Our U.K. Sales Director, Sabrina Trinquetel, recently wrote about some of the systemic problems in the market research industry when it comes to the treatment and engagement of survey respondents. In her article for Research Live, “It is time to redress the voice of market research sample,” she lays out a few of the practices that need to change - and how - in order to shift the status quo. 

First, Sabrina outlines three key problems with the way market research is conducted, for the most part, in today’s reality. Respondents are not given control of their data; their data isn’t private and can easily be misused; and they are not rewarded fairly for sharing. “ They are reduced to a number, a complete, a participant, a respondent, sample quota, or just plain old “n”. We often forget the fact that the “n” is, in fact, a person.” All of this adds up to something no one wants: poor quality data. 

In response to the identified challenges, she then poses three critical steps that need to occur to move the industry forward. 

• Give people control over their own data. This means taking it out of centralized databases and letting people store it on their own devices - choosing when, where and how they will share it. This not only eliminates potential security issues for the individual’s data, but it also gives researchers more transparency into where and from whom their data is coming. 
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• Prioritize privacy and trust. Our research found that nearly 50% of individuals feel concerned about privacy and trust when completing an online survey. To encourage sharing and participation, not to mention adhere to growing privacy standards, researchers must build trust and put privacy at the top of the list. 
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• Reward people properly for their valuable data. Historically, the market research industry has provided very little compensation for those willing to fill out surveys and provide the data needed for insights. Sabrina contends: “We need to make sure people are benefiting fairly from their input...Pay fairly= better quality data= more in depth insight.”

Sabrina concludes the piece with: “As researchers, we have a responsibility to ensure that we are treating our respondents respectfully,  making tangible progress toward data control, data privacy and fair rewards.”

To read the complete article, visit: https://www.research-live.com/article/news/it-is-time-to-redress-the-voice-of-survey-participants/id/5086172