Public Relations Tactics has published its October 2011 issue with a full page article from Versta Research entitled “Telling the whole story: When numbers aren’t enough.” The article describes the difficulties of using traditional numeric scales, common in survey research, for data that needs to tell a story. “Numbers can be powerful,” said Joseph Hopper, president of Versta Research, “but numeric scales get too complex to communicate in marketing materials or press releases. They get too complex even for executive presentations.”

The publication represents a continuing effort by Versta Research to make rigorous survey research more accessible and useful for a full range of marketing and communications professionals. “Clients seek us because we provide highly rigorous polling and research that is grounded in academically-based methods,” said Hopper, who was on the faculties at the University of Chicago and the National Opinion Research Center (NORC). “But our goal is rigor plus helping customers find important, relevant, compelling stories in their data. And the result is that they see their work cited by top media outlets and published in academic journals.”

In the recent PR Tactics article, Versta Research offers a number of best practices for research that is being designed for public release. Key recommendations include:

• Use words rather than numbers
• Avoid more than five answer options
• List response options from negative to positive
• Include a “don’t know” option only if it is meaningful

Copies of the PR Tactics article are available upon request from Versta Research. Please contact Joseph Hopper at (312) 348-6089, extension 110.