Groundbreaking 'Text' Poll For BBC Watchdog

The BBC TV consumer programme Watchdog has made history by becoming the first British television programme to gauge public opinion by text message. The groundbreaking research, which shows half the British public think the MMR vaccine is safe, has been developed and tested by MORI and the results broadcast on Tuesday 14 January 2003.

"We have recruited a panel of 2,800 people who are willing to vote by text message anyplace, anywhere," said 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."

Joel Down is the project director at MORI and was one of the people who developed and tested the new research technique. "This is a cutting edge approach," he says. "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," Joel said. "Texting is also much more immediate -- and you can do it anywhere!"

From the Watchdog panel, 1,814 members responded to the programme's questions on MMR. Half thought the MMR vaccine was safe and a quarter thought it unsafe. More than a third (37%) thought that more parents would be likely to use the vaccine if Tony Blair said his son Leo had received it, while half thought it would have no effect.

Technical details

Findings are based on 1,814 responses from members of the Watchdog panel, and have been weighted to the known population profile of Great Britain. The research was conducted between 11-12 January 2003. Full results are as follows:

Q1 Do you think it is safe or unsafe for parents to choose the MMR vaccine for their children?

Q2 If Tony Blair said his son was given the MMR vaccine, would this make parents more or less likely to use it, or make no difference?