Palestinian Elections, November 11, 1993
The Center for Palestine Research and Studies (CPRS) has, so far, conducted two public opinion polls on the proposed Palestinian elections. The results of the first poll were released on the 29th of October, 1993, and were published in local and international newspapers. The response to the first poll was overwhelmingly positive.
Therefore, CPRS has decided to continue an ongoing research project on palestinian elections. A public opinion poll on the topic will be conducted each month until the proposed elections date (the 13th of July as mentioned in the palestinian-Israeli Declaration of Principles).
These are the results of the third public opinion poll that has been conducted in the West Bank and Gaza on the 11th of November,1993.
Introduction
A random sample of 1855 Palestinian, over the age of 18, were interviewed. The sample was distributed according to population size. Effort were made to represent all residential areas (i.e., city, town, village and refugee camp). Age and sex were also considered.
The interviews were conducted on a face- to- face basis in West Bank major towns (Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus, Jericho, Tulkarm, Qalqilya and Jenin). In Gaza, interviews were conducted in the following areas: Al-Shati', Khan Yunis, Rafah (town and refugee camp), Al-Breig refugee camp, Beit Lahia village, Al- Zaytoun, Al-Shuja'iyah, Al-Rimal, Qarerah village and Jabalya village.
Fifty four well-trained field workers instructed to visit areas that attract all of the society's groups and strata. These areas included, among others, bus/car stations that lead to villages and refugee camps, main markets, city centers, hospital entrances, ..etc.
1171 questionnaire were received from the West Bank, and 684 were received from Gaza. The margin of error for this study is plus or minus1%, with a confidence level of 99%.
Methodology
CPRS researchers are constantly trying to refine and improve the validity of the research methodology and the reliability of the collected data. For these purposes, the sample size was raised from 1259 to 1855. This has resulted in a higher confidence level and a lower margin of error.
Moreover, more female data collectors were hired to ensure the representation of women in the sample. They were instructrd to visit public institutions that attract women.
Furthermore, the majority of our data collectors participated in an intensive workshop where the goals of the poll were discussed. They were also lectured on survey methods, scientific research, field work, and sampling.
Data collectors worked in groups supervised by qualified researchers. CPRS researchers made random visits to interview stations and discussed the research process with data collectors. All interviews took place on the same day.....More