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Methodology

Research methods & respondents

Dates & locations

This infographic reports on data collected in Basra (Iraq) over a period of 6 rounds: March 2018, March 2019, April 2020, April 2021, November 2022, and September 2023.

Demographics

The HSS enumerators collected 4688 surveys in Basra since 2018: 752 respondents in 2018, 816 in 2019, 822 in 2020, 746 in 2021, 782 in 2022, and 770 respondents in 2023. In 2018-2023, about 53% of respondents were men. In 2023, the gender distribution was more or less even [50.1% female to 49.9% male]. The age distribution was relatively stable across the survey rounds:
Questions

• Please note that respondents were only asked the question "How would you rate the performance of [security actor] in providing security in your area?" if they indicated in the previous question that the security actor was present. These "present" percentages are as follows:
• Iraqi Armed Forces (IAF): 62.5% (2019), 43.4% (2021), 20.3% (2023)
• Police: 85.3% (2019), 69.4% (2021), 66.5% (2023)
• Hashd al-Shaabi (PMF): 43.4% (2019), 5.1% (2021), 8.3% (2023)
• Armed Political Parties: 23.7% (2019), 4.6% (2021), 7.8% (2023)

Methodological & visualization choices

Removal of percentages

• To facilitate trend analysis, we prioritized global trends over specificity. We omitted some percentages from graphs, as they would draw focus to individual data points. Instead, we highlighted changes over years by using connecting line graphs and adding confidence interval bars to column charts where possible.
• Nevertheless, these exact numbers are available on the HSS Iraq dashboard. Have a look or reach out to us and we will gladly provide more details. (Please note that, to improve legibility of our publications, categories are combined in a fashion appropriate to each individual publication, so some values may differ.)

Addition of confidence interval bars

• The HSS does not survey all residents in its survey locations, but uses sampling methods. As such, our research findings are always an approximation of the true values in the population. We sincerely hope that every reader of our publications is aware of this. When displaying data points from several years side by side with the intent to perform some kind of comparative analysis, it becomes even more prudent to emphasize this uncertainty.
• To that end, we have included 95% confidence interval (CI) bars to graphs that visually allow for them, most notably the column charts. A 95% CI means that, statistically speaking, there is only a 5% chance that the true value is not between the upper and lower limits of the CI. In other words, based on our sample, we can say with 95% certainty that the true value is included in the span of the CI bars.

Statistical testing

• As our aim is to conduct applied research leading to timely and practical results, we did not perform statistical tests on the data. The recommendations and conclusions are based on viewing the data, using multiple data points to support the assertions, in combination with the contextual knowledge of our staff.

Missing values

• Questions included in this infographic stayed more or less the same in the reported years. Some questions and/or answer options were removed or (re)introduced over the years, which is why in a few graphs, some data points are missing.
• In column and bar charts, a missing column means that no data is available for that year.
• In line graphs, the line starts later if the first data point is missing or ends sooner if the last data point is missing. If a middle data point is missing, the two known data points are connected by a dotted line.

Go to HSS-Iraq project page
Go to HSS-Iraq data dashboard