Opinion Survey on Poverty Issues in Policy Address 2017 (January)back

Research Background

The Hong Kong Council of Social Service (HKCSS) commissioned Public Opinion Programme at the University of Hong Kong for the first time in 2010 for a public opinion poll to gauge people’s instant views on the poverty alleviation policies of the Policy Address. The same survey series is repeated every year since then. This year, HKCSS commissioned POP again for the seventh time for this “Opinion Survey on Poverty Issues in Policy Address 2017” conducted on 18 January 2017 (i.e. the evening after CE announced the Policy Address) to gauge the public’s instant reaction on the poverty alleviation policies of the Policy Address, and compare the results with previous figures.

The research instrument used in this study was designed entirely by the POP Team after consulting HKCSS. Fieldwork operations and data analysis were conducted independently by the POP Team, without interference from any outside party. In other words, POP was given full autonomy to design and conduct the survey, and POP would take full responsibility for all the findings reported herewith.

Research Design

Telephone interviews were conducted by interviewers under close supervision. All data were collected by our interviewers using a Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) system invented by the research team which allowed real-time data capture and consolidation. To ensure data quality, on top of on-site supervision, voice recording, screen capturing and camera surveillance were used to monitor the interviewers' performance.

Telephone numbers are randomly generated using known prefixes assigned to telecommunication services providers under the Numbering Plan provided by the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA). Invalid numbers are then eliminated according to computer and manual dialing records to produce the final sample.

The target population of this survey was Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong citizens aged 18 or above who know about the contents of the Policy Address. If more than one eligible subject had been available, selection was made using the “next birthday rule” which selected the person who had his/her birthday next. The survey was conducted on January 18, 2017. A total of 528 eligible respondents were successfully interviewed. The effective response rate of this survey was 67.2%, and the standard sampling error for percentages based on this sample was less than 2.2 percentage points. In other words, the sampling error for all percentages using the total sample was less than plus/minus 4.4 percentage points at 95% confidence level.

To ensure representativeness of the findings, the raw data collected have been rim-weighted according to provisional figures obtained from the Census and Statistics Department regarding the gender-age distribution of the Hong Kong population in 2016 mid-year and the educational attainment (highest level attended) distribution collected in the 2011 Census. All figures are based on the weighted sample.

• Opinion Survey on Poverty Issues in Policy Address 2016
• Opinion Survey on Poverty Issues in Policy Address 2015
• Opinion Survey on Poverty Issues in Policy Address 2014
• Opinion Survey on Poverty Issues in Policy Address 2013
• Opinion Survey on Poverty Issues in Policy Address 2011-12
• Opinion Survey on Poverty Issues in Policy Address 2010-11