6. How we did it
The Viewpoint Survey for residents was sent out in the post to 3,000 randomly selected households from throughout the District. These households were selected completely at random from the Land and Property Gazetteer database, which is the most comprehensive and up to date list of addresses.
The questionnaire was sent out in the post; respondents receiving one in the post were given the option to complete it online if they wish.
The same questionnaire was sent out in June 2013 and June 2014 using the same method, so results can be compared over time. Where accurate comparisons are available the results for previous surveys are included.
We received 772 responses (this compares to 774 in 2014), 36 were online responses and 736 paper based. This number of responses makes the results statistically reliable.
The results have been weighted (according to best practice) for Ward and age. This is a technique used to get accurate levels of representation for certain groups in the District. Data for under represented age groups and Wards was weighted to make the sample a better representation of the actual population. For instance, if the population is known to be 50:50 male to female but the sample has 48:52 then weighting is used to adjust the sample data to represent the true population. In this case it would be done by giving each male in the sample a weight of 50/48 and each female a weight of 50/52.