The making of a poll: How we're asking Albertans what matters to them most

We are about a year from the next provincial election in this provinceand Alberta voters are facing a whole new situation.

An NDPgovernment running for re-election. A newly formed United Conservative Partyhoping to unseat them. And the Alberta Liberal Party and Alberta Party with new leaders.

• The 'road ahead' for Alberta voters as CBC surveys motivations and polarization in lead up to next election

In a bid for power, political parties of all stripes try to figure out who the electorate is, and then leverage this knowledge into platforms and policies to attract votes.

Carbon taxes, pipelines, debt and deficits, social values, fiscal values, hopes, dreams and fears. What will motivate voters? What attitudes matter most to voters? And even more importantly, how do people see their lives fitting into the province's future.

To look atthat, we are surveying Albertans right now.

Yes, apoll.

It's research on who we are andwe'll followthat up shortly with focus groupsto better understand how Albertans are formulating their political opinions.

The CBC's Brooks DeCillia is leading the project,and we partnered with Calgary pollster Janet Brown and data scientist John Santos to explore what matters most to Alberta voters. We asked political scientists Duane Bratt from Mount Royal Universityand Melanee Thomas from the University of Calgary to act as advisors.

So,what to askand how to ask it? Discussions were held, emails exchanged, plans were laid out, questions drafted, revised, rethought, retooled, individual words debated, and finally, the poll was finalized.

And we wanted to share some of that process with you.

So, recently, we held a final roundtable at our CBC studios in Calgary.

Our own Rob Brown, host of CBC Calgary News at 6, sat down with many of the people involved in the construction and background thinking that went into our poll. It was a discussion on how it was put together, and what information we hope to learn.

Sosit back and listen to how it all came to be.

You'll hear Rob Brown, Duane Bratt, Melanee Thomas, Janet Brown, Brooks DeCillia, and John Santos talking about just what it takes to do political research.

Calgary: The Road AheadisCBC Calgary's special focus on our city as we build the city we want the city we need. It's the place for possibilities,amarketplace of ideas.Have an idea? Email us at: calgarytheroadahead@cbc.ca

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