According to Dictionary.com integrity is defined as “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.” Our goal as market researchers is to provide actionable insights that can drive more effective marketing. This is true regardless of whether or not our focus is B2B marketing research or consumer marketing research. To deliver on this goal we must rely upon the integrity of those who complete our surveys.
I participated in a survey recently that was preceded with the following gentle reminder:
Should we take for granted that our respondents will answer truthfully to the best of their ability, or should we employ a reminder as seen above? Research in social psychology has shown that people prefer to be reminded of the best course of action more so than being told what to do. We are also more apt to follow instructions and conform to a code of behavior if we are reminded what purpose that behavior serves.
From a survey design standpoint this reminder can easily be placed before the respondent begins the survey. In Cvent this type of reminder would fit nicely on the welcome page. Taking steps to ensure that respondent provide truthful answers will increase the reliability and validity of our data.
Other steps include the use of logic traps, checking for speeding, and the inclusion of ‘negative’ options in matrix questions and Likert scales. Logic traps are simple and ask the respondent to select a particular response to an otherwise meaningless question (e.g. “Select ‘blue’ for the color of the sky.) Respondents who select another option become candidates for deletion. Checking for speeding involves comparing survey response times to the overall average or median. Respondents that spend significantly less time than the norm should be reviewed and considered for deletion.
Negative options in scaled or matrix questions serve to ensure that respondents are reading each sub-question instead of answering along one side of the scale (i.e. all positive responses). This technique serves to break up the flow and encourages the respondent to fully read each question.