FAQ on Project LC04Back

A1: The HKU Student Research Team emphasizes on doing high quality research work by self-initiative. Only students who are genuinely interested in current affairs, and are self-motivated to learn social research, should join the team. Project LC04 provides opportunities for students to study the political processes involved in popular elections, and to master the basic method and skills in conducting social surveys.

A2: The only requirement is that you are a HKU student interested in current affairs and keen to learn social research. It doesn't matter whether you are a science student, an engineer student, a medical student, or architecture student. You do not need any previous experience in social research. Obviously, we expect you to honour your voluntary commitment, and behave responsibly in conducting research.

A3: The Team now exists on an experimental basis. It is not yet under any student association, but will very likely do so in due course. When properly constitutionalized, the Team would be run by office bearers elected by Team members themselves. Depending on members' wish, membership of the Team may be extended to HKU alumni, associates and friends. For the time being, the Team is run by a small group of volunteers who are trying hard to avoid bureaucratic red tapes, and focus more on actual learning and achievement. We all work on self-motivation.

A4: We would like to concentrate on Project LC04 for the time being. If proven successful, we may conduct research to study our fellow students' views on some socio-economic issues. Research topics are subject to members' interest and can be proposed by both core and non-core members.

A5: Definitely. Different guidelines will be issued for different projects, some of them are presented in this set of FAQs.

A6: The reward comes from the learning process itself, and the experience of team work. There will not be any grade points, nor financial reward. All student researchers who complete the project to the satisfaction of the organizers will receive a certificate. The researchers who produce top-quality input to the study will receive a prize. The Honourary Advisors will select the prize winners.

A7: Please click on " Project Plan for Legislative Council 2004 Election Studies " in this site and read the details. Our first briefing session was held on August 23, 2004. On September 12. The Team will conduct election day observations and exit polls. The project will end within 1 week after the election

A8: Yes, but provided that commitment is made before August 27. This is because we need to work out our manpower deployment plan, and there are only three weeks left before the election. If you cannot attend the briefing session, you should read up all the information posted at our project website (go to http://hkupop.pori.hk, then click on "POP Resources", then click on "2004 Legislative Council Election", then click on "HKU Student Research Team: Project LC04", enter account name = hkurt, password = hkusrt). If you decide to join the project after reading all the material, you should contact the project organizers as soon as possible before the deadline.

A9: Yes, in which case we will pair you up with a fellow student, and assign your group to a District Council constituency. We work in pairs in order to provide mutual support, but this is not a must.

A10: Yes, but the organizers may want more information about your friends before accommodating them. This is because our first priority is to offer learning experience to fellow students in HKU. Our long-term objective, however, is to promote volunteerism and consolidate young people's interest in current affairs irrespective of their affiliation. Along this line of thought, there is no reason why we should not include students from other universities, secondary schools, alumni, and other young people in the long run.

A11: You will be guided step-by-step to observe and record campaign activities in the constituency assigned to you. After visiting your constituency, you will log-on our project website and fill in your fieldwork notes, which will be accessible by other project team members. The work is estimated to take about 30 minutes each time, there will not be any written assignment other than that.

A12: Definitely. Your observations will be uploaded to our project website, and made available to all Team members. In other words, everybody shares one's observation, findings, and feelings with everybody else. We also have a forum page in our website whereby we can discuss our observations openly. Access to our work, however, will be limited to Team members and project advisors only. After the project is complete, we will collate our findings, compile a report, and open them for public consumption.

A13: Other than sharing findings and observations on-line, Team members can also discuss freely in our on-line forum. From time to time, the whole team would meet in one single group for forums, visits, and other activities. For Project LC04, the organizers will also organize Team members into smaller groups for easy communication and administration, probably according to the geographical distribution of designated DC constituencies.

A14: Help will never be far away. During field observations and exit polls, Team members will be provided with a set of emergency contact numbers, whereby enquiries will be answered within a few calls. In other times, members can use email, icq, and on-line forum communicate with each other as well as their team leaders.

A15: While Team members will be provided with a standard form to report their observations regularly, the following guidelines compiled by Dr Sonny Lo should be useful:

A16: Certainly. We will inform all candidates in your designated constituency about our research. We believe most candidates would welcome our researchers. As much as we would like to know their campaign strategies and personal feelings, they would to know the operation and findings of our project. In case you have a vote in your designated constituency, the candidates would be very very keen to solicit your personal support as well.

A17: There is certainly such a danger. That's why we must do so in a professional and neutral way. Whenever possible, you should spend equal time among all candidates, chat with one candidate at one time, and then go to the other. Do not show your support to any candidate. We researchers are simply there to observe, investigate, and record, not to campaign for anyone. We are considering whether to provide T-shirts for our researchers. If we do, please wear them during your fieldwork, in order to emphasize your neutrality.

A18: While Team members will be provided with a standard form to report their observations, the following guidelines compiled by Dr Sonny Lo should be useful:

A19: We will not provide T-shirts to Team Members but we suggest all Researchers to wear white T-Shirt during on the election day.

A20: All exit poll interviewers should bring a calculator and a mobile phone, which must be switched on until 2330 hour.

A21: All exit poll interviewers should bring a calculator and a mobile phone, to be switched on until 2330 hour.

A22: Yes, but prior permission must be sought from the Registration and Electoral Office at least 7 clear days before the election. We will take care of this procedure, which requires us to submit the exact name and personal identification number of all interviewers matched with individual polling stations.

A23: Interviewers are not allowed to go inside the polling stations, or stay in areas designated as "No Staying Zones". Interviews should be conducted at the exit(s) of polling stations. Only interviewers approved by the Registration and Electoral Office are allowed to conduct interviews in the "No Canvass Zones".

A24: In order to guarantee the representativeness of the sample, all exit poll interviewers are required to follow very strict procedures in sampling voters at the exits. We will explain them to you during the briefing session.

A25: No. All data collected from the interviews must be kept strictly confidential. There must not be any leakage of information to any third party (e.g. the media, voters, candidates, etc.). All data would be collected regularly by your supervisor, in person or by electronic transmission. Such data would not be used on the election day in favour of, or against, any candidate or political group.