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Scientists from Wrocław University of Science and Technology have started an international opinion poll on COVID-19. Everyone can take part in it just by filling out an online survey.
- We want to examine the public awareness of the coronavirus and find out which information channels are used by the respondents to obtain information about the pandemic - says Anna Kowalska-Pyzalska, PhD, DSc. from the Department of Operational Research and Business Intelligence at WUST’s Faculty of Computer Science and Management.
It was in her team that an idea was born to create a detailed survey and make it available by a very wide audience. The originator of the research is Yash Chawla, a PhD student at the university’s Faculty of Computer Science and Management, who established cooperation with research centres around the world.
Supervised by WUST scientists, the project is being carried out simultaneously in many countries. The research has been joined by universities from countries including Brazil, China, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Iceland, Indonesia, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and Turkey.
- In the survey, we ask the respondents about their knowledge of the virus and the prevention measures applied, as well as their opinions about facts and myths concerning COVID-19 and the potential impact of the pandemic on the economy and public health in their country and worldwide. Many questions concern sources of information on COVID-19 and the respondents’ assessment of their credibility. Moreover, we collect demographic data such as age, education background, place of residence, size of the household, and how the pandemic affects the work and care of the respondents' children - explains Anna Kowalska-Pyzalska.
The survey is conducted fully online via such channels as e-mail, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other ones.
- Given the fact that the pandemic is a global phenomenon, we decided that it was a unique opportunity to carry out scientific research simultaneously in many countries, which can, among other things, help to understand the current situation, consolidate social knowledge, and formulate conclusions and recommendations for effective communication with the society - say the WUST researchers. The analysis of the survey results will employ statistical and econometric tools.
Anyone can participate in the survey. The researchers estimate that they will be able to collect about 10 thousand questionnaires from countries representing all continents. - In just a few days, more than 2 thousand answers have been already received, including 700 from Poland and about 600 from Portugal - says Anna Kowalska-Pyzalska, PhD, DSc.
The final results, expected to be known in a few months, will be published in international scientific journals.
More information about the project is available on its website - https://www.yashchawla.in/corona-virus-pl/.
