Quality Assurance

At Decision Analyst quality assurance is an obsession. Every project is carefully monitored for adherence to standards and specifications. Standardized systems and standardized processes ensure accuracy and reliability. Error-trapping and quality-audit functions are built into all software systems. Decision Analyst’s Quality Assurance Department monitors every step in the life of every research and consulting project. Decision Analyst’s commitment to the highest standards of professionalism, accuracy, and precision is absolute and uncompromising.

Operations Departments and Client Service Teams use quality-assurance checklists to ensure that no detail is overlooked in the preparation of sampling plans, questionnaires, data files, cross-tabulation plans, tables, analyses, reports, and graphs. Operations Departments all adhere to quality-control processes within their own departments to provide redundancy. The goal is to ensure that several sets of eyes independently review each phase of every study. Quality is everyone’s responsibility.

In addition to Client Service Teams and Operations Departments, the Quality Assurance Department establishes quality-assurance standards, systems, and processes, and measures, monitors, and ensures accuracy throughout the life of each research project. The Quality Assurance Department is involved in every phase of a study, as follows:

Questionnaire Review

• Sample specifications
• Quotas and quota assignment logic
• Study qualifications verified against nonqualification logic
• Skip logic
• Validation logic
• Decision Analyst standards
• Design and flow; understandability for respondents
• Avoidance of leading or biasing questions or sequence
• Grammar, punctuation, spelling
• Consistency (e.g., answer numbering, answer choices matching question text, consistency in brand-name references, etc.)

Project Walk-Through

• This is a meeting of all Decision Analyst employees assigned to a specific research project. This meeting is attended by one person from each department involved in a study. The goal is to ensure that everyone working on a project fully understands all the project details and responsibility assignments for each phase of project execution.
• All quota information, sample specifications, questions, answers, logic, and instructions are read aloud during the Walk-Through, as a final review before programming begins.
• Meeting attendees discuss threats and risks to the project, so that additional attention and scrutiny can be focused on the high-risk parts of the study.

Survey Program Review

Once the questionnaire map is finalized, programming of the survey in Logician® begins. Once the survey is programmed, Quality Assurance conducts an exhaustive evaluation of the program’s accuracy including the following:

• Skip logic
• Validation logic
• Qualification and nonqualification logic
• Quota assignments
• Flow and understandability
• Consistency (e.g., answer numbering, answer choices matching question text, consistency in brand name references, etc.)
• Grammar, punctuation, spelling
• Logician® Quality Audit—A computer search for 25 common questionnaire errors

Test Topline Review

After a survey program is approved by Quality Assurance, an Internet Programmer runs a program called Survey Simulator. This program follows the logic in a survey and populates a topline with 100 artificial respondents, simulating actual respondent answers. Quality Assurance then reviews the topline cross-tab for:

• Correct base sizes for all questions.
• Correct base sizes for survey quotas and counts.
• Correct question and answer text.
• Correct other-specify bases.

Live Topline Review

After the first 12 hours of data collection, Quality Assurance reviews data on the live topline for:

• Correct base sizes for all questions.
• Correct base sizes for survey quotas and counts.
• Correct question and answer text.
• Correct other-specify bases.

Codebook Review

Before the coding of open-ended questions begins, the codebook (a list of proposed codes) is reviewed by Quality Assurance.

• Grammar, punctuation, spelling
• Consistency of code wording from question to question
• Code numbers (no duplicate codes, no two-digit codes in a three-digit field)
• Nets/Subnets containing relevant responses
• Correct indentation of net, subnet, and sub-subnet responses

Cross-Tabulation Review

Once the survey data is tabulated, the cross-tabulations are thoroughly reviewed by Quality Assurance for the following:

• Correct base sizes and total rows
• Correct response bases, including open-ended codes and nets
• Numbers matching Logician® Online Reporting or data marginal
• Summary tables matching individual tables
• Correct means
• Correct significance testing
• Correct banner labeling and specification logic
• Correct table and base titles
• Banner points matching source tables for all banners
• Table specifications file (e.g., table filters for correct bases)
• Inconsistent data (e.g., nonusers in a user question, males under a female banner point)
• Correct weights (if present)
• Weighting compared to Decision Analyst standards
• Corrections, as necessary

Report and Presentation Review

• Numbers matching source tables
• Graphs, charts, etc., matching report numbers
• Written findings matching report numbers
• Source information on each slide
• Footnotes reflecting charts, graphs, etc.
• Management Summary matching data in full report
• Grammar, punctuation, and spelling
• Formal language (unless client’s preference is more informal)
• Consistency of formatting from slide to slide
• Content and substance of report
• Readability for clients

Standards and Training Manual Review

• Workflow and work processes
• Grammar, punctuation, and spelling
• Accuracy of information
• Clear, concise language
• Checklist maintenance and review
• Proposals
• Questionnaire routing
• Questionnaire proofing
• Sample files
• Tab—primary QC (Tabulation Programmer)
• Tab—secondary QC (Quality Assurance)
• Tab open-ended tables
• Ascribe™ codebook
• Topline—test and live data
• Reports

Quality References

• Dictionaries and thesauruses, including online references
  • The Gregg Reference Manual
  • Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
  • Internet sites:
    • Google.com
    • Company websites
    • Dictionary.com
  • Decision Analyst standards

Marketing Research Services

Decision Analyst is a leading international marketing research and analytical consulting firm. If you would like more information on our marketing research and analytical consulting services, please contact Jerry W. Thomas by emailing jthomas@decisionanalyst.com or calling 1-817-640-6166.

Additional Resources from Decision Analyst

Brochures

• Complete list of Decision Analyst brochures