Final Questions

I think Ari's question is a good start for screening purposes. I'm just wondering how we are going to fit it into the rest of the survey. If they answer a "10" or very interested then are they now allowed to answer the rest of the survey, or specific questions? On the other hand if they answer a "1" or lack interest, are they now prevented from answering further questions on the survey? Or is this question just gaining a better perspective on the interest in Afghanistan and foreign policy? Just a few things to consider if we are going to submit Ari's question.

Personally I think that the following question would be an excellent way to conceptualize the general publics opinion on how they view their own military presence. It also explains whether the public views the mission to Afghanistan as mission for the general good or if it had interior motives:

"To what extent do you agree with the following statement: The purpose of Canada's involvement in Afghanistan is focused on peacekeeping operations." Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree

Let me know what you think.

As mentioned in the previous posts I think its important to somehow highlight Canada's alliance with US (+ NATO) as it seems to be one of the major factors in Canada's involvement in the war. Here is a suggestion, let me know what you guys think...

Given the importance of the Canadian alliance with the United States, do you agree with Canada’s decision to participate in the war in Afghanistan? Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree

OR (to be more specific, although might require extra knowledge)

Given Canada’s membership in NATO, do you agree with Canada’s decision to participate in the war in Afghanistan? Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree

Lastly, what do you guys think about proposing a question that targets the medias involvement in the perception of the war in Afghanistan?

I think Nikta's questions would not only give a good analysis of how Canadians feel about the war in Afghanistan but also provide data on how they generally view the country's membership in NATO and its alliance with the US.

I have a couple suggestions that largely concern whether Canada's participation in the war was in the nation's best interests, from a security standpoint.

"Do you agree that the Canadian government's decision to participate in the war in Afghanistan has made Canada and its allies safer from international terrorism?" Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.

OR

"Given that Canada's involvement in Afghanistan is directly linked to the 9/11 attacks, do you agree that Canada's participation in the war in Afghanistan has made the nation and its allies safer from international terrorism?" Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.

Please give me your thoughts.

Patrick, I really like your first question! As for your second one, I kind of feel like using the first part of it would be like pushing a certain idea over others. By telling someone "given the involvement is directly linked to X.." (whatever factor you think is dominant), you are basically saying Canada would NOT be in Afghanistan today has 9/11 never happened. While this might be true, some people might feel that Canada's presence in Afghanistan has little to nothing to do with national security and 9/11, but other ideas that could vary from saving the world to converting all Afghans to Christianity (extreme example, but you get my point). HOWEVER, how about we stick with the second part or it, or your first version. I think its an important question to ask.

So after my corrections above, I suggest the following as a final question, based on Patrick's idea: "To what extent do you think the Canadian government's involvement in the war in Afghanistan has made Canada and its allies safer from international terrorism?" Possible Answers: Strongly disagree / disagree / neutral (did not make a difference)/ agree / strongly agree / Don't know.

Feel free to comment, etc., of course. However, since I feel like its about time we get questions finalized, lets try to keep it clear and concise from now on and get some final questions out there.

Your probably right that my first question is a lot better. The second is simply to specific and a more generalized question would be less likely to complicate an individual's perception about Canada's involvement in Afghanistan. So its probably best to stick with my first question.

I mainly wrote the second question to tie in Canada's membership in NATO, as after the 9/11 attacks NATO invoked the article 5 clause which states that an attack on one is an attack on all. However Nikta's second question is probably better at addressing that issue.

Thanks for the feedback.

Great questions everyone!

So in sum we will have questions that explore these themes (as rehashed from what everyone had proposed):

In relation to Afghanistan... 1.) any screening questions 2.) one question focused on Canada's role as a peacekeeper/peacemaker 3.) Whether Canada should have been involved in Afghanistan 4.) Canada's role/involvement in the issue of international terrorism 5.) Canada's reputation post-Afghanistan

Feel free to change it but I think we should start wrapping up/finalizing our set of questions.

Cheers, Karlson

I think we should use this first one more as a means of gauging the participant's knowledge level than as a screening question per se. Comparing the survey responses on this question with those of the rest could, to some extent, help us gauge the confidence level of our participants.