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Publication - Research and analysis

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Our shared role in containing the virus: Analysis of responses submitted as part of the Scottish Government's second public engagement exercise

Published
29 January 2021
Directorate
Communications and Ministerial Support Directorate
Part of
Communities and third sector, Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland, Economy, +4 more … Education, Health and social care, Public safety and emergencies, Work and skills
ISBN
9781800042933

This report outlines the themes emerging from a rapid analysis of the public engagement exercise that took place 5-11 October 2020 on the Scottish Government's approach to managing the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

View supporting documents Supporting documents

Annex B: Platform engagement – quantitative overview

The following annex provides a quantitative summary of user engagement on the Dialogue platform between 5 and 11 October 2020.

Headline figures

588 ideas were submitted to the platform. Twenty-four ideas were rejected due to being in breach of the moderation policy and 564 ideas were published on the site. In total, 1,580 comments were posted on ideas that were not in breach of the moderation policy and which themselves passed the moderation process. A total of 1,242 users registered on the platform, of whom 449 submitted ideas. Members of the public also engaged with the Scottish Government by email and on social media and contributions received via these channels during the challenge were also included in the analysis but are not counted in the tables below.

Engagement by topic – topic tags, comments, and ratings

The following tables show the total number of comments and ratings for each ‘topic tag’. The first two tables (B.1 and B.2) show the top 20 tags by number of comments and ratings, respectively. The following tables (B.3 – B.8) show the total number of comments and ratings for each ‘topic tag’, ordered by chapter and sub-themes within the report. This is to provide a sense of the level of engagement around different topics across the report.

‘Topic tags’ were assigned by researchers and moderators to the idea threads (but not individual comments) created by contributors. These ‘topic tags’ were selected from the thematic coding framework which was developed prior to the launch of the public engagement initiative based on the thematic coding framework from the previous (May 2020) public engagement initiative and updated for the seeded themes. This thematic coding framework was further updated in the week the platform remained open (5 to 11 October 2020) with additional ‘topic tags’ added to capture issues and topics raised by the contributors on the platform that were not covered by any of the ‘topic tags’ in the framework. This thematic coding framework allowed researchers to structure an analysis of the responses.

These figures, detailing the number of comments and ratings by ‘tag,’ offer a high level outline of the scale of discussion and engagement for individual subjects. For example, they can be used to demonstrate that high numbers of respondents engaged – via either a written comment or rating (out of 5 stars) – with the subjects of ‘face coverings’ or ‘mental health’.

As ‘topic tags’ were used to code idea threads by theme only, the values in these tables cannot be used to gauge any sense of agreement or disagreement on a particular subject. The values in this table can be interpreted to gauge the scale of engagement alone.

When an ideas thread contained a number of different concepts, multiple ‘topic tags’ were applied by researchers to the same thread. As a result, the number of comments and ratings per ‘topic tag’ provided in this set of tables should not be added together to identify overall numbers of engagement by theme.

Table B.1 – Top 20 topics by number of comments
Rank Topic tag Number of comments Number of ratings Number of ideas
1 face coverings 219 679 65
2 mental health 182 841 73
3 sg approach 149 763 58
4 early years settings 145 216 9
5 secondary schools 141 263 26
6 primary schools 120 218 25
7 social restrictions 107 503 52
8 compliance 100 297 39
9 weddings 99 381 32
10 family 93 312 25
11 evidence base 87 252 31
12 further education 84 69 7
13 Official communications 83 266 33
14 tourism 83 246 13
15 higher education 83 61 7
16 visiting households 80 312 33
17 test 79 363 57
18 health concerns 76 388 28
19 domestic holidays 73 198 6
20 staff in education 72 28 6
Table B.2 – Top 20 topics by number of ratings
Rank Topic tag Number of comments Number of ratings Number of ideas
1 mental health 182 841 73
2 sg approach 149 763 58
3 face coverings 219 679 65
4 social restrictions 107 503 52
5 health concerns 76 388 28
6 weddings 99 381 32
7 test 79 363 57
8 family 93 312 25
9 visiting households 80 312 33
10 hospitality 53 311 48
11 compliance 100 297 39
12 Official communications 83 266 33
13 secondary schools 141 263 26
14 shielding 67 263 30
15 evidence base 87 252 31
16 tourism 83 246 13
17 nhs access 60 245 19
18 personal responsibility 39 244 15
19 economic recovery 43 232 29
20 freedom 41 223 12

Tables B.3 – B.8 – Commentary by chapter

Table B.3
Chapter 3: Scottish Government Approach
Sub-theme Topic tag Total comments Total ratings Total ideas
Views on the strategy behind the Scottish Government approach Freedom 41 223 12
Fairness 2 12 4
Personal responsibility 39 244 15
Compliance 100 297 39
Enforcement 61 210 26
Views on modifying the Scottish Government approach Health concerns 76 388 28
Economic recovery 43 232 29
Business pressures 13 71 12
Financial concerns 22 161 11
Unemployment 13 66 9
Funerals 2 5 1
Hospitality 53 311 48
Arts and Entertainment Industry 9 74 8
Retail Sector 13 63 9
Tourism 83 246 13
Local lockdowns 26 121 19
Social restrictions 107 503 52
Loneliness 38 103 15
Weddings 99 381 32
Health concerns 76 388 28
Mental health 182 841 73
Circuit break 26 121 12
Poverty 3 28 6
NHS access 60 245 19
Views on Scottish Government decision-making processes UK Government 2 6 2
Transparency 32 100 15
Public trust 35 103 13
Devolved administrations 2 12 3
Evidence base 87 252 31
Expert advice 17 66 6
Official communications 83 266 33
Press coverage 5 8 1
Table B.4.
Chapter 4: Individual behaviour
Sub-theme Topic tag Total comments Total ratings Total ideas
Hygiene Cough etiquette 0 0 1
Face coverings 219 679 65
Hand hygiene 15 81 11
Reporting symptoms
Physical distancing Avoiding crowds 0 12 4
Physical distancing 16 103 20
Social restrictions 107 503 52
Changing behaviour Personal responsibility 39 244 15
Enforcement 61 210 26
Compliance 100 297 39
Safe travel Air travel 22 75 11
Domestic holidays 73 198 6
Holidays abroad 8 26 4
Movement restrictions 41 141 15
Public transport 18 60 11
Traffic 10 27 2
Travel quarantine 30 123 11
Table B.5.
Chapter 5: Protection and Support
Sub-theme Topic tag Total comments Total ratings Total ideas
Protection Age 38 167 25
Care homes 24 81 14
Disability 5 19 4
Equality 8 24 5
Poverty 3 28 6
Shielding 67 263 30
Health sector response Covid-19 vaccine 23 144 12
Flu vaccine 3 9 3
Health concerns 76 388 28
NHS access 60 245 19
NHS resilience 6 46 8
WHO 10 33 3
Mental health, loneliness and isolation Loneliness 38 103 15
Mental health 182 841 73
Community support Community 3 13 3
Leisure 65 160 6
Table B.6
Chapter 6: Testing and Use of Information
Sub-theme Topic tag Total comments Total ratings Total ideas
Testing, tracking and self-isolation Isolate 15 48 14
Phone app 1 6 1
Test 79 363 57
Trace 12 79 17
Use of information Big data 2 3 1
Data legality 0 0 1
Data privacy 2 4 2
Data security 2 3 1
Data technology 5 7 1
Evidence base 87 252 31
Harnessing data 2 20 7
Public trust 35 103 13
Transparency 32 100 15
Table B.7
Chapter 7: Workplace
Sub-theme Topic tag Total comments Total ratings Total ideas
Arrangements for working at home or the workplace Homeworking 8 37 6
Health at work 4 13 3
Workplace conditions 12 78 11
Business concerns and unemployment Business pressures 13 71 12
Financial concerns 22 161 11
Furlough 16 78 5
Recruitment 1 7 1
Retirement 5 17 1
Self-employed 1 30 2
Unemployment 13 66 9
Table B.8
Chapter 8: Learning settings
Sub-theme Topic tag Total comments Total ratings Total ideas
Keeping schools and early learning open Early years settings 145 216 9
Primary schools 120 218 25
Secondary schools 141 263 26
Staff in education 72 28 6
Contracting the virus and mitigating actions Cough etiquette 0 0 1
Face coverings 219 679 65
Hand hygiene 15 81 11
Physical distancing 16 103 20
Blended learning and distance-learning Digital inclusion 1 10 4
Homeschooling 16 43 9
Assessments Assessments 4 12 4
Further and higher education Further education 84 69 7
Higher education 83 61 7

Contact

Email: DigitalEngagement@gov.scot

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