security issues. 

D3’s presentation will compare the three modes in terms of the final samples, data quality, weighting and design effects, survey results, schedules and costs.  D3 will also assess the feasibility of a hybrid project design (CATI and CAWI) to correct for known gaps in survey participation by various demographic groups and make recommendations for future surveys in Finland and other countries, as applicable.