Do the numbers lie?

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Brands in India have witnessed phenomenal growth in the last decade, with marketers employing all kinds of strategies to reach out to their target audience. And to their aid came market research—a tool to unravel the sometimes mysterious behaviour of consumers. However, techniques of data validation in the industry have not kept up with some of the global standards that we observe even in other regions across South East Asia. Unless the data generated by agencies is not accurate, all the analysis performed on it will be a waste for the brand.In the market research industry, primary data collection and analysis poses several challenges like data sanctity, quality and consistency at the following levels -* Pre fieldwork* During fieldwork* During data punching and analysisData validation prior to fieldworkIn India, primary data collection is handled by freelance interviewers who are hired on a 'job' by 'job' basis. All interviewing in the industry is guided by the field briefing note for the research project, which details out the field controls to be maintained, recruitment criteria and sampling methodology to be followed.The industry needs to set standards of a different order to monitor fieldwork by the freelance interviewing teams. A way to achieve this can be by ensuring in-house accountability for overall data quality, thus enabling tighter controls. As a part of this, agencies can also try to institute processes such as 100% mock calls for the entire interviewer team supervised by researchers / senior field executives before the fieldwork.Another interesting feature in the market research industry is our high reliance on ward lists and voter lists for conducting studies involving random sampling. Starting points are normally assigned based on these records.An emerging trend in the industry is the heavy use of computerized databases that have started replacing above-mentioned lists. This poses a challenge in implementation of random sampling impartially as the industry is gradually making its transition to paperless working.Data validation during fieldworkAnother area that needs attention is validation during fieldwork. Generally, recording of primary data is done manually on questionnaires and the records are computerized later for analysis. This involves high risk of errors and data loss during filling of questionnaires and translation. While the industry does have means to track the validation of data during this stage, some more steps are required to improve the accuracy of data. One way would be to ask supervisors to accompany field-executives for about 30% of the respondents. Besides this, the team should check the authenticity of another 30% of the respondents. This will ensure that most of the data is accurate. Once all the data is collected, the supervisors should once again scrutinise the complete set of data. If required, back checks can also be conducted by researchers telephonically and/or physically. Agencies need to follow strict norms in case of any discrepancy in the questionnaire of any interviewer. In such a scenario, the entire lot of questionnaires submitted by the interviewer should be discarded and fieldwork should be redone.Data validation during punching and analysisOne of the major drawbacks of the market research process in India is the outsourcing of data punching and analysis.Specialized market research agencies need to develop in-house analysis team to maintain stringent controls on data outputs. By conducting all data punching in-house, an agency can ensure close supervision and timely completion of projects, resulting in better data confidence and sanctity.Further, to improve the validity of data, all non-logical data should be checked for punching errors. Agencies can also consider utilizing their analysis departments for audit and tracking of interviewer level data on productivity and quality as well.The writer is MD, AZ Research Partners Pvt. Ltd

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