http://go.theregister.com/news/2004/09/21/id_pilot_survey_doubts/
John Lettice
"Call us suspicious-minded, but we feel sure that at some point in the very near future the UK Home Office will announce that the biometric identity system pilot scheme currently running has been a success, and that the response from participants has been positive. This might seem a remarkable achievement, under the circumstances, considering that there have been numerous reports of technical glitches and an underwhelming response to the pilot, but The Register has received indications that the Home Office has taken the precaution of loading the dice.
At least as far as the participant reactions are concerned. A questionnaire is being presented to those signing up for the pilot, but participants aren't being given copies of the questions they're being asked, and the best we can establish after some correspondence with the Home Office (we've blogged it for you below*) is that the Home Office intends to keep the questionnaire a closely-guarded secret.
But in surveys, questions are frequently used to massage the data in order to produce the desired results, and there is some evidence that this is precisely what the Home Office is up to. Marketing consultant Ben Fleming-Williams, who signed up for the trial for his own interest and kindly offered to report back to The Register, says that: "Instead of asking an absolute 'How was your experience of the trial', the question was 'How was your experience of the trial, compared to your expectations?'."
