Whether you work in qualitative or quantitative market research, fraud is a serious threat to your company. It can lead to inaccurate insights, bad brand experiences, and a missed advertising opportunity.

What are the 4 types of market research?

In recent years, market research fraud has increased dramatically. Some surveys reported fraud rates higher than 30 percent. This is a problem that the market research industry is trying to solve. Detecting fraudulent survey responses is a complex task.

A key part of the equation is the biases that are present in the human decision-making process. Researchers have identified over 100 biases that can affect human decision-making.

Many bad actors use multiple computers, IP addresses, and browsers to carry out their activities. Device fingerprinting is one of the tools that help detect survey stuffing. The device ID is constant, even if the user’s IP address changes.

In-survey checks include trick questions that are inserted into screeners to catch unauthorized respondents. The best practice is to verify the identity of the respondent through a method that is transparent.

In addition, it is important to verify that the source of the panel is legitimate. This is particularly important for B2B market research, which requires the use of multiple panel partners to reach a difficult-to-reach audience.

The best way to detect survey fraud is to have repeat questions. You can also use open-ended comments to detect spam or plagiarism.

In addition, machine learning can also flag suspicious behaviors. These programs are able to sort through large volumes of data. This allows you to identify fraud in real time.