Trust in Professions

Most of the public do not believe statistics and many do not understand percentages, new research by Ipsos on the eve of World Statistics Day shows.

The findings from qualitative work conducted between 12th October and 1st December 2009 on behalf of the UK Statistics Authority. Interviews were conducted with senior opinion formers who use, and in some cases produce, official statistics.

The following questions relate to trust and satisfaction in professions, particularly doctors. Most of these surveys were sponsored by the British Medical Association.

In a year when trust in politicians and other public figures has declined significantly, more than nine in ten British adults trust doctors to tell the truth, according to Ipsos's 2009 veracity trust survey for the Royal College of Physicians (RCP.

Q In general whose interests do you think MPs put first: their own, their constituents',
their party's, or the country's?
Q In general whose interests do you think MPs should put first: their own, their
constituents', their party's, or the country's?

Ipsos research for the BBC explores public attitudes to MPs and political institutions, and examines the public's views towards possible options for reform.

Ipsos carried out a survey for the News of the World, looking at public attitudes to the recent email 'smear campaign' countroversy.

Doctors have been named the profession most trusted by the general public for the 25th year running, according to the latest Ipsos survey commissioned by the Royal College of Physicians. The annual poll, conducted 10 years after the Shipman case, indicates that over nine in ten adults in Britain believe doctors can be trusted to tell the truth, coming ahead of - for example, teachers, professors and judges.

Doctors still top the poll as the professionals that the public trust most. An Ipsos survey commissioned by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) shows that doctors come out first when the public is asked whom they generally trust to tell the truth. The annual poll indicates that nine in ten adults say they trust doctors to tell the truth.