In the insights industry, experts have described 2022 as the Year of Data Quality. There is no doubt that it has been a hot topic of discussion and debates throughout the year. However, we find common ground where most agree there is no silver bullet to address data quality issues in surveys.

As the Swiss cheese model suggests, to have the best chance of preventing survey fraud and poor data quality we need to approach the problem by thinking of it in terms of layers of protection that are implemented throughout the research process.

To this end, the Insights Association Data Integrity Initiative Council has published a hands-on toolkit. It includes a Checks of Integrity Framework with concrete data integrity measures. This is essential to all phases of survey research: pre-survey, in-survey, and post-survey.

The biggest challenge yet remains: objectively defining data quality

What constitutes good data quality remains nebulous.

System 1. System 2. Implicit. Explicit. Attitudes. Decisions. These words are all the buzz in the market research industry as theories of the mind from behavioral science become more accessible and the desire for data-driven decision-making in business stays strong. Adopting these complex theories of how the mind and behavior influence one another can prove to be overwhelming to individuals without a background in psychological science, and often these terms become confused with one another.

It is not uncommon to see the phrase “System 1/implicit research” in articles and marketing materials, giving the impression that these two terms are synonymous. But are they?

Implicit and explicit attitudes

To begin, it’s important to mention that in the field of psychological science, the term “attitude” has a very narrow definition compared to how we may use it in our day-to-day life. Colloquially, “attitude” is often thought of as a point of view

Today’s consumers are overflowed with product choices, constantly pinging smartphones, and that pot of pasta that is about to boil over. It’s your life and it is mine – and this affects your opportunity to research Fast-moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) consumers. They have no time for being an online panel member, nor do they feel motivated to.

” FMCG buying decisions are low-involvement in nature, and it takes a high level of engagement to sign up to be a member of a panel.”

And they shouldn’t: FMCG buying decisions are low-involvement in nature, and it takes a high level of engagement to sign up to be a member of a panel. CO-RO is an FMCG brand, and we want our respondents to be fresh, unbiased and both low- and highly-involved to get insights matching reality.

The solution, we have found, is to capture them through what I call mobile sampling.