The Arab Opinion Index

The Arab Opinion Index an annual survey conducted by the Arab Center in order to gauge Arab public opinion around a number of political, cultural, and social topics. The program is headed by a specialist statistician, leading a team of research assistants and experts in survey methods. The survey is conducted in cooperation with researchers and academic centers in each country featured in the poll, so that information can be collected, analyzed and published in regular reports that are available to the public, researchers, and decision-makers. The Arab Opinion Index is conducted annually by the Arab Center in selected Arab countries. The survey aims at identifying the trends in Arab public opinion towards a range of economic, social, and political issues, including: democracy, citizenship values, equality, justice, religion, and civic and political participation. This study of Arab citizens also includes inquiry into their living conditions, the general conditions of their respective countries, their evaluation of the state institutions of these countries, their degree of confidence in these institutions, public opinion towards the private sector, the Arab world as a whole, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. The first survey for the Arab index was carried out in 2011 using a sample of 16,192 respondents in 12 Arab countries. The Arab 2016 survey was conducted in 12 Arab countries with a total of 18310 respondents (https://goo.gl/n5VCT2). The Arab Center conducts this survey periodically to identify changes in Arab public opinion towards the topics covered. Each year a new set of topics is added and the questions that measure slow-changing phenomena are replaced every few years. Questions that measure fast-changing phenomena remain constant in each survey cycle. The Center is committed to carrying out this project by following rigorous methodology and applies best practice from the Social Sciences in order to obtain accurate and reliable information. This information identifies the issues facing the Arab societies and can subsequently serve to provide policy guidance.  The project is firmly rooted in the Arab region and part of the Arab vision. It is committed to the priorities of the respondents and formulates questions according to a unified Arab research agenda, without reliance on foreign funding. In addition to collecting information, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies trains a number of research assistants and trainees to collect and analyze data, and write reports using statistical analysis tools. The Center is committed to building Arab capacity to develop academic research based on field surveys. The Arab Center aims to create an information bank for researchers and the Arab Public. It also tries to develop work methods based on the use of modern techniques and communication such as the internet and telephone for carrying out surveys.