A Little Background On That "SECRET GOVERNMENT SURVEY" About Tamils In The Sun Papers

"It would be fair, I think, to describe my first reaction to the story that was front page news throughout the Sun chain today as somewhat -- brow-furrow-y. Not, I should note, over the "BOGUS REFUGEES" headline plastered over a picture of Tamil migrants disembarking from the Sun Sea, but specifically, the apparent source for that particular claim:

A secret government survey reveals the majority of successful Tamil refugees travel back to Sri Lanka, raising questions about the legitimacy of their refugee status ... The survey of Sri Lankan nationals was conducted in early August. A total of 50 people were surveyed, 31 of them had successfully obtained refugee status and 22 had returned to Sri Lanka

First of all, what exactly is a "secret government survey"? Does that mean a poll? A focus group? A voluntary questionnaire? Were respondents randomly selected from the total Tamil immigrant population - not that I'm sure how, exactly, one would do that -- and then weighted so as to be representative of the whole? How was it conducted -- and by whom? What was the margin of error?"
Kady O'Malley