Industry Bodies to Fight Fraud and Address Data Issues

Industry bodies the Insights Association (IA), MRS and ESOMAR have announced they will collaborate, along with survey sampling conference SampleCon, to 'fight fraud' and address ongoing risks to data quality.

The organisations will work together to track the prevalence of fraudulent survey completions by humans or bots, and outline best practice in fraud detection and mitigation. In addition, they will examine data quality in qualitative research, both in-person and online; identify and mitigate bias; and promote improvements in the research participant experience.

The organisations also plan to arrange forums to raise awareness, with presentations by and discussions with experts and thought leaders. Additionally, each association will lead an effort to create content, standards and training around areas such as quality - including language, measurement, activation, participant experience, and sampling technology.

Meetings are already underway to formulate best practice guidelines and buildout, and refine and coordinate universal terms and definitions; and the organisations are discussing the fielding of a survey about fraud detection, as well as other possible research.

MRS CEO Jane Frost comments: 'Fraudulent activity is becoming increasingly sophisticated, particularly in online research. It poses a significant risk to our sector's future and this international partnership is another important means to confront it. Poor research can have a catastrophic impact on decision making and, as businesses and organisations across the world face economic, political and social challenges, now more than ever our sector needs to prioritise the delivery of quality data and insight'.

To learn more about this work and inquire about getting involved, please contact IA CEO melanie.courtright@insightsassociation.org .