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CSO Pulse Surveys - Pulse at The Ploughing - Surveys that matter.
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CSO Pulse Surveys are a new way to make your story part of Ireland's story.

We want to hear what you think on topical issues #CSOTakePart

CSO Pulse Surveys and Take Part Campaign

What is a CSO Take Part campaign and why are we doing it?

The CSO Take Part campaign consists of quick and easy online pulse surveys about topical issues.  These short, frequent surveys are indicators of the ‘pulse’ of the country at a particular time on certain topics. They usually ask opinion-type questions or seek attitudes to certain current events or issues. These types of short, online CSO Pulse Surveys will help the CSO to provide data that is relevant and timely. It also means the CSO can ask people if they would like to register their interest in taking part in future CSO Pulse Surveys.

Who can take part?

These types of online pulse surveys allow everybody who is 18 years and over to take part. The CSO wants more people to have their say. The link to the latest CSO Pulse Survey can be found on our social media channels such as Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook. More details about the campaign and a link to take part are on our website.

The CSO wants to make it easier for your story to be part of the story – the story of Ireland. We want to encourage more people to fill out our surveys and register their interest in taking part in others in the future. We know things like one in 10 of us care for someone with a chronic condition or who is elderly and that more than four in 10 people said their consumption of junk food and sweets increased since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. How? ...Because you Told Us.

How will the CSO publish the results of these CSO Pulse Surveys?

The CSO will publish the results on our social medial channels and on our website. If you want to receive the results directly you can indicate this on the survey form. We will use percentages and trends to tell the story behind the CSO Pulse Surveys.  We will outline in broad terms the type of people who replied and the impact on the results if some age/sex/region are not fully represented. For example, if only people aged between certain age categories responded. That is why it is important for everyone to take part.

What is the difference between a CSO Pulse Survey and a typical household survey?

The CSO conducts household surveys all year round on wide-ranging topics such as health, travel, crime and well-being. These also include the Labour Force Survey, a measure of Ireland’s employment and unemployment rate, and the Survey on Income and Living Conditions, which is the official source of data on household and individual income.  Households that are chosen to take part in these surveys are part of a randomly selected representative sample. Our CSO Pulse Surveys allow everybody aged 18 or over to take part and will only be available online.

What if I don’t want to do this CSO Pulse Survey but would like to sign up to future CSO Pulse Surveys?

We want more people to take part in our surveys. You can send an email to csotakepart@cso.ie to register your interest. You can opt out at any time.

What about confidentiality?

Confidentiality is a core value of the CSO. The CSO will never share your information with another company, business or Government Department or body. We only use your data for statistical purposes. That means we remove all identifying information such as your name and your specific address.  We use broad information such as the general area where you live e.g. Cork, your age, your sex, if you are employed and then aggregate this data so nobody is identifiable from the data provided.

What types of questions will be on the CSO Pulse Surveys?

The CSO Pulse Surveys will be short and easy to complete and will mainly focus on finding out more about social issues and well-being. Questions on gender identity, sexual orientation, disability and ethnicity will also form part of the surveys. Learn more in our CSO Pulse Survey Questions FAQ.

Why you can Trust the CSO

Learn about our data and confidentiality safeguards, and the steps we take to produce statistics that can be trusted by all.