In the knowledge and information business, the quality of data is of paramount importance, mainly because it impacts decisions worth millions of dollars. Hence, we must go the extra mile to ensure that data is collected as per best practices in the industry. In this regard, we subscribe to the ESOMAR® code of conduct for market research agencies. ESOMAR® or European Society Of Market Research Agencies is headquartered in Amsterdam and is the umbrella body for market research agencies across the world. It plays an important role in several areas:

 

  1. Prescribing guidelines for the industry across areas telephone surveys, online panels, social media research etc.
  2. Providing networking opportunities for research buyers and sellers
  3. Organizing knowledge sharing events for the industry
  4. Resolving grievances in the industry
  5. Advising research agencies on legal regulations affecting the industry across markets

 

A copy of ESOMAR® code of conduct for research agencies is provided at the end of this page. Readers to please note that the document is a property of ESOMAR®.

In addition to the above, through years of experience in the field of market research, we have developed our own internal quality management process that further builds on ESOMAR® code of conduct.

 

Quality Management Process

 

The emphasis on data quality starts much before the actual data collection process i.e. at the design stage itself. Through smarter project planning, tighter processes, intelligent questionnaire design, digitized data collection and smarter programming, we minimize the opportunities for data collection errors.

 

In addition, we use a variety of technology tools to minimize / eliminate data quality issues:

In mystery audits and public location interviews, we enable GPS tagging of interview locations, to verify the actual location of the interview and its adherence to the instructions provided.

Interview start and end times, including amount of time spent for answering each question is automatically recorded. Interviews which are unusually quick or inordinately long indicate poor quality interviews and such tools help us in easily identifying poor quality interviews for further action.

Interviews with straight-lined responses or missing answers are automatically flagged. Straight lined responses usually refer to interviews wherein the respondent has not put enough thought to answering questions.

We can also record audio of interactions between the interviewer and interviewee in face to face surveys. However, we use this option judiciously, depending on the legal regulations in a country.

Our platform has automated quota control feature. Hence, if the quota of interviews for a segment is achieved, then the system would not permit any new interviews, thereby preventing loss of time and resources.

In addition to the above, as an additional safeguard against lapses in quality, we have put in place an independent quality control team. This team is responsible for ensuring data quality on research projects and is authorized to take any decision in the interest of data quality i.e. rejecting interviews, discreetly monitoring fieldwork, surprise field visits etc. It reports directly to our CEO Hany Saleh and is not under the influence or control of our operations team.

In case we are working with partners in specific countries, our field supervisors interact with local teams under the supervision of the field manager. The process starts with a briefing to the local team in the local language. Briefing documents, research instruments and online surveys are translated into the local language to ensure that everyone involved in the project understands project requirements as intended. Also, multiple briefing sessions may be conducted to ensure that the interviewing team understands the requirements precisely. On completion of the briefing process, mock calls are conducted to ensure that each interviewer has understood and internalized all the requirements on the project. During these calls, in addition to interviewer performance, survey length and any other challenge are adequately ascertained prior to implementation of the survey in the market.

Further, whenever we work with external suppliers, we provide the data entry link to the local teams. This ensures that the data collected is completely under our control. It does not leave any space for any kind of manipulation by suppliers. Our supervision and quality control teams independently examine the data and attempt to spot any errors in data collection. Any interview that does not meet our quality considerations is summarily rejected and replaced at our own cost. In addition to the above, we also encourage our clients to visit fieldwork locations along with our interviewers to observe the interviews from close quarters and provide feedback, as required. In case clients are in another geography and cannot travel to the research location, we provide the link to real time data for client perusal.