The survey involved a sample of 1,000 people, representative of the population in terms of the main variables (gender, age, geographical area, size of municipality of residence), through direct interviews at home using the C.A.P.I. (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) system.
4.5% of the sample of adult citizens surveyed by the polling institute answered yes to the question “Have you ever had the impression of seeing a UFO (or flying saucer) or something similar in the sky?”
The initiative was promoted by CISU (which had already conducted a similar Doxa survey in 1987) on the occasion of its 40th anniversary.
The Italian Center for UFO Studies was founded in Turin in December 1985, and the survey was presented during the 40th National UFO Conference, which for the occasion returned to the city where CISU has maintained its headquarters and archives, among the largest in Europe on the subject.
