Methodology

The Wellcome Global Monitor Covid-19 study was conducted as part of the Gallup World Poll and includes results from representative surveys in 113 countries and territories carried out in 2020 and early 2021, with approximately 1,000 adults aged 15 and older interviewed per country. Notably, the results for questions specifically about Covid-19 are unavailable in China, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. However, these countries are included in the analyses of the answers to more general questions on trust in science and other institutions.

For the results based on samples within each country, the margin of sampling error ranges from +/-1.1 to +/-5.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. See the Methodology report for full details.

Trend comparisons with the 2018 regional results include only those constituent countries which were subsequently surveyed in 2020. Therefore the 2018 regional results will not be the same as those quoted in the 2018 Wellcome Global Monitor since some of those countries weren’t included in 2020.

For the full Methodology report, see the Methodology Report [PDF 140KB].

The Covid-19 pandemic required significant changes to Gallup’s mixed mode approach of using face-to- face and phone surveys for global data collection, resulting in all Wellcome Global Monitor interviews being conducted entirely via telephone in 2020. As a result, the 2020 Monitor included fewer countries than the 2018 wave. However, the 113 countries and territories included in this study represent more than 90% of the global population.

The transition from face-to-face to phone interviewing in 82 countries may have affected the responses – a particularly relevant possibility when comparing the 2020 results with those from the same questions in 2018. Statistical analysis of the items measuring trust in science and scientists discussed in Chapter 3 indicates that the change in survey mode probably did have some effect in these countries. However, the precise extent and direction of that effect are difficult to determine due to a range of factors such as changes in sample composition and how the pandemic affected responses. See Appendix A for a more detailed discussion of possible mode effects, and Appendix B for more information about Covid-19 and policy responses in each country during its data collection period.