This week, RNZ listener Joanne Sorenson got a letter that her household had been selected to be interviewed for the New Zealand General Social Survey (NZGSS).
The letter stated that the survey involves a 45-minute interview conducted by a person from Stats NZ (New Zealand's official data agency).
Joanne tells Jesse Mulligan she feels very uncomfortable about both the prospect of this visit by a stranger and the personal nature of the questions.
"I feel very uneasy about this. When I think about people less confident than me, less well, I wonder how they would fare. I feel quite intimidated.
"I've tried to imagine this for the last couple of days. I live on my own, it's quite a small space I live in, and i don't have many people in my house, as well … and I know the cats will desert me the moment this person comes."
The letter lays out very clearly that "yes, you have to do this", Joanne says.
When she rang Stats NZ for confirmation, they reiterated that she is required by law to participate.
"I think I'm going to be really, really, really busy over the next year," she says.
Objections to participating in the New Zealand General Social Survey, such as Joanne's, are only "occasional", according to Jason Attewell from Stats NZ.
When it comes to encouraging participation, Stats NZ "prefers the carrot to the stick", he says.
"Our approach is we would rather explain to people what we're doing, how we're doing it, how important their contribution is, rather than using our stick, which is the Statistics Act."
In the past, people have been prosecuted for not participating in the NZ Census but no-one has yet been prosecuted for not doing the NZGSS, Jason says.
The Stats NZ interviewers who conduct the survey are really well-trained, wear labelled clothing and carry photo ID, he says.
For the upcoming NZGSS survey, they will interview 8,000 people about their well-being ("how they feel about life").
"Those 8,000 people represent 4.8 million New Zealanders, so their responses are really important … it's actually quite a fun one to do."
The 8,000 people represent "a really good mix of different regions, different ethnicities, different ages and stuff like that" Jason says.
They're referred to as a 'random sample' but are actually representative of the whole population thanks to "hardcore maths and wizardry".
It's extremely important for Stats NZ to get a gauge on how New Zealanders feel about their lives, Jason says.
"We're interested in well-being, how people feel, their social connectedness, and this is what this survey is about. I just encourage Joanne to understand what the use of it is and it's a privilege to be one of those 8,000 that get to say on behalf of 4.8 million how things are going in New Zealand."
Jason says that people selected for the New Zealand General Social Survey can choose to have someone else present during the interview and also choose where the interview is conducted – it doesn't have to be at their home.
