A Simple Rule for the Data Quality Discussion


Our friends at Greenfield Online (Keith Price specifically) start to examine the issue of data quality in their latest newsletter. Two key things: The first is that it seems that Keith believes as the issues around cheating respondents has been a bit overstated (I agree). The second is that a bad survey will always deliver bad results. That's the issue that drives us at Invoke - creating a participant experience that delivers great insights.

A simple rule: Never write or test a survey that ends with you asking "who would take this?"

Here's a snippet of the article (click to read the whole thing):

Enter 2007. In the US, online surveys have reached high market penetration, and for most survey respondents, taking an online survey is no longer a "new" activity. As an industry we've gone from questioning under-participation of respondents, to questioning over-participation. We continue to look into respondents that attempt to cheat or game the system to participate in surveys. The "eager" respondent has become a concern. Data quality is a high priority for Greenfield Online. In fact, we've executed several studies to better understand the impact made by the "eager" respondent. Interestingly, we've found that even in some cases where we've encouraged "eager" respondents to over-state usage to qualify for surveys by offering sizable incentives, no more than 8% of an un-cleaned sample have "exaggerated" to qualify.

What do you think?


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2009 Market Research Predictions, Forrester Style

Forrester's 2009 Market Research Predictions are out and if you're not a subscriber, you can at least read the executive summary here... One prediction of note: "Traditional qualitative research will see erosion as market research online communities (MROCs) and fusions of quantitative and qualitative research from firms such as Invoke Solutions gain steam. In short, everyone will be looking for ways to gain insights to succeed in a troubling market in as cost-effective a manner as possible. This means that newer research modes will gain traction and grab more share of stable or declining market research budgets — even among research buyers who have been more traditional in the past."
Keep reading

How Geo-Targeting is Affecting Customer Loyalty Programs

Image
Originally posted at the CMB Research Blog Recently I have been playing around with Foursquare , the geo-targeting based social media application that allows me to "check in" at certain locations, share my "check in" with friends via Twitter and Facebook, and earn "badges" based on how much I use it. I'll be honest, as a consumer I don't fully get it (yet). But as a marketer in 2010 I want to understand where things are going and be able to speak to them as they relate to our clients. And with this week's eMarketer report that 53% of mobile app users are willing to share their locations, there is no question that there is a huge opportunity for brands to utilize this technology. Certainly geo-targeting is not for everyone, but some major brands are going beyond mobile ads and jumping in to help increase the impact of their loyalty programs and reward their best customers in real-time. And as many companies seek to evolve their loyalty progr...
Keep reading

Is market research recession proof?

Bob Skolnick , North American CEO of Synovate seems to think so in this month's Marketing News... This heightened need to understand competitors and consumers may well prove a boon to the market research industry, despite the struggles of the economy at large. Bob Skolnick , North American CEO of Chicago-based market research firm Synovate , predicts "was abobe average growth" in the overall demand for data. Because of the demand for data, Skolnick notes, Synovate has been under greater pressure to yield applicable results. "Client companies need to see smart research done to make sure they are satisfying their best customers and developing new business where they can," he says. "The market research business, while not recession-proof, is much less susceptible to budgets being cut."
Keep reading