The questionnaire was designed through consultations with experts. A pre-test involving fifty questionnaires was conducted in the Nablus area prior to the poll. The questionnaire instrument includes a large number of demographic variables as indicated in the section on sample distribution. A total of 29 variables and questions are included in this questionnaire. The section on unemployment that was added recently remained in this questionnaire.

Household Sample Selection

SRU researchers adopted a multi-stage sample selection process. The process of sample selection began with the creation of lists of all locations in the West Bank and Gaza according to district, population size and distribution, and type of locality (city, town, village, and refugee camp). A simple random sample of locations to be surveyed was selected from these lists, as shown in Table 1. Fieldworkers and researchers created maps for these localities. These maps indicated the boundaries, main streets, and clusters of residential neighborhoods in these localities which were further divided into a number of sampling units (blocks) with each unit comprising an average of two hundred housing units. The sample units (blocks) to be surveyed were selected randomly.

Table 1

Sample Localities Selection*

The Following table lists the localities that were included in the sample for this month. The percentages reflect the weighting for the disproportionately large Tulkarm Camp sample.

District (Sample       Localities             District (Sample       Localities                
Size/ %)                                      Size/%)                                          
Nablus  (116/10.3%)    Nablus,  al-A'yin      Tulkarm/Qalqilya       Tulkarm city and camp,    
                       Camp, Hawara, Borqa,   (246/8%)*See           al-Zawiya, Zeita, Anabta  
                       Beita                  introduction and                                 
                                              page #17 for                                     
                                              explanation of                                   
                                              Tulkarm sample size                              
Jenin (83/7.5%)        Jenin, Jenin Camp,     Jericho (25/2.2%)      Jericho                   
                       al-Zababda, Zibdeh,                                                     
                       Arabeh                                                                  
Ramallah (104/19.3%)   al-Bireh, Ramallah,    Hebron (124/11.1%)     Hebron, ,  al-Shiyukh,    
                       al-Jib, 'Aroura,                              Beit Om'ar, Dir Samit,    
                       Beit Laqia, Qalandia                          al-Aroub                  
                       Camp                                                                    
Jerusalem (84/7.5%)     Shu'fat Camp,         Bethlehem (74/6.6%)    Bethlehem,  Deheisheh,    
                       Silwan, Sheikh                                Artaas, Beit Faj'ar,      
                       Jarrar, al-Souwana                            Beit Jala                 
Gaza North (69/6.2%)   Beit Hanoun, Jabalya   Gaza City (153/13.7%)  al-Rimal, ad-Daraj,       
                       Camp and Village                              as-Shati, al-Sheik        
                                                                     Radhwan, al-Tofaah,       
                                                                     al-Shoja'aya              
Gaza Middle            Nusseirat Camp, Dir     Gaza South (66/5.9%)  Rafah city and camp       
(127/11.3%)            Balah Camp, Bureij                                                      
                       Camp, 'Absaan                                                           
                       Kabira, Beni                                                            
                       Suhaila, Khan Younis                                                    
                       Camp                                                                    

*The fieldworkers conducted interviews in 60 cities, villages, and camps
where over 145 sampling units were used.

Households were selected based on a systematic sampling framework. For example, if the fieldworker estimated the number of houses in the sampling unit to be two hundred and is assigned ten interviews, the fieldworker divided the 200 by 10, obtaining 20. Therefore, the fieldworker would conduct the first interview in the 20th house, and the second in the 40th, and so on. Fieldworkers were asked to start their sample selection of housing units from a well-defined point in the area such as a post office, mosque, business, etc. They were asked to report on the direction of their sampling walks. Fieldworkers played an active role in drawing the maps for the localities in the sample and in estimating the number of houses in each block.

To select the individual within the selected household to be interviewed, fieldworkers had to flip a coin twice. The first flip was to choose gender of the respondent and the second was to choose whether the respondent was to be older or younger than forty years. When in the household, fieldworkers would conduct the interview with the person who has the characteristics that they selected in this manner.

We received 856 questionnaires from the West Bank and 415 from Gaza, for a total of 1271 interviews. In the Tulkarm Camp area, we interviewed 175 Palestinians. Since the Tulkarm Camp sample is disproportionately large, it was weighted (in this case, deflated) when included in the totals. Table 2 provides the reader with data on sample distribution for the present poll. The percentages reflect the weighting for the Tulkarm Camp sample.

(Expressed as a % of the total sample)

Sample Distribution	May 1995	Education	May 1995
West Bank Gaza Strip	62.7 (63.0) 37.3 (37.0)	Up to 9 yrs. 10-12 years Two-Yr. Coll. University Degree(s)	50.2 (53.0) 31.3 (27.0) 10.0 (20***) 08.5
Muslim Christian	95.7 (95.5) 04.3 (04.5)	Male Female	48.2 (49.0) 51.8 (51.0)
City Town/Village Refugee Camp	35.1 37.7 27.3	Refugee Non-Refugee	46.6 (42.0) 53.4 (58.0)	Single Married Divorced or Widowed	20.8 84.9 04.3
Age 18-22 23-26 27-30 31-35 36-42 43-50 Over 50	17.0 (20.1) 14.3 (13.9) 11.6 (13.2) 15.4 (12.1) 14.9 (11.5) 11.7 (10.5) 15.1 (19.0)	Occupation Laborers Craftsmen Housewives Specialists* Employees** Merchants Students Farmers Retired None	09.5 09.4 40.8 01.8 10.5 05.6 06.8 03.2 02.8 09.6

*Specialists (University teacher, engineer, doctor, lawyer, pharmacist, excecutive).
**Employees(school teacher, government employee, nurse, lower-level company employee.
Population Estimates are based on the "Statistical Abstract of Israel" (1993) and FAFO (1993).
*** for all post-secondary degrees.

Our data collectors have participated in a number of workshops where the goals of the poll were discussed. They were also lectured on household interviewing, confidence building, mapping, sampling techniques, survey methods, and scientific research. Four special training seminars for data collectors were conducted during this month, attended by a total of sixty-four fieldworkers. Training for data collection was conducted in the field where actual illustrations of the sample selection and interviewing techniques were conducted.

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. More than fifty percent of our data collectors were female, so as to ensure the representation of women in the sample. Data collectors were assigned a limited number of interviews (an average of 18 per day) to allow for careful interviewing.

Interviews took place primarily over a three day period (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) after 1:00 pm in order to obtain a more representative sample and were conducted on a face-to-face basis. Household interviews resulted in a lower non-response rate, estimated at 7%. Some respondents, we believe, were reluctant to state their political views out of fear or disinterest in the present political factions .

Data were processed through the use of SPSS, a computer package that is able to detect illogical answers and other inconsistencies. The margin of error for this poll is less than 3%.