Miqdaad Versi (What do Muslims think? This skewed poll won’t tell us, 12 April) undermines his own arguments. This poll, in my view – and confirmed by one of ICM’s high-profile competitors, no less – is the most rigorous survey of Muslims that has been produced for many years. The president of the British Polling Council has confirmed that ICM followed the standard methods for polling ethnic minorities in the UK. The poll comprises over 1,000 interviews, selected using classic and orthodox random-location face-to-face techniques that are the bedrock of the highest-quality research undertaken in the UK.
Online polls depend on people voluntarily signed up to a panel to receive questionnaires. If we’re being generous, fewer than 0.5% of the total Muslim population are signed up to such panels. Yet Mr Versi cites the value of one such survey, while deriding ours which represents 51% of the Muslim population.
Telephone polls of Muslims depend on people previously researched and willing to be recontacted, while “snowball” techniques seek additional interviews from their friends and family – hardly delivering much in the way of legitimate representation. [The Guardian] Read more
