Scientific research, or any research for that matter, is supposed to comply with certain criteria: it must be sufficient; it must be representative of the target population for it to be an accurate, valid and reliable poll.

The recent Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson polls used to make conclusive analyses by The Gleaner on the performance of Bruce Golding's performance and that of his administration on the anniversary of their two-year tenure in office do not adequately represent the views of the Jamaican population.

I am sure Bill Johnson and his team are well-qualified surveyors, but on a matter as serious as representing people's views of a Government's performance, one would expect that the polls would allow for more representation.

One thousand and eight respondents are not even close to representing the 1.3 million people that Jamaica houses. There can be no credibility then in the analyses made, based on these polls, about the performance JLP administration.

It is time a reputable newspaper such as The Gleaner takes these simple matters into consideration as the contrary may work against its credibility. Of course, the numbers were mentioned but, was light shed on its significance?

- Tamari Miller, St Mary

The permanent secretary in most ministries in government is the most senior civil servant of a Government ministry, charged with running the department on a day-to-day basis.

The permanent secretary is the non-political civil service head (and 'accounting officer') or chief executive of a government department.

Permanent secretaries are the accounting officers for departments, meaning that they are answerable to Parliament for ensuring that the department spends money granted by Parliament appropriately.

Permanent secretaries are thus frequently called for questioning by the Public Accounts Committee and Select Committees of the House of Parliament.

I make this distinction simply because I listened to the former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mining making some very strange comments on Nationwide News Network which, in my opinion, embarrassed Minister James Robertson and Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

Question: Is this the quality of permanent secretaries we now have in the system, or was this just a hit and miss that fell off the charts of professionalism?

- Anthea Rogers, Montego Bay PO