“Data Consistency” has been a key issue in the discussion of how we can learn about the impact of technology in marketing research.

In dozens of presentations, to hundreds of researchers and marketers this year – the issue of data consistency has gained lots of attention.  That’s because it is incumbent upon all of us to deploy the best solution (both research design, and technology) for our clients.

Most researchers are adept at the ‘science’ of what we do – but what about the ‘art’. It is this latter aspect which has been transformed in recent years, thanks to advances in rich media technology.

Case in point – our firm asked 2000 people the following: “are you an optimist or a pessimist?”. We observed answers which ranged from 5% to 21% (agreement of “10″ on a 1-10 scale), depending on the survey interface (a ‘radio button’, or a ‘visual slider’ scale).

So, your choice of how to design the visual aspect of a question for your survey will have an impact on the results. The question is by how much. Stay tuned for more tips and learning.