It is no secret that providing representative samples for market research projects has become challenging. While clients are always focused on obtaining respondents quickly and efficiently, it is also important that they are concerned with the quality of their data. The reality is that quality is slipping.

While there are many causes of this, one that is not discussed much is that clients rarely ask their suppliers the tough questions they should. Clients are not putting pressure on suppliers to focus on data quality. Since clients ultimately control the purse strings of projects, suppliers will only improve quality if clients demand it.

I can often tell if I have an astute client by their questions when we are designing studies. Newer or inexperienced clients tend to start by talking about the questionnaire topics. Experienced clients tend to start by talking about the sample and its representativeness.

Below is a list of a few questions that I believe clients should be asking their suppliers on every study. The answers to these are not always easy to come by, but as a client, you want to see that your supplier has contemplated these questions and pays close attention to the issues they highlight.

For each, I have also provided a correct or acceptable answer to expect from your supplier.

• What was the response rate to my study? While it was once commonplace to report response rates, suppliers try to dodge this issue. Most data quality issues stem from low response rates. Correct Answer: For most studies, under 5%. Unless the survey is being fielded among a highly engaged audience, such as your customers, you should be suspicious of any answer over 15%. “I don’t know” is an unacceptable answer. Suppliers will also try to convince you that response rates do not matter when every data quality issue we experience stems from inadequate response to our surveys.
• How many respondents did you remove in fielding for quality issues? This is an emerging issue. The number of bad-quality respondents in studies has grown substantially in just the last few years. Correct answer: at least 10%, but preferably between 25% and 40%. If your supplier says 0%, you should question whether they are properly paying attention to data quality issues. I would guide you to find a different supplier if they cannot describe a process to remove poor-quality respondents. There is no standard way of doing this, but each supplier should have an established process.
• How were my respondents sourced? This is an essential question seldom asked unless our client is an academic researcher. It is a tricky question to answer. Correct answer: This is so complicated that I have difficulty providing a cogent response to our clients. Here, the hope is that your supplier has at least some clue as to how the panel companies get their respondents and know who to go to if a detailed explanation is needed. They should connect you with someone who can explain this in detail.
• What are you doing to protect against bots? Market research samples are subject to the ugly things that happen online – hackers, bots, cheaters, etc. Correct answer: Something proactive. They might respond that they are working with the panel companies to prevent bots or a third-party firm to address this. If they are not doing anything or don’t seem to know that bots are a big issue for surveys, you should be concerned.
• What is in place to ensure that my respondents are not being used for competitors or vice-versa? Often, clients should care that the people answering their surveys have not done another project in your product category recently. I have had cases where two suppliers working for the same client (one being us) used the same sample source and polluted the sample base for both projects because we did not know the other study was fielding. Correct answer: Something if this is important to you. If your research covers brand or advertising awareness, you should account for this. If you are commissioning work with several suppliers, this takes considerable coordination.
• Did you run simulated data through my survey before fielding? This is an essential, behind-the-scenes step that all suppliers that know what they are doing take. Running thousands of simulated surveys through the questionnaire tests survey logic and ensures that the right people get to the right questions. While it doesn’t prevent all errors, it catches many of them. Correct answer: Yes. If the supplier does not know what simulated data is, it is time to consider a new supplier.
• How many days will my study be in the field? Many errors in data quality stem from conducting studies too quickly. Correct answer: Varies, but this should be 10-21 days for a typical project. If your study better have difficult-to-find respondents, this could be 3-4 weeks. If the data collection period is shorter than ten days, you WILL have data quality errors that arise, so be sure you understand the tradeoffs for speed. Don’t insist on field speed unless you need to.
• Can I have a copy of the panel company’s answers to the ESOMAR questions? ESOMAR has put out a list of questions to help buyers of online samples. Every sample supplier worth using will have created a document that answers these questions. Correct answer: Yes. Do not work with a company that has not put together a document answering these questions, as all the good ones have. However, after reading this document, don’t expect to understand how your respondents are being sourced.
• How do you handle requests down the road when the study is over? It is a longstanding pet peeve of most clients that suppliers charge for basic customer support after the project is over. Make sure you have set expectations properly upfront and put these expectations into the contract. Correct answer: Forever. Our company only charges if support requests become substantial. Many suppliers will provide support for three- or six months post-study and will charge for this support. I have never understood this, as I am flattered when a client calls me to discuss a study that was done years ago, as this means our study is continuing to make an impact. We do not charge for this follow-up unless the request requires so much time that we have to.

There are probably many other questions clients should be asking suppliers. Clients need to get tougher on insisting on data quality. It is slipping, and suppliers are not investing enough to improve response rates and develop trust with respondents. If clients pressure them, the economic incentives will be there to create better techniques to obtain quality research data.