Section 11: Statistics, Data, Polls and Surveys Homepage Accessibility links Skip to content Accessibility Help BBC Account Notifications Home News Sport Weather iPlayer Sounds Bitesize CBeebies CBBC Food Home News Sport Business Technology Health Culture Arts Travel Earth Audio Video Live More menu Search BBC Home News Sport Weather iPlayer Sounds Bitesize CBeebies CBBC Food Home News Sport Business Technology Health Culture Arts Travel Earth Audio Video Live Close menu EDITORIAL POLICY Menu Menu Home Guidelines Guidance Forms Advertising Guidelines Contact Ofcom Search JavaScript has been disabled. This page needs JavaScript to work correctly. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. JavaScript is required for the following feature(s): additional highlighting of break out boxes opening and closing the contents list (on mobile) opening and closing the navbar (on mobile) Section 11: Statistics, Data, Polls and Surveys Sections 11.1, 11.2 and 11.3 Statistics, Data, Polls and Surveys Statistics, Data, Polls and Surveys Introduction, Principles and Mandatory Referrals 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Principles 11.3 Mandatory Referrals 11.4 Guidelines Download this Section Lawrlwytho’r adran hon yn Gymraeg Download Plaintext Version Search 11.1 Introduction Accuracy, impartiality, clarity and credibility are as important when numerical values and data are deployed in the BBC's output as they are in the rest of its journalism and other output. Content makers must be rigorous in applying due scepticism. When the BBC commissions or carries out research itself, investing the BBC's authority, the audience must be able to trust what is reported. Statistics and data are an important source of information which can result in revealing and significant output as long as the right questions are asked and there is an informed awareness of the pitfalls. Data can include information of any kind, not just statistical data, and can be acquired through many different ways such as FOI requests, leaks, scraping and open source investigation. Using data acquired by hacking may only be justified in exceptional circumstances and would require careful consideration of the public interest. Any reliable producer of such material should be able to explain the methods and workings on which it is based. Using statistics, data and numbers can create a sense of certainty for the audience but they are often imperfect representations and may contain inaccuracies and measurement error, so their uncertainties should be factored in. Polls, surveys, questionnaires, phone and online votes, vox pops and focus groups can all have a useful and fruitful role in finding out what different people and groups in society think or experience. The BBC must be clear in distinguishing between the illustrative and the measurable, and precise in its use of language, to ensure the integrity of the BBC's journalism and content. Similarly, when data – and analysis of that data – is the basis of output, content makers must ensure that the techniques and tools used are robust. This section should be read in conjunction with the guidance: Reporting Statistics. 11.2 Principles 11.2.1 The same scepticism and detachment that would be exercised in any part of the BBC's journalism must also be exercised with statistics, data, polls and surveys. 11.2.2 The audience should have confidence that when it reads or hears statistics from the BBC, the figures are given no more and no less weight than the evidence supports. 11.2.3 Statistics, data, polls and surveys should only be used where and when it is possible to provide relevant context, caveats and limitations. 11.2.4 It must be clear to the audience whether a poll or survey is representative or whether it is, for example, self-selecting. 11.2.5 The BBC does not commission voting intention polls during relevant election or referendum periods. 11.3 Mandatory Referrals Stop: Mandatory referrals must be referred in advance. Mandatory referrals are an essential part of the BBC's editorial and compliance process and must be observed. Referrals to Director Editorial Policy and Standards 11.3.1 Any proposal to engage in the unauthorised accessing of computer systems or accounts by hacking or commissioning hacking activities by third parties must be referred in advance to Director Editorial Policy and Standards. (See 11.4.18-11.4.21) (See Section 7 Privacy: 7.4.44-7.4.45) Referrals to Chief Adviser Politics 11.3.2 Any proposal to commission an opinion poll (or use other methods, such as data analysis) with the intention of sampling party-political support or voting intentions with regard to elections or referendums must be referred in advance to Chief Adviser Politics for approval. (See 11.4.33) (See Section 10 Politics and Public Policy: 10.3.7) 11.3.3 Any proposal to report voting intention using research methods other than polling must be referred to Chief Adviser Politics. (See 11.4.36-11.4.37) (See Section 10 Politics and Public Policy: 10.4.16-10.4.18) 11.3.4 Any proposal to commission an opinion poll on matters of public policy, political or industrial controversy, or on 'controversial subjects' in any other area, must be referred to Chief Adviser Politics in advance.[1] (See 11.4.29-11.4.30) (See Section 10 Politics and Public Policy: 10.4.19-10.4.20) 11.3.5 Any proposal to commission any sort of survey, questionnaire, vote or focus group on matters of current public policy, political or industrial controversy, or on 'controversial subjects' in any other area, must be referred to Chief Adviser Politics in advance[2]. (See 11.4.39-11.4.42) (See Section 10 Politics and Public Policy: 10.4.19-10.4.20) 11.3.6 Any proposal to lead with, or headline in any output, or push alert, the result of a single opinion poll must be referred to Chief Adviser Politics. (See 11.4.34) 11.3.7 Any proposal to commission polls or any sort of survey seeking the views or asking about the experiences of children and young people on any issue must be referred to Chief Adviser Politics in advance. (See 11.4.31) (See Section 9 Children and Young People as Contributors: 9.4.3, 9.4.10 and 9.4.24-9.4.25) 11.3.8 When the BBC commissions polls, the full results and accompanying data should normally be published. Any proposal not to do so should be referred to Chief Adviser Politics. (See 11.4.32) Other Referrals 11.3.9 Any proposal to scrape websites for data or to use data scraped or extracted by a computer programme from the public facing part of websites should be referred to Editorial Policy. (See 11.4.18-11.4.19) 11.3.10 Any proposal to access data derived from hacks or leaks must be referred to Editorial Policy and Programme Legal Advice in advance. (See 11.4.18 and 11.4.20) 11.3.11 Any proposal to carry out a phone, text or online (including social media) vote on any issue must be referred to the Interactivity Technical Advice and Contracts Unit (ITACU) and Editorial Policy. The appropriate approval process must be completed. (See 11.4.41-11.4.43) (See Section 17 Competitions, Votes and Interactivity: 17.4.23-17.4.24) Next: Statistics, Data, Polls and Surveys - Guidelines All BBC Editorial Guidelines Footnotes [1] Reference Ofcom Code Section 5 for Meaning of 'matters of political or industrial controversy and matters relating to current public policy'. ↩ [2] Reference Ofcom Code Section 5 for Meaning of 'matters of political or industrial controversy and matters relating to current public policy'. ↩ iPages Dev tools Page built: Fri Jul 10 2026 18:45:23 BST Site ID: ipages-editorialguidelines2024 Built from: master @ a7c7110 Rebuild Page The page will automatically reload. You may need to reload again if the build takes longer than expected. Rebuild page Useful links View in iSite View in iSite (admin) View page XML View JSON cache View JSON cache in AWS console View HTML in AWS console View State Machine execution in AWS console View in iPages Dashboard Demo mode Hides preview environment warning banner on preview pages. On Off Theme toggler Select a theme and theme mode and click "Load theme" to load in your theme combination. Theme: Blue Green Internal Pink Purple Red Studios Teal Wales Neutral Theme Mode: Dark Default Light Load theme Reset Explore the BBC Home News Sport Weather iPlayer Sounds Bitesize CBeebies CBBC Food Home News Sport Business Technology Health Culture Arts Travel Earth Audio Video Live Terms of Use About the BBC Privacy Policy Privacy Policy Cookies Cookies Accessibility Help Parental Guidance Contact the BBC Make an editorial complaint BBC emails for you Advertise with us Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.