| Poll No.4 Survey #4: Livelihood, Negotiations, the Future, and TV and Radio Stations Time & date of publication: 11 June 2001 Date of field research: May 31 – June 3rd 2001 Sample Selection: Multi-stage, random and representative Sample size: 1,184 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip Number of field researchers: 70 field researchers Number of sample locations: 74 locations Percentage of error: (+ or – 3%) Fieldwork Environment This survey took place under extreme circumstances. Intense restrictions on movement and the fear for personal safety represented constant challenges for fieldworkers. The following are examples of these difficulties that our field researchers faced in the field: Iman Abu Ajamie’ (20 years old), a field researcher from Dhiesheh Refugee Camp, had just completed her interviews for the day. On her way home, from the field site in Hebron she got shot in the leg by a rubber- coated bullet fired by Israeli soldiers at young stone throwers in the city. She was admitted to the Alia Hospital in the city and released after treatment. Her injury prevented her from continuing her work for the next two days. Three villages from the Ramallah District, (Senjel, Beitello, and Taybeh) and two from the Nablus District (Qabalan, Toubas), that were originally selcted in our sample were completely under siege and unreachable by field researchers. The DSP was forced to substitute comparable villages in the same districts for these villages. A number of our field researchers had to hike through hills for hours in order to reach their field work destinations, that in normal circumstances would be reached by a half-hour taxi ride. Many researchers found themselves finishing their day at 9 p.m. rather than 5 in the afternoon as under regular circumstances. Despite the very difficult circumstances, the public received the field researchers with support and enthusiasm. Researchers said that respondents expressed gratitude that “somebody still cared about them and their opinions.” It seems that the research represented a comfortable setting for them to voice their opinions, and express their distress, anger, and fear. Immediate Political Environment of the Survey Two-thirds of the interviews were conducted Thursday and Friday (May 31 and June 1st) before the suicide attack in Tel Aviv (Friday evening, June 1st) took place, which resulted in the death of 20 Israelis. 95% of the interviews took place before the “cease-fire” announcement by President Yassir Arafat. As such, reactions to this could not be measured. The research team expects that this decision will have an impact on attitudes towards the PNA’s handling of the Intifada. From the 5% of interviews done after the announcement, we hypothesize that future studies might show a trend supportive of allowing the leadership political room to maneuver under pressure. This hypothesis will be examined in the next poll. The Intifada and the Israeli siege continued during the time in which the survey research was conducted. Eight months after the Intifada, over 530 Palestinians have been killed, over one hundred thousand have lost their jobs, and poverty rates have risen to unprecedented rates. Over 64% of Palestinian households are under the poverty line. In Gaza the rate is 81% and in the West Bank 56%. The West Bank and Gaza are now divided into various areas of control bound by the Israeli Army, which makes the basic movement necessary to live a normal life completely impossible. All of these circumstances did not lead to any compromise of our methodology. Our sample is representative of the true demographics and social characteristics of Palestinian society in the West Bank and Gaza. Work Team 70 Field Researchers Team Coordinator: Dr. Nader Said. DSP Director. Research team: Ayman Abdul-Majid (Coordinator) Ayoub Mustapha (Data entry/Statistician) Ghassan Abu Hatab (Field supervisor) Rania al-Asmar (Field supervisor) Nida’ Abu-Taha (Field supervisor) Emad Zehed (Field supervisor) Ameenah Zahran (Field supervisor). Technical and administrative team: Noran Nassif, Maisa Jayousi, Raqia Abu Ghoush, Nibal Thawabteh, Nawal Abu-Hadid, Shahnaz Jubran. Steering Committee: Ramzi Rihan: Vice-President for Planning and Development (Birzeit University) Jamil Hillal: Senior researcher, member of the advisory committee for the Palestinian Human Development Report Dr. Reema Hamami: Chairperson of the Post-Graduate Programme at the Women’s Studies Institute (Birzeit University) Dr. Mu’in Rajab: Professor of Economics (Al-Azhar University) Jamil Rabah: Survey Research Expert. All results represent the opinions of the respondents and do not represent the viewpoint of Birzeit University or the Development Studies Programme or any other related body. All Steering Committee members have contributed actively at all stages of the survey; the DSP team likes to thank them, and to especially thank Dr. Reema Hamami for her contribution to the analysis of the results. We also like to thank Owen Kirby and Scott Mastic for their invaluable comments and language editing. | ||
2001 Opinion Poll #4
About Author
Comment here