A private company is conducting a so-called survey asking the question: If the general election is held next Sunday how would you vote? An advertisment of this survey has appeared in The Times.

The so called survey asks whether one will vote Nationalist or Labour or whether he will not vote at all. Alternattiva Demokratika is mysteriously left out of the equation.

Besides, the methodology of the so-called 'survey' is such that those wishing to respond have to pay Lm1 to answer the questions. In both counts, the study fails to meet basic criteria of scientific surveys, which are generally based on samples chosen according to clear scientific criteria.

The scientific value of the survey is equivalent to an opinion poll on a website or a televoting question on a TV show.

The fact that people will have to pay Lm1 to answer this survey increases the possibility of having a disproportionate bias in response rate, where actual respondents are more likely to be directly interested in the question. Potential respondents who are not really interested in answering the survey or in paying Lm1 to do so are thus excluded.

Thus it is extremely unlikely to have a response rate that is representative of Maltese society.

Incidentally, the authors of the survey do not seem to know that according to law, general elections have to be held on a Saturday.