SMS Used to Collect Opinion Poll Results

The UK television consumer affairs programme, the BBC's Watchdog has become the first British television programme to gauge public opinion by text message. The research method has been developed and tested by research agency MORI.

"We have recruited a panel of 2,800 people who are willing to vote by text message anyplace, anywhere," explains Doug Carnegie, Watchdog's editor. "This is a highly innovative approach to encouraging audience interaction. It takes quick TV polling out of the tired format of a self-selecting group ringing in to have a rant. This is swift, but it's also more properly representative."

MORI has developed and tested the new research technique. "This is a cutting edge approach," explains Joel Down, MORI's project director. "Although not the same as a traditional opinion poll, we have been able to give Watchdog a credible new research tool."

Using text messaging as a research technique also gives Watchdog access to a much wider sample of people than alternative methods such as internet polling. "Three-quarters of the British population use a mobile phone, compared to less than half who use the internet, and text messaging is more socially inclusive," explains Down. "Texting is also much more immediate - and you can do it anywhere!"

1,814 members of the Watchdog panel responded to the programme's questions on the MMR vaccine for children. Watchdog says that it will continue to conduct research by text message during the current series."

Posted to the site on 16th January 2003