Tangible Solutions to Data Quality Issues: Fresh Insights Friday

?? Fresh Insights Friday features five fabulous finds in the world of insights and marketing. Articles, posts, events, memes, and other useful stuff.

??? February 21, 2025

1?? Raising the Bar for Data Collection

Data quality in market research has been a long-time struggle, but according to Bob Fawson , founder and CEO at Data Quality Co-Op, there’s hope.

In Research Live , he argues that with transparency and collaboration, “we can position market research as the gold standard for first-party data collection, meeting the growing needs of modern businesses while rebuilding trust and elevating quality.”

His big idea? A “more open approach”—getting stakeholders aligned on quality benchmarks and introducing signals of data quality. Basically, if the industry works together, we can set the bar higher instead of playing data whack-a-mole.

2?? The Growing Fight Against Bad Data

Also in Research Live , Liam Kay-McClean breaks down a recent roundtable event in London focused on data quality and survey fraud. The numbers aren’t pretty:

?? 80% of researchers at the event said bad data in their surveys had increased over the past year. ?? 40% flagged AI-powered survey fraud as a major issue for their business.

One key takeaway? Insight professionals at brands need to “own the conversation and manage messaging internally”—especially when it comes to the trade-offs between price, speed, and quality.

Some attendees even suggested categorizing survey quality levels to help clients understand what they’re actually paying for.

3?? Keeping Fraudsters Out of Your Insight Community

When it comes to building a strong insight community, recruiting high-quality participants is everything.

As Karine Pepin , Co-Founder of The Research Heads , puts it:

“The quality of the data you get is directly tied to how you recruit.”

In a recent LinkedIn post, she warns that if you’re recruiting from a panel, this is especially important. Her advice?

“Before you enroll participants in your community, make sure you know where they came from and that they are vetted thoroughly.”

For what it's worth, at Rival Technologies and Reach3 Insights , we’re big believers in a multi-channel approach to recruiting insight communities. Sample providers offer speed and cost savings, but members from those sources often burn out faster and are primarily motivated by rewards. The most engaged communities we see pull members from multiple sources—including brand databases, website and event intercepts (hello, QR codes!), social sampling, and yes, traditional panels.

4?? When “Quality” Participants Might Not Matter

We always talk about the importance of high-quality participants, but what if… they don’t always matter?

That’s the hot take from Shifra Cook , CEO and Founder at Ayda. She argues that for things like usability testing and quick consumer insights, participant quality isn’t as critical. But for B2B research and strategic business decisions? Yeah, you definitely need top-tier respondents.

TBH, I’m not totally convinced—but I love a bold perspective, and this one’s worth thinking about!

5?? When Bad Data Becomes a Punchline

Marketoonist has a fresh new cartoon that perfectly sums up why your research needs to be both high-quality and timely.

(My two cents: It also needs to be cost-effective AND actually insightful. Just sayin’.)

?? ICYMI (Recent Stories From Yours Truly):

• Some key social media and content marketing lessons from Insights Career Network hitting 20,000 followers
• We're hiring for multiple roles at multiple locations spanning multiple levels at Reach3 Insights and Rival Technologies
• Some thoughts on the future of content marketing in the age of AI