Is your online research telling you the truth?

Whether you work in research, marketing, advertising or PR, it’s likely that you will use or have come across online research panels of one kind or another. They are used for anything from NPD and strategy development, from creating headlines, through to tracking and evaluating campaigns and a whole lot more.

Whilst the ability to, and the acceptance of conducting research online has made research quicker and cheaper to conduct – it has also made it easier. Some say it is too easy and that anyone with a computer and time on their hands is now able to offer research services to clients. But is online research really this easy?

One demographic that has been harder to research online has been the under 16 audience, due to limited access to young people and stringent guidelines put in place by the professional research bodies. But as more and more websites provide for younger audiences and there is a greater demand for research, so there has been an increase in the number of companies providing access to young people for research purposes.

So how do you as the client ensure the young people providing the data you need to inform your campaign or business are valid, and that the data they are providing is in a considered and honest manner? How do you ensure the young people answering your questions are who they say they are? Is it a child or teen completing your study or the parent, or even a complete stranger? How do you ensure you are behaving in an ethical manner and doing all you can to ensure the well-being of the young people you are surveying? Not sure………….

The MRS and ESOMAR both provide guidelines on research with young people that panel providers need to adhere to. These ensure that you as the client can be sure you are getting valid and accurate data from your research suppliers.

We have provided these guidelines in the links below. However, if you haven’t the time to read through these and want to be sure your online research meets the most exacting standards – we can advise you and we will be happy to introduce you to our youth panels, which just so happen to combine to be the largest online youth research panel in the UK.

Link 1 (MRS) | Link 2 (ESOMAR)

For further information on our panels please contact Alex Thompson on 0113 3947920 or email alex.thompson@dubitlimited.com.

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