Methodology

The Indian Express-CNN-IBN-Divya Bhaskar Gujarat Pre-Poll Survey was designed and analysed by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies CSDS, New Delhi. The findings presented are based on interviews with 3,893 respondents at 240 locations spread across 60 Assembly constituencies in Gujarat.

The sample for the survey was drawn using a multi-stage stratified random sampling technique. Four polling stations were randomly selected in every third Assembly constituency in the state. The voter lists of the sampled polling stations were used to select some names randomly which were then approached for interviews. Such a rigorous methodology resulted in a sample that mirrored the social profile of the state in all major attributes. More than 120 investigators and supervisors interviewed the respondents at their place of residence using a standard structured questionnaire in Gujarati.

The fieldwork of the survey was conducted in Gujarat between October 31 and November 6, 2007 and was coordinated by Priyavadan M Patel Vadodara along with his colleagues A Venkatraman Surat, Hemixa Rao Rajkot and Bhanu M Parmar Anand.

Sanjay Kumar of CSDS directed the survey. The central team which designed, coordinated and analysed the survey comprised Yogendra Yadav, Himanshu Bhattacharya, K A Q A Hilal, Kanchan Malhotra, Praveen Rai, Dhananjai Joshi and Kinjal Sampat of CSDS and Rajeeva Karandikar of Cranes Software International Limited.