Editor:
Re: District of Sechelt satisfaction survey:
Thank you for another good summary of our work for the District of Sechelt.
The May 30 Coast Reporter included a letter from Valerie Ruhe, who didn’t appreciate the report. I haven’t had a chance to meet Valerie around town, but I am sure she will be pleased to know that while I have an office in Toronto, the Coast is my home. Just ask our Sechelt bookkeeper and accountants.
The gist of her comments is that the report is not presented in an academic format. That is simply because it is not aimed at an academic audience. Our challenge is to conduct rigorous research using academic standards and then to present the results in an accessible format. Our analysts build our reports using banner tables that show the ns per questions and p-values. However, most commercial and government clients do not use those tables.
Our task is to translate those findings in plain English. For instance, the overall sample and margin of error is summarised on page three and more details are provided on page six. We chose our words carefully. Significant changes are noted in plain language.
Headlines that use words such as “marginally” indicate a change that has not passed the test of statistical significance. Innovative Research Group is not an academic venture. We must survive in a commercial environment which is interested in plain-spoken reports that cut to the chase. That does not mean sacrificing quality. There is no room for error in the commercial world.
Our real world tests include calling the Alberta election correctly when every other research firm was wrong and raising red flags on quality issues in B.C. election polling well before voting day.
I thank the District of Sechelt for the opportunity to work locally.
