Jan Rychlík, a prominent figure in Czech historiography, did not forget to remind peopleduring the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia that humanity does not realise its breakthrough historical milestones until much later on. In March 2020, my colleagues at Seesame and I were strongly convinced that things were about to go down that would be talked about for generations to come and that we’d be living through a new major historical event. This is how our ongoing research project “How are you, Slovakia?” was born, which gathers data on the opinions and attitudes of the Slovak population.
| 2020 was filled with important milestones that tilted public opinion in one direction or another. We responded to these moments with research. The first collection of data for “How are you, Slovakia?” began at the end of March. It was 18 days after the diagnosis of the first case of COVID-19 in Slovakia and about a week after the nationwide closure of schools. The next wave of research was conducted a week after Easter when travel between counties in Slovakia was limited and the daily increase in cases was in the dozens. The third wave of research was conducted at a time of unified daily increases in new cases, when lockdown measures were eased and schools were announced to re-open in June 2020. This was followed by further data collection, which replicated the key moments of what was happening at the company and the measures taken by the authorities. |
In a series of online surveys, we’ve been monitoring people’s concerns and whether they’ve been respecting coronavirus measures, and we have also been following their views on administrative actions and their attitudes towards long-term issues such as vaccination, the environment, mental health, the quality of their relationships, and many other areas. We’re not just about collecting data, but rather about understanding the big picture of what’s happening during these difficult times. Each survey is then supplemented with a good interpretation of the results that weighs in on the context of other similar domestic and foreign research projects. Another pillar of the project involves intensively communicating the results, allowing us to make wiser decisions based on the data we’ve acquired and interpreted. These are the key benefits of research for us.
Who we work with on data collection
An original group of partners was promptly created in March 2020 in the background of the project in order to guarantee high-quality data collection, interpretation, and communication of the results. These partners bring an interesting combination of excellent research skills, communication, and academic experience to the table. The research project “How are you, Slovakia?” has long been provided by the research company MNFORCE, the Institute of Sociology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Social Communication Research of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, and Seesame.
Survey graphics + date
You can follow the ongoing results and findings from this project (be prepared for a lot of information to digest) on our website, on our Facebook profiles and, of course, in the media.
Why it’s important for us and our clients to know the context
When it comes to reporting on the key attitudes of people in Slovakia, it’s important that the findings be based on data that have a credible basis. This applies as a general rule of thumb, but all the more so today when the current situation is changing very rapidly. “How are you, Slovakia?” brings reliable and up-to-date information in this regard.
We believe that data that’s verified and correctly interpreted should also be a part of quality public policy for entities making key strategic decisions and playing a significant role in communication (meaning larger clients).
P.S.: We’d like to thank our partners who joined Seesame on this big adventure we call “How are you, Slovakia?”. Thanks to them, we managed to map the attitudes and opinions from this historical period. A special thanks from us also goes out to Barbara Lášticová (Institute of Social Communication Research of the Slovak Academy of Sciences), Miloslav Bahna (Institute of Sociology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences), and Andrej Kičura (MNFORCE).