Introduction: General Framework of the Survey

 

Five Iraqi governorates were selected to conduct the survey to study the perspectives of various segments of Iraqi youth and understand their stands on several social, economic, and policy-related issues. The governorates selected for coverage are Ninawa, Sulaymaniyah, Najaf Al-Ashraf, Dhi Qar, and Basra. These governorates were chosen to represent the diverse areas in Iraq. The stratified random sampling method was used to represent society at the level of the selected Iraqi governorates.

 

Given the high societal homogeneity at the level of a single governorate in Iraq, a sample of (2000) respondents was selected, with (400) respondents from each of the studied governorates. Each governorate was divided according to the electoral districts to represent layers that the sample is distributed among. The questionnaire was prepared based on multiple sources and documents related to youth, including global and regional surveys on the topic and questions related to the nature of Iraqi society and the political system. The focus of the targeted category was exclusively on Iraqi youth, excluding other segments of society.

 

Data collection was carried out using the field survey method (face-to-face interviews), relying on field researchers (enumerators) who were trained to conduct the survey, covering the included governorates. Data collection was facilitated using tablet devices through the data collection program (kobo toolbox). Data collection lasted for (30) days at the end of the year (2022) to achieve the required number of respondents according to the spatial distribution of each governorate, ensuring a balanced representation to achieve the highest degree of randomness.

 

The adopted sample achieved a confidence level of (95%) and a margin of error of (+2.19%), assuming the highest level of variability within the targeted study society. The margin of error increases when analyzing at the subgroup level or division at the governorate level, where the margin of error reaches (+4.9%) when analyzing at the level of each governorate among the studied governorates.

 

Results will be calculated at both the overall level (combined studied governorates) and the specific level for each of the studied governorates. A specialized data entry operator performed data entry and was independently reviewed by a statistical expert to ensure accuracy of entry and suitability for analysis. The statistical software package for the social sciences (SPSS) and Excel were used to extract statistical indicators and graphical representations.

 

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