Ohio Dominican University Initiates A Public Opinion Poll

January 4, 2006

COLUMBUS, OH – Ohio Dominican University recently completed its first public opinion poll of the Greater Columbus area to measure opinions and observations related to religious, moral and ethical issues within the community. Entitled the “ODU Poll,” this measure of public attitudes and values will be conducted four times each year.

“As a Dominican and Catholic university, Ohio Dominican is dedicated to fostering a values-based educational experience emphasizing the search for truth, responsible citizenship and community service,” said Dr. Jack Calareso, president of Ohio Dominican. “We therefore felt an obligation to gauge the moral and ethical attitudes of the Central Ohio community and developed a series of polls as the mechanism to evaluate those opinions.

“Furthermore, we have a responsibility to serve as a ‘voice’ in the community. The results of the quarterly ODU Poll will help us to serve as the voice of the people of central Ohio in regards to a number of important social and ethical issues of the day.”

Participation in the poll is confidential and voluntary. The poll surveyed 400 people in the Greater Columbus area, which allows for a 4 percent margin of error in the results. The poll is conducted by telephone and the pollsters are trained employees of the University.

Dr. Timothy Walker, Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science is the Director of the ODU Poll. Dr. Walker will be executing the poll and interpreting and analyzing the data. The initial surveying concluded in December and the findings are expected to be released in January. Dr. Walker is an expert in survey design and statistical analysis. He is being assisted by an ODU Poll Board comprised of faculty and staff from the University.

The survey questions are designed to cover general moral and religious issues as well as issues that are topical and more specific. The configuration of this poll will serve as a model for future polls conducted by the University. The goal is to measure the views of the public on the same issues with each survey as well as to survey opinions on unique topics with each administration of the ODU Poll.”

According to Dr. Walker, “This approach will allow the University to track the consistency and/or changes in views over time as well as provide timely information on the changing issues that emerge in the community. We see this is a great service to the people of Ohio and part of the responsibility of Ohio Dominican University.”