Pew Center: Support for Terror Wanes Among Muslim Publics

check out some of my links list.

It ain't a perfect filter, but it's different. When I find a rational voice I link to it.

Cool, I'll do that. I try to read a lot of different voices. It helps me figure out my own biases, hopefully letting me know about my blind spots.

supedujour is all over this. Thanks!

Excluding the arrogant tone of my suggestion that you check out my links list, I have several links where I found analysis of the post you linked to.

Her posts are pretty 'on it', it seems.

Hell, all the numbers turn my brain off pretty quickly. I wanna know exactly what questions were asked and the specific timing and translations used. If you catch me during the wrong time I might tell you black is white just to get you off the phone.

Anyway... she's good.

adding her to my f'list.

What kind of analysis? I'm not stat girl either, but a big part of what I do is gather and standardize study data. Are you asking if these results look valid or what they mean?

As far as validity, I was somewhat bothered by:

Results for the survey are based on telephone and face-to-face interviews conducted under the direction of Princeton Survey Research Associates International. All surveys are based on national samples except in China, India, Morocco and Pakistan where the sample was disproportionately or exclusively urban.

and that they're 95% sure this is really what all of those people in other countries think. If all those people answered their questions honestly, and truly understood the questions, I would give them the 95%. My problem with that number is that I believe that a large majority would lie out of paranoia and that some might not really understand what was being asked. It said the questions were asked in the language of the country interviewed, but it was through fieldwork from the PEW. How well did their fieldworkers speak the language? I would be just as suspicious of the data if they paid natives to collect it. It probably accurately reflects majority/minority generalizations, but I would never give them 95%. IMO

What kind of analysis? I'm not stat girl either, but a big part of what I do is gather and standardize study data. Are you asking if these results look valid or what they mean?

Mostly I was looking to avoid drive-by snarkiness related to the title of the article. I mostly was going for "serious replies only." I'm not yet at the point where I can figure out if a study is yanking my chain, so I try to be cautious before taking the results as truth.

It said the questions were asked in the language of the country interviewed, but it was through fieldwork from the PEW.

Okay, so there seem to be some parts of it where their methods put the results in question? Interesting. If you wouldn't give them 95%, what would you give them? 75%? Does that skunk the margin of error by a great amount?

As far as the fieldwork goes, I would have to see them in action or know how well they pay the people who do these things. My guess is that it isn't a lot, and considering that arabic language speakers are hard to come by, I must admit to having my doubts they have people who are superior linguists. As someone who collects data through questioning people, I can tell you that a fair percentage of people have a hard time answering questions as they are posed in a study. I'm certain they are trying to make the questions simple, but most end up being at least somewhat confusing and the patients often ask very valid questions before answering. Or I will need to rephrase a question which is touchy... subtle changes in wording can change the meaning and therefore alter the results... or require "interpretation" by the petitioner.

The next thing I question is the honesty of people being asked about religion in countries that are governed by it. In muslim countries, not hating Christians and Jews might be construed as being unfaithful or blasphemous. There are religious police in Saudi Arabia who actuallly do things to find who has been faithful and who hasn't.

In Iraq, people interviewed on the street will tell the press that they hate the Americans and wish they would go home, and tell them on the sly later that they are afraid the Americans will leave them to the unsurgents and hope they don't. See what I mean? In countries where people live in paranoid fear of their government, there is a better than average possibility they will lie about how they feel.

As far as how far off of 95% I would take that; I would only be guessing.

Your friend confirmed part of what I said:

Psychiatrist Graham W. Hoffman ’78 (left, serving as medic on a civil-affairs patrol to renovate six schools near Samarra) joined the Army Reserve after September 11 and has completed his second tour in Iraq, “treating mostly 20-something First Infantry Division soldiers (and some Iraqis, too) for post traumatic stress disorder. The Iraqi civilians were very nice to us again, even though Samarra had a lot of insurgents for much of my time there. And the kids love us, especially the little girls, who seem to feel all this democratic change will be good for them in particular. The whole ‘mission’ is starting to feel like Peace Corps work, albeit you still have to be well armed. I am a political left-winger on most things, but on the Middle East business I think we are doing the right thing, mainly because that’s what all these Iraqi civilians kept telling me. Not sure why you don’t hear that kind of stuff on the media, except that most civilians there would consider it suicide to say good things about Americans on-camera.”

So much of that rings true. Many in America spend their time flapping their gums about how Iraqis hate us and want us out because that's all they see on the news, but when you work with and for Iraqis, there is a completely different feeling. They are, for the most part, clever, eager to learn, proud and capable.

And I, for one, am very glad that I've gotten the opportunity to work with them.

P.S.

That entire last post was an exerpt from your friend Cuevenar(sp?)