Iraq Sidebar: How The Poll Was Done

Sept. 10, 2007 — -- In Dahuk, Wasit, Maysan and Najaf provinces, "No major events." But in Tamim, Basra and Dhi Qar, interviewers reported, "Intense fighting, suicide bombs." And in Baghdad, "Intense fighting, suicide bombs, major U.S. military operations, assaults to civilians, assaults to security forces."

Such is polling in Iraq.

The remarkable thing is that despite the violence and disarray it's possible to obtain a random, representative national sample of the opinions of ordinary Iraqi citizens, interviewed in their homes about their living conditions, assessments of security and other attitudes. And again, as in the previous three ABC News-sponsored polls in Iraq, all interviewers returned safely from their work.

Their experiences reflected the conditions they encountered. In Anbar, "It is very sensitive and if a stranger comes here and asks some questions everybody will be aware that a stranger is in the neighborhood," one field worker reported. "We are very local interviewers so we did not face many problems." In Baghdad, related another, "People in this area are afraid of everything, it was hard to do the work."

Yet in Muthanna province, where just "some fighting" was reported, "Respondents were very positive about our visits to their houses, especially the women. They thanked us for visiting them and asking their opinion," an interviewer there said. "Generally, people accepted to participate in the survey," she added. "But refusals went up after the assassination of the governor."

Field work for the latest survey, this one co-sponsored with ABC News by the BBC and the Japanese broadcaster NHK, was managed by D3 Systems of Vienna, Va. and KA Research Ltd. of Istanbul, which have been jointly polling in Iraq since summer 2004. D3, which specializes in polling in difficult conditions, also has managed the field work for two ABC News polls (one with the BBC World Service) in Afghanistan.

In Iraq, D3/KARL works with an in-country, all-Iraqi staff of about 200 interviewers on call to 19 district offices scattered across the country. Interviewers are familiar with their local area, enabling them to navigate the geographical and administrative terrain alike. It comes in handy: As in previous surveys, several teams were detained during the field work for questioning about their work, either by government or militia forces, then were released.