One of the cardinal sins of market research is to misrepresent the purpose of research and how it will be used. The colorful terms used for two of the most common forms for misrepresentation are SUGGING and FRUGGING. The first of these stands for Selling Under the Guise of research. The nefarious “research” firm calls…
As a citizen and voter, I am appalled to learn that our government routinely spies on the phone and digital communications of ordinary people and businesses and now harasses the journalists who are bringing it to our attention. And as a business owner in the market research industry, I am deeply concerned that government spying…
It is hard to find an appropriate use for Google Surveys, because, as we outlined in a review article last fall, its capabilities are limited. But last week we needed a quick incidence test of how many U.S. adults own a certain type of investment product. Google Surveys seemed perfect. It was not fast, by…
We are in the midst of a couple projects that require in-depth telephone interviews (IDIs) with senior executives for B2B research. With every new project, we start wondering whether new technologies and tools can make the work better. For IDIs, however, I am always struck by how perfectly our old tools work. If you ever…
I received this e-mail invitation because I subscribe to Bon Appétit: Important survey from Bon Appétit – We need your help to get 100% participation. At Bon Appétit, we really care what you think. That’s why, as Vice President & Publisher of Bon Appétit, I’m personally asking for your help with this online survey. As…
We like this cartoon because it highlights the unrealized potential of really smart research, but also the potential perils of research gone bad. The cartoon brings to mind three lessons worth pondering: Customer satisfaction research is often “not fun”—but it can be Internal data can be a goldmine of insight and there is often a…
The latest data from the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey show that one quarter (25%) of U.S. adults do not have land-line telephones in their homes. So if you conduct a traditional random-digit-dial (RDD) phone survey, you will automatically be excluding one quarter of the population. Does it matter, given that surveys rarely interview everyone…
Survey respondents and other participants in our research studies are the lifeblood of the polling and market research industry. Therefore it is critical that we promote and nurture public participation in research, and that we reward, respect, and thank our respondents. So whatever you do, please don’t take Dogbert’s approach to conducting a survey: Versta…
Should you state a survey’s margin of error in your press release when pitching a story to the media? In our view, the answer is no. Why not? Because margins of error refer to sampling error only, not about the overall accuracy or error of the survey itself. But how many readers of your news…
With the sad proliferation of silly surveys, non-scientific interest polls, and downright fraudulent polls, the research industry is stepping up with a number of key initiatives to combat the trend. Versta Research is part of that effort, and in August announced that we are part of the Transparency Initiative being developed by the American Association…