As well as the polling work Survation conducts under our own name frequently featured in the media, our company, like most other members of the British Polling Council (BPC), also provide “field and tab” services for our customers. A “field and tab” research vendor will typically not be responsible for drafting a questionnaire or assisting on high-level sampling design discussions.

Likewise, after the data has been collected and tabulated, a “field and tab” provider will typically not interpret the resulting data nor prepare a deck of presentation slides. These responsibilities fall on the client (the research buyer) or on a consultant that the client may hire.

In reference to polls conducted for the Liberal Democrats, which have been described in the Guardian, New Statesman and others as “private polling conducted by Survation”, we would like to clarify that the role of Survation in these polls was that of “field and tab” only.

Survation were not responsible for drafting the questionnaires used, sampling design discussions or analysis of the results. These polls should therefore not properly be described as “Survation polls”. As a consequence, Survation is not responsible for the publication of these polls under BPC rules. Any member of the public with queries regarding the detail or further information about the mentioned polling work should be directed to the Liberal Democrats.