NES: An Overview

The National Election Study 2014 (NES 2014) is a survey conducted by a team of scholars all over the country and coordinated by Lokniti, Programme for Comparative Democracy at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS). NES 2014 is the largest and the most comprehensive social scientific survey of the Indian General Elections, and perhaps of any election in the world. It adheres to the best international practices and protocols of survey research. While the NES gathers robust information about how Indians voted, this is not just a study of voting behaviour. The NES treats elections as a window to capture the most accurate snapshot of the political behaviour, attitudes, and opinion of the Indian citizens. NES 2014 also explores the awareness levels and opinion of the Indian citizens on issues concerned with Indian economy, national security, democracy and diversity.

The study of Indian elections based on survey method started in the CSDS in 1960s, and led to the first National Election Study in 1967. The National Election Studies (NES) series – NES was carried out in 1967, 1971, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2009 before this one - is the most comprehensive information database of social and political change in India and has been used as a source for international comparative studies. Like the NES 2009, NES 2014 has the unique distinction of being a collaborative research work shared by over 35 scholars across the country.

In its endeavour to understand the general elections of the country, Lokniti- Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) in collaboration with the IBN Network has conducted a nation-wide pre poll (in the month of March) and will be conducting a post poll survey in the month of April and May 2014.

Sampling

To provide an accurate and reliable account, the survey has been designed to be representative not just at the national level, but also at the state level. For this the sample for the study was randomly selected from among all the eligible voters in the country. This meant that every single Indian on the electoral rolls had an equal chance of being selected and interviewed. Thus all the 536 Lok Sabha constituencies in the 28 states of the country and the Union Territory of Delhi were selected for the study. Other Union Territories were excluded for logistical reasons. Within these constituencies Assembly constituencies and polling booths were randomly selected, using the principle of a blind lottery. Thus a total of 301 Parliamentary Constituencies were selected, and then further 1340 polling stations areas, typically villages or urban wards, were selected for conducting the interviews. This procedure of multi stage stratified random sampling ensures that the selected sample is fully representative of the cross-section of voters in the country.

Field Investigator Training

Each field investigator who went to collect the data in the field was trained in survey research. They were given a full day’s training in survey research and the NES questionnaire in particular. The complete do’s and don’ts of fieldwork were explained in detail to ensure the quality of the collected data. Each state conducted a separate training workshop in the local language lead by the state coordinator and supervisor. About 620 investigators were trained for the pre poll in 21 different workshops held across the country. The investigators were told to interview only those respondents whose name was there on the list and substitution was not allowed under any circumstances.

Method of Survey

Once the sample of the electorate was prepared, trained investigators went to meet them at their residence. As mentioned already, substitution was not allowed under any situation. If the identified respondent was not available, the investigator would come back at a later time in order to carry out the interview. Information was recorded on the age, sex, religion and caste of the non-respondents as well to ensure that those who did not take part in our survey were not substantially different from those who actually did. In all a total number of 20957 interviews could be conducted. The sample profile shows that the persons interviewed were broadly reflective of the Indian population, in terms of the country’s general demographic profile. All the interviews were conducted at the residence of the respondent.

Once a respondent agreed for the interview, the field investigators asked them a detailed set of questions in face-to-face situation at their residence. The respondents were given a ‘secret’ ballot paper which was designed to look similar to the list of candidates on the EVM, on which they could mark their choice. This was then placed in a sealed ballot box. This process was followed to ensure that the voters who were interviewed knew their response would be confidential.

The questionnaires were randomly administered to the sampled voters were carefully designed by a group of social scientists. The questionnaires had questions on a range of different themes, covering topics such as the economy, security, democracy and social values. The questions were phrased so that they did not lead the person being interviewed to any particular answer. In the non Hindi speaking states the questionnaire was translated into the language spoken in that state. The translation process was carefully monitored, so that a question in one State did not have a different meaning in another. Detailed information about the background socio-demographics and the household was also collected. State specific questions regarding local issues and local politics relevant to each of the different States were also included in the questionnaire after getting inputs from our state coordinators.

Fieldwork Dates

The data was collected from across the country from 16th March to 25th March 2014 through face to face interview. The collected data will be disseminated through electronic and print media.