What Distorts the Results of Marketing Research?

Missteps that can distort the result of marketing research include:

• Sampling Error
• Question Wording
• Poor Quality Data
• Data Validity
• Researcher Bias

Each of these is discussed below. 

Sampling Error

When we study a sample or a subgroup of the population we might have too much sampling error. In other words, that sample might not really represent the overall population very well or very closely. That can really sort of distort the results or the estimates that you make based on your data.

Question Wording

Another thing that can distort our results is the wording of our questions. If we don't ask questions just the right way we can either influence the answer that we get or we can accidentally measure the wrong thing. So, the way we ask questions or the wording that we use in creating questions for surveys or even for focus groups or interviews is really important to making sure that we get accurate results

Poor Data Quality

Another source of of distortion or disruption to our our estimates or the results that we get from collecting and analyzing data is poor data quality. Response bias is a source of poor data quality where the way we ask the question or the way people respond. One form of response bias is when people decide not to answer because maybe they're uncomfortable with the question.

Another way that our data quality can be poor is that sometimes we ask people things that they just can't remember accurately. People are really good at forgetting or remembering things wrong and that's just a natural aspect of being a human. But, that obviously can really make it difficult for us to get good information when we're trying to make a decision.

Data Validity

Next we have validity issues. This goes in a lot of different directions. Ultimately, validity concerns whether we are measuring what we think we're measuring.

So, if we are asking people do you like this product and there's a price on the product. They may say they don't like the product when they like the product but they don't like the price. Again, this really goes back to how we ask questions, what we ask, and whether we're measuring exactly what we think we're measuring. If we're measuring the wrong thing clearly, we're not going to have good information to guide us.

Researcher Bias

Another way that our results can end up skewed or distorted is through researcher bias. If you allow yourself as a researcher to influence the way that people answer questions or the data that you choose to analyze, that bias will distort the outcome or the results. In the same way, if a manager exerts too much influence over the process of gathering data or interpreting that data, that can cause some real distortion in our results.

Related Topics

• Marketing Research Overview
• Quantitative and Qualitative Research
• Primary Research
• Secondary Research
• Determining the Right Marketing Strategy
• What is a Marketing Information System?
• What are Decision Support Systems?
• What are Marketing Models?
• What is a Marketing Dashboard?
• What Kinds of Data can we Use?
• Methods of Collecting Data
• What are Focus Groups?
• What is Group Think?
• What are Scanner Data?
• What is Web Tracking?
• What is Ethnography?
• What is Experimental` Research?
• What is Use of Statistics
• What Distorts the Results of Marketing Research?
• Challenges of International Market Research?