Australia Talks, one of the nation's biggest social surveys, is back for 2021. Here's how it works - ABC News

Is technology bad for your health? Are young people today better or worse off than their parents? And how often do you change your sheets? 

You might have strong opinions on some of these questions, and you probably know others who do too. But have you ever wondered what people outside your social bubble are thinking? 

That's the idea behind Australia Talks, the social research project launching across the ABC this week revealing what makes us tick, where we are divided, and the issues that bring us all together.

How do your views compare?

We asked 60,000 Australians about their lives. See where you fit on the issues that matter.

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What is Australia Talks?

It's one of the biggest social surveys in the country.

In 2019, the ABC asked nearly 55,000 Australians from all walks of life to answer 500 individual questions about their thoughts, feelings and experiences on everything from social media, to climate change to how well they know their neighbours.

The survey revealed an unprecedented insight into everyday Australia, and inspired stories that reached millions of readers, listeners and viewers across ABC platforms. 

A few things have changed since then, so it's time for a check-in.

In March, we put nearly 600 questions to a research panel of around 60,000 Australians. We wanted to see how attitudes may have shifted since 2019 and ask a few new questions.

Who made Australia Talks?

The ABC has again teamed up with data scientists and social scientists at Vox Pop Labs — the creators of Vote Compass — and the University of Melbourne to put together the 2021 Australia Talks National Survey. 

The ABC worked together with Vox Pop Labs and academic advisers to devise a new list of questions for the 2021 survey.(

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Together we revised the survey from 2019 to decide which questions to ask again and what else we might want to find out. Vox Pop Labs then invited everyday Australians to take part in the Australia Talks National Survey, which reached more than 60,000 people.

Since then we've been analysing those responses and using a little statistical science to make sure the survey sample is an accurate representation of the wider population. 

Now we're ready to show you what we found and we've launched an interactive tool that will help you see where you fit in.

Can I take the survey?

No, the survey is finished. But you can use the online tool to answer 50 of the questions from the survey and see a personalised breakdown of your results and how they compare with the rest of Australia. 

How is the Australia Talks survey representative of the whole population?

Statistical magic. 

To make sure the findings reflect the views of the wider population, we use sample adjustment techniques — also known as weights. 

Vox Pop Labs founder Clifton van der Linden says this process compares the demographics of the survey respondents with census data to control for any selection bias in the sample. It's the same technique used in pretty much any conventional poll. 

"Where certain demographics are over- or under-represented in the sample … those observations are up- or down-weighted so that the sample demographic properties reflect those of the population," van der Linden says.

If that's a bit wonky for you, here's an example. 

Let's say the Australia Talks national survey had a sample of only 100 people, and there were 40 women and 60 men. We know that the Australian population is made up of approximately 50 per cent women and 50 per cent men, so this doesn't quite reflect the true balance of men and women in Australia.

To make up for the selection bias in our sample, women's answers would be up-weighted to ensure that their 40 survey responses counted for just as much as the 60 men's survey responses. 

For the Australia Talks National Survey, a (slightly more complicated) set of weights has been applied to adjust for sex, age, education level, language spoken at home, geographic region, state and vote choice in the 2019 federal election.

If lots of surveys use these techniques, what makes Australia Talks so special?

Three things: sample size, sampling technique, and questions. 

Not only is Australia Talks one of the biggest research projects of its kind, Van der Linden says the weighting process is "based on the most advanced sampling techniques in either academia or industry". 

Karen Farquharson from the University of Melbourne and Alex Haslam from the University of Queensland, who were both part of the academic advisory committee for the project, agree Australia Talks is unique in its scope. 

"Few (if any) other surveys address such a broad range of issues and in such a large representative sample in ways that allow us to explore responses within a broad range of different communities," Professor Haslam says.

"Most other surveys have a purely academic focus, and don't provide so much insight into the texture of everyday life."

Professor Farquharson says Australia Talks is also unlike other social research projects in terms of its accessibility through the online tool. 

"There's also this ability to go and explore the data that other surveys don't offer. As a citizen I found it very interesting to go and look at that data last time around."

OK, so what did the 2021 Australia Talks survey find? 

We can't give it all away right now, but all will be revealed over the next few weeks. The best way to start is to dive into the online tool. 

Our academics are particularly interested in the issues where Australians' views have changed since the last Australia Talks survey in 2019.

"I would characterise some of the changes here as close to seismic," Professor Haslam says.

On issues like climate change and inequality across economic, racial and gender lines, Professor Haslam says the Australia Talks survey shows "a real strengthening of concern, across the country and across the political spectrum".

"At one level this can be linked to specific events (for example, the treatment of women in Parliament), but it can also be argued that the pandemic has brought this into greater focus — not only by highlighting inequality but also by increasing it," he says.

"While, methodologically, we can't pin any of the changes we see in the data on particular events, we can say that the dial has moved substantially on a lot of issues."

Where can we see the results?

The ABC will be bringing you stories about some of those "seismic" shifts across our digital platforms, radio and television programs over the next four weeks, and inviting audiences to join the conversation.

Annabel Crabb and Nazeem Hussain will be wrapping up Australia Talks in our televised special on Monday, June 21 at 8pm on ABC TV and iview, taking you through all the tidbits we've found along the way.

"The thing about the Australia Talks dataset that makes it so fascinating isn't really about the individual questions. It's about the way you can slice and dice the data and see it move," Crabb says.

"The way different genders and states and age groups and ethnic groups move differently across different questions. That's what I love picking through.

"It's such a powerful reminder that an individuals we are a collection of attributes, not just one."

The Australia Talks National Survey asked 60,000 Australians about their lives and what keeps them up at night. Use our interactive tool to see the results and how your answers compare.

Then, tune in at 8:00pm on Monday, June 21 to watch hosts Annabel Crabb and Nazeem Hussain take you through the key findings and explore the survey with some of Australia's best-loved celebrities.

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2021-05-23 06:59:57Z
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