Survey of students on freedom of speech

A survey of students of perceptions of their freedom of speech found that the vast majority feel free to express their opinions.

The survey is useful but it could have been worded more carefully. The question asked whether students felt free to express the opinions they happen to hold. For the students who answered yes, it could be that they feel no pressure about what opinions they express.

But it could be that they feel free to express their actual opinions because they agree with the majority.

We would get a clearer and more reliable picture of students' percieved range of freedom to express opinions by asking them, "Would you feel free to express opinion A, supposing you held that opinion? What about opinion B? Opinion C? Opinion D? … Opinion M?" It would state a list of various opinions that students might conceivably hold, and find out which ones are safe to express in their milieu.