Data Quality Co-op calls for systemic change in market research

PRESS RELEASE

Open letter urges industry to move beyond problem diagnosis and adopt shared accountability to restore confidence in insights.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - 8 Sept 2025 - Data Quality Co-op (DQC), the insights industry’s first independent clearinghouse for data quality measurement, today released a new letter to the industry from CEO and co-founder Bob Fawson, urging the insights community to move beyond diagnosing the data quality problem and toward building collective solutions. 

“While some industry dialogue around data quality suggests otherwise, market research isn’t broken—it’s evolving,” said Fawson. “Evolution brings progress but also new challenges. It’s time to stop admiring those challenges and start working together on real solutions.”

“It’s time to stop admiring the data quality problem and start building solutions – together” points to key drivers of industry growth, such as programmatic sampling, that have delivered speed, reach, and cost efficiency. Yet alongside these gains, fraud, participant disengagement, and eroding trust continue to threaten research outcomes. It’s noted that while many see synthetic data as a shortcut, it can only reach its transformative potential if trained on high-quality primary data.

The letter acknowledges the extensive work already done to document data quality issues, from industry analyses to academic research on inattentive responding, speeding, and VPN anomalies. While this body of work is vital, Fawson stresses that the time has come for solutions, noting that while associations and private sector innovators are making important progress, these efforts remain crucial but insufficient on their own.

Drawing parallels to industries that overcame similar challenges—cybersecurity and even 19th-century brewing—the letter positions DQC as a neutral clearinghouse that aggregates quality signals into a continuous feedback loop, operating like a “credit score” for data quality.

“The future of data quality depends on moving from fragmented efforts to shared accountability,” said Fawson. “If you’re not helping build or adopt real solutions, you’re sustaining the problem. It’s time to stop admiring what’s broken and start building what works—together.”

Access the letter, “It’s time to stop admiring the data quality problem and start building solutions – together” here. 

Those interested in moving from fragmented efforts to shared accountability are encouraged to connect with the Data Quality Co-op team and learn more about building solutions together.