商議式民意調查(澳門) Deliberative Polling (Macau)

Introduction

	The public is often uninformed about key public issues. Conventional polls represent the public's surface impressions of sound bites and headlines. The public, subject to what social scientists have called "rational ignorance," has little reason to confront trade-offs or invest time and effort in acquiring information or coming to a considered judgment.
	Deliberative Polling^® (DP) is an innovative method of public consultation. The method begins with scientific random sampling and offers an opportunity for the public to engage in deliberation with fellow citizens using balanced briefing materials and communicate with experts directly. Participants are surveyed both at the beginning and at the end of the DP process. The Deliberative Polling method was developed by Prof. James Fishkin from Stanford University, U.S. in 1988. It is an attempt to use public opinion research in a new and constructive way and present results of a poll with a human face. Participants discuss the issue based on the balanced briefing materials of the topics being discussed and get more information from the experts in a plenary session. The whole consultation process is executed in an open, transparent and scientific way.
	This method combines two of the most important concepts of democratic theory: equality and deliberation. Equality means each citizen has an equal opportunity of being selected, thus forming a microcosm of the population. Deliberation means public opinion is formed after careful weighing of arguments.