How does Ipsos ensure that its surveys are properly representative?

At Ipsos, we believe that every voice matters. We make a particular effort to hear from those who may feel overlooked or unheard, not just those who are more vocal.

Here are a few ways we make sure that our research is representative and inclusive.

We know that society changes, and these changes can influence how we view other people. We make sure our survey questions reflect those changes. One example is how we ask about gender. Instead of just asking whether you are a man or a woman, we now include options such as non-binary or allow you to write in your own answer. This means that we can more accurately represent the world in our surveys and analysis.

Using Simple and Appropriate Language

It’s really important that everybody understands the questions we ask. Otherwise, we might not get the right answers from the people we ask. Or, worse, some people might feel like the survey is too complicated for them to complete. We make sure that our surveys use language that is simple, respectful, and universally understood. We also try to design our questions to be relevant and appropriate to every culture, so that we include as many people as we can.

We give special attention to young people, who can often be harder to reach in surveys. We use techniques like text messages, pictures, and videos. We also make sure our surveys are easy to use on every device since many young people are often more comfortable using their phones so the Ipsos iSay App is perfect for them.

We know that some ethnic groups haven't always been well-represented in surveys. For these groups we take extra steps. We offer different rewards to encourage these groups to take part and work hard to find the best ways to ask questions about race and ethnicity. This way, we can build trust with these communities and ensure their voices are heard.

We also understand that some communities are very diverse. So, we use special strategies to make sure we hear from everyone in these communities. We ensure we weight our data to better represent everyone. And we work to improve our methods capturing the voices of hard-to-reach political groups.

At Ipsos, we work hard to make sure our surveys represent everyone. We want to hear from a wide range of people to make our research as good as it can be. By using the above methods – among others – we hope to ensure our research reflects the whole world.

Why not help us share your voice by checking out the surveys available to you today?