The University of the Philippines (UP) School of Statistics on Monday, Feb. 21, flagged public relations companies, private individuals, and media organizations publishing results of surveys with "unclear methodologies."

In a statement, the UP School of Statistics expressed dismay over the disregard for the principles of data gathering and called out the "pervasive abuse of survey methodologies."
"We have been observing these practices, including surveys not based on random sampling, such as videos of 'kalye (street) surveys" being done by some vloggers and suspicious online surveys, especially on Twitter and Facebook," the statement read.
"Surveys reveal facts, beliefs, sentiments, and opinions based on a representation of the population. However, the quality of any inference cannot rise above the quality of the methodology is based upon," it further read.
Sample selection strategies, the School explained, can generate bias in the data collected in surveys.
" happens when the sample tends to favor a segment of the population. Data collection processes may also generate bias, such as when an interviewer purposely affects the answers of the respondents. Biased methodologies will only give biased results," it underscored.
The UP School of Statistics called on the public to be critical of surveys and urged them to not immediately accept survey results as they are.
It also recognized organizations "who maintain and continually uphold the highest standards of professional ethics in survey research."