Chapter 9 — Information Gathering and Verification in Systemic Trial Monitoring ÀÀ Potential disadvantages of issuing questionnaires include: • It takes time and skill to develop questionnaires that can elicit proper answers to the questions posed; • Questionnaires do not allow for building a rapport between the monitor and the recipient in the way an interview does; • Set-response choices may limit the freedom of actors to express their views; • There may be a low response rate; and • Many individuals may prefer to tick a box rather than to comment on issues in a more elaborate and useful way, even if the questionnaire includes a space for comments. Hence, the respondent’s stance may sometimes be confusing. ÀÀ Good practices in preparing and formulating questionnaires:127 • Have a clear concept of the questionnaire’s objective and, more specifically, the information it is expected to generate; • Make an informed list of the target recipients so as to cover the existing range of different viewpoints, in order to obtain more accurate results; • Provide clear instructions as to the purpose and importance of the questionnaire, any confidentiality and anonymity clauses, the manner in which it should be completed, the suggested return date and the process for returning it. Preferably, instructions should be in writing. It is important to include a focal point’s contact details in case clarifications need to be sought; • Keep the length of the questionnaire as short as possible; • Ensure that the questionnaire includes both closed and open questions; • Formulate the questions clearly,128 avoid leading questions, phrase questions in a neutral manner, and allow adequate space for responses; • Consider placing the most important questions first, go from the factual to abstract, and from closed to open questions; and • Test the questionnaire in advance, either internally, by using it in an interview, or possibly through a pilot stage, e.g., with a few actors or a single court; Some trial-monitoring programmes, such as that implemented by the OSCE Mission to Skopje, have also carried out surveys with judges about their independence and public opinion surveys to assist them in understanding the problems faced by those in court, in whatever capacity, or the public’s perception of the justice system. This usually requires the hiring of specialized professionals or companies to conduct the survey.129 If a survey is outsourced, programmes should remain closely involved in formulating the questions used. Programme staff should discuss and agree with the external contractor on the methodology to be employed. This is particularly important to maximizing the usefulness of the surveys.130 9.5 Review of media reports on trials and other cases Media reports can be a source of information on ongoing cases, criminal incidents, corruption allegations, expert opinions on judicial developments and countless other issues or events. Monitors have relied on such reports to identify cases for monitoring, to corroborate findings, to understand root causes of problems, to spot threats to judicial independence or statements breaching the 127  A number of papers exist giving guidance on the formulation of questionnaires, such as the one provided by the Loughborough University, UK. 128  If the questions will be translated into a different language (i.e., from English to the local language), the drafters should ensure that their wording is clear in the local-language version. 129  For instance, the Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina engaged a local company to complete a survey on public perception of war crimes processing by domestic courts. 130  For instance, in 2008 the OSCE Presence in Albania procured a statistical analysis of court users’ perceptions of access to the courts, their overall evaluation of the justice system, and their satisfaction with the services of judges and court administrative staff. The programme deemed that the study did not provide answers that were particularly useful for a comprehensive report on the judiciary. However, it considered that such a study, if repeated, would be able to show changes over time and could be a useful tool inter alia to measure the effectiveness of reforms. 85