Transparency Matters

The big controversy involving Research 2000 (R2k), a Maryland-based polling company, serves as an excellent reminder that documentation and transparency are crucial to maintaining high credibility.

A prominent R2k client recently fired the company and now alleges that R2k did not provide accurate data. His claim is based on an analysis that suggests a high level of implausibility of R2k’s data, and that implies that R2k fabricated some or all of the data.

R2k vehemently denies the allegations, and they claim that legal ramifications prevent them from fully exonerating themselves at this time.

Transparency & Documentation

We have no idea who’s telling the truth in this one, and The Magnetic Group has no connection to either party.

What we DO know is that there’s a simple remedy that could resolve this issue within the hour: R2k could simply produce the digitally recorded audio conversations of every interview to prove their authenticity.

We digitally record our interviews for every project we undertake. If one of our clients were to request a recording of every interview, we can deliver it within moments.

It’s a simple matter of documentation and transparency.

Sure, it takes time, money, and effort to save and file all of this data. But when you see dust-ups like this one, you realize how important it is.

The Temptation

Thinking beyond this case, it’s clear that temptation exists for research houses to cut their costs by conducting fewer interviewers than they are paid to provide. It’s simple math: if you are paid for 500 interviews, actually performing only 200 interviews will save the research company money.  

And maybe the research company can apply extrapolation and advanced algorithms on the 200 interviews they did conduct to provide good estimates at what the results would have been for a true sample of 500 people.

But unless they are completely transparent about using this technique, it’s fraud. If a research company promises a client a random sample of 500 people, that’s what it needs to deliver.

And research providers need to be ready to offer concrete documentation to prove that they lived up to their obligations.