NigeriaPolls · Comparison
Afrobarometer and NigeriaPolls
Compared on what you can check: who gets asked, how much of Nigeria is covered, what is published about the method, and what you may do with the data afterwards.
In short
Afrobarometer is a pan-African research network producing comparable public opinion data across the continent, free to use and academically respected. NigeriaPolls is a commercial Nigerian research firm that runs studies to order.
Afrobarometer states that it works through 40 national partners, has surveyed 44 countries and conducted around 435,000 interviews, covering roughly 75% of Africans. It publishes its questionnaires, sampling approach and survey manuals, and its data can be analysed online. Its Nigerian fieldwork is conducted by NOIPolls.
The difference is not quality, it is purpose and timing. Afrobarometer asks a standard set of questions on its own schedule so answers compare across countries and years. NigeriaPolls asks your questions, in the states you choose, when you need the answer.
Background
What Afrobarometer does
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network. On its own site it reports 40 national partners, 44 countries surveyed, around 435,000 interviews and coverage of roughly 75% of Africans, organised into numbered rounds. Its topics include democracy and citizen engagement, and economy, poverty and development.
It publishes questionnaires, sampling documentation and survey manuals, and provides an online tool for analysing the data. The data is free to use, which makes it a genuinely valuable public resource and the right starting point for a great many questions.
Figures as published on afrobarometer.org. Nigerian fieldwork for recent rounds is conducted by NOIPolls.
Our work
What NigeriaPolls does
We are a Nigerian primary research firm. We design and run original studies across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Some clients arrive with a finished questionnaire. Many arrive with a decision and no clear idea what to ask, which is the more common case and often the more interesting one. We work either way. We will field your instrument as written, or sit down and work out what the decision actually turns on, what can be measured, and which questions will survive contact with a Nigerian respondent. A question that reads well in a boardroom frequently needs rewriting before it works in Hausa on a phone call, and knowing that in advance is most of the job.
Political and electoral
- Voter sentiment and voting intention tracking
- Candidate and party favourability, issue salience
- State, senatorial district and LGA level reads
- Turnout modelling and scenario analysis
- Political risk research for investors and operators
- 1,701 office holders across 36 states and the FCT
Commercial and social
- Brand health tracking, market entry, concept testing
- Pricing research and segmentation
- Customer experience, NPS and employee experience
- Qualitative: focus groups and in-depth interviews
- Mystery shopping and omnibus studies
- Monitoring and evaluation, audience research
How we reach people
Our phone sampling frame holds over 11,000 random-digit-dial Nigerian mobile numbers spread across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Random-digit dialling gives every number in the frame a chance of being reached, which is what lets a study be designed to be read at state level rather than only as a national headline.
Beyond the frame, Nigeria Pulse tracks Nigerian public conversation every day across the platforms Nigerians use, and we analyse official data from bodies such as NBS, INEC, WAEC and NPC. Fieldwork runs through a network of field partners. Nigeria Pulse is a signal about what people are discussing, and it is kept separate from polling.
How we publish
Every NigeriaPolls poll publishes its question wording, field dates, response basis and sample size, so readers can judge a result for themselves. Open votes on nigeriapolls.com are an open, self-selected sample, and we say so wherever they appear. The full method is published at nigeriapolls.com/methodology, and our capabilities are listed at nigeriapolls.com/capabilities.
Side by side
At a glance
| NigeriaPolls | Afrobarometer | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Commissioned research to your question | Comparable public opinion data across Africa |
| Timing | When you need it | Rounds on the network’s own schedule |
| Questions | Yours | A standard instrument, for comparability |
| Geographic focus | Nigeria, phone frame across all 36 states and the FCT | 44 countries (their figure) |
| Also provides | Nigeria Pulse daily conversation tracking and analysis of official data | Online data analysis tool |
| Cost to use published data | Free, CC BY 4.0 | Free |
What it means for you
A standard instrument, or your question
Afrobarometer is built for comparability. The same questions asked the same way across many countries and many years is what makes the series valuable, and changing the instrument to suit one client would destroy the thing that makes it worth having. If your question is how Nigeria compares with Ghana, or how an attitude has moved across a decade, that is the right source and it is free.
That design also sets its limits for a commercial buyer. You cannot add your question. You cannot choose the field dates. And the round arrives when the round arrives, which may be a long way from the decision you are making this quarter.
Commissioned research exists for the other case. Your questions, your states, your timetable, with results readable at the level you are actually deciding about. Part of what we do is knowing what already exists: if a published round answers part of your question we will say so and design the study around the gap, rather than charging you to repeat work that is already in the public domain.
Before you commission
Five questions worth asking any research firm
Ask them of us too. Our method is published at nigeriapolls.com/methodology.
- Is this primary data, or analysis of data someone else collected? Both are useful. Knowing which you are buying is not optional.
- How many states will actually be in field, and which ones? Zonal representation is not state coverage.
- What is the sample size, and what breakdowns will it support? Ask how many respondents sit behind each cut you intend to report separately.
- Can I read the full methodology before I commit? Sampling frame, weighting, quality controls and limitations should be published, not described on a call.
- What does it publish about each poll? Question wording, field dates, response basis and sample size should be on the page next to the result.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is Afrobarometer?
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, non-partisan survey research network producing comparable public opinion data across the continent. It reports 40 national partners, 44 countries surveyed and around 435,000 interviews, and publishes its questionnaires, sampling documentation and survey manuals. The data is free to use.
Is Afrobarometer data free?
Yes. Afrobarometer publishes its data for free along with questionnaires and sampling documentation, and provides an online analysis tool. If the answer you need is already in a published round, it is worth checking there before commissioning anything.
When should I commission research instead of using Afrobarometer?
When you need a question Afrobarometer does not ask, a field date that suits your decision rather than their round schedule, or results readable at a level their design does not support, such as a single state or constituency. Afrobarometer is designed for cross-country comparability, which is a different job from answering one buyer’s specific question.
Which states does NigeriaPolls cover?
All 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The phone sampling frame holds over 11,000 random-digit-dial Nigerian mobile numbers spread across every state and the FCT, so studies can be designed to be read at the level your decision is about, which for political work is usually a state, a senatorial district or a local government area rather than the country as a whole.
How does NigeriaPolls publish its method?
Every NigeriaPolls poll publishes its question wording, field dates, response basis and sample size, and the full approach is set out on the methodology page at nigeriapolls.com/methodology. You can read the sampling frame, the weighting approach and the limitations before you commission anything.
Can I reuse NigeriaPolls data commercially?
Published data is released under CC BY 4.0, so you may reuse, adapt and redistribute it commercially with attribution and without negotiating a licence. Data from a commissioned study belongs to the arrangement agreed with that client.
Commission a study
Political, electoral, consumer or social. Tell us the question and the geography and we will come back with a methodology, a timetable and a fixed price.