Public Opinion Research in Developing Countries:
Papua New Guinea
By: Stephen Hornbeck
D3 Systems Inc.
D3 Systems Inc.
• D3 Systems, Inc. is a full-service market and
social research company which has served the
research needs of an international clientele since
1985.
• D3 has particular expertise at providing global
research solutions in difficult environments for
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for audience and media measurement,
news organizations
public policy formulation
and international development and assistance programming.
• D3 has conducted regional and country-specific
research in more than 95 countries worldwide.
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Papua New Guinea
• Located on the Eastern side of New Guinea, next to
Indonesia, in the Oceania group of islands.
• Population of approximately 5,931,769 (July 2008 est.)
• Language: Over 820 indigenous spoken
• GDP: $5.914 Billion (American Dollars)
• Life Expectancy: 66 Years
Madang
• Port City located on the northeastern coast along the
Bismarck Sea.
• Serves as a distribution point to the center of the country.
• Main industry is in Timber
Sources:
CIA World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pp.html
Encyclopedia Britannica: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9049873/Madang
The Study
• D3 Systems, in coordination with Terror
Free Tomorrow, conducted a survey in
Madang to gauge public opinion towards
terrorism and research possible programs
to decrease support .
• The survey also focused on the U.S.
Navy’s humanitarian missions and their
effects on public opinion.
Problems faced in Papua New
Guinea
• Problem 1: No effective field force in place.
• Solution 1: D3 Systems and its partners built
up a field team from the ground up.
• Problem 2: First field team was ineffective
• Solution 2: The first field team was dismissed
and the data disregarded. A second team was
created using more experienced workers.
Problems faced in Papua New
Guinea
•
Problem 3: Security
a. Madang is reported to be among the most dangerous
cities in the world and interviewing in residential
neighborhoods at night was too dangerous.
b. The majority of residential areas in Madang empty
out during the day while people go to work, market,
and other activities (creating a problem in terms of
securing male respondents for interviews).
•
Solution 3
We switched to a system by which the majority of
interviews were being conducted on weekend days.
We worked to restructure the interviewing team and
bring in more experienced interviewers to handle
these weekend focused shifts.
Problems faced in Papua New
Guinea
• Problem 4: Lack of Demographic
Information
• Solution 4:
a. Interviews were distributed across the following areas based
on the best known information on the areas Wagol (11%),
Mimilon / Modilon (28%), Yomba (11%), Kalibobo (27%), New
Town (19%), other areas (4%).
b. Because information about the exact distribution of males
and females in Madang is not known, it was decided to set up
a quota for 250 males and 250 females.
Methodology
• During field work, 618 contact attempts were made to
yield the 500 completed interviews. Of these, 67 resulted
in non-contacts and 51 refusals yielding a Response
Rate of 81% and a Cooperation Rate of 91%
• Due to the limited amount of census information
available for Madang, interviews were distributed
according to the best know information about the area’s
population distribution.
• The poll has a +/- 4.4% margin of error at the 95%
confidence interval.
Methodology II
• The final interviews were conducted by 8 specially
trained interviewers from Madang and Port Moresby who
are citizens of Papua New Guinea.
• The target sample was a random selection of residents
of Madang, both male and female, above the age of 18.
• No more than 10 interviews were conducted in any
single location within in each of major areas of Madang
(Yielding 61 individual sampling units)
Demographics of Realized Sample (n=500)
52% 48%
40%
34% 34%
46%
18% 13%
6%
Gender
Age
1-5
Years
6-10
Years
11 to
15
16+
Years
55+
45-54
35-44
25-34
18-24
Female
Male
1% 3%
Education
Why do this research?
• Though research in the developing world
can be hindered with many challenges, as
the world becomes more interconnected,
giving a voice to the people of these
countries and understanding them is
becoming increasingly important for the
direction of policies for the public good.