Quantitative surveys - Cleaner data. Smarter design. Results you can trust.

There’s a well-known problem with online survey accuracy. We explain below what causes it — and how we fix it.

The problem with modern quant surveys

Most online surveys are completed by panellists — people who sign up to take surveys regularly in exchange for small payments.

This creates a major challenge:

Panellists are incentivised to qualify and complete quickly — not necessarily to tell the truth.

Take a typical example. A client wants to speak to dog owners. The “screener” question asks:

“Do you own a dog?”

The respondent knows that if they say “No”, they’ll be screened out and won’t get paid. So what do they say?

This is the core flaw in many online surveys — and why MRQual takes data quality so seriously.

How we protect data quality

There are a few well-known issues in online quant — and we’ve built our process to fix them from the start:

🕵️ Panellists bluffing to qualify
We design clever screeners with cross-checks to make bluffing harder and easier to spot.

🤖 Bots or inattentive responses
We build in logic traps, timing checks, and behaviour flags to detect and remove them.

😴 Respondent fatigue and boredom
We keep surveys short, clear and engaging — fewer questions, better answers.

🧹 Dirty data slipping through automated cleaning
We manually review every dataset. If something feels off, we spot it — because people still clean better than algorithms.

We don’t “fix the data” at the end.

We design and clean for quality from the very beginning.

Types of quantitative studies we run

We design and run a wide range of quantitative projects, including:

🗂️ Concept tests

💬 Message testing

🔍 Brand tracking

🧪 Pre-launch testing

💰 Price and pack optimisation

🧠 Segmentations

🚦 Idea screening

Even if your brief isn’t fully formed, we’ll help shape it with you. That’s part of what we do.

Techniques we use

We use the techniques that best suit the decision you're trying to make. No unnecessary complexity. Just good thinking.

📈 MaxDiff

🔗 TURF analysis

⚖️ Conjoint

🧩 Segmentation

🧪 Monadic/split-cell

🧮 Custom scoring

We always explain what we’re doing and why — no jargon, no mystery.

What the results look like

We don’t send you a 60-slide deck and leave you to figure it out.

You’ll get:

  • A short executive summary with clear answers

  • Visuals that tell the story

  • Honest interpretation (not just what you want to hear)

  • Data tables for your own exploration

  • Debriefs tailored to your team and decision-makers

We also help you prepare for internal presentations — and we know how to shape the story for stakeholders.

What clients say

✅ Quality Meat Scotland

“You’ve ensured our strategic direction is correct and given rich insight to hang our hat on.”
— Lesley Cameron, Communications & Marketing Director

✅ Calbee

“MRQual delivered our pack design test promptly and were very helpful. Their checks and insight quality ensured I could use the results with great confidence”
— Hugh Taylor, Head of R&D

✅ American Pistachio Growers Association

“I was very pleased with the research results which have informed key strategic decisions.”
— Judy Hirigoyen, VP, Global Marketing

Case Study : American Pistachio Growers

The challenge
American Pistachio Growers wanted to expand across Europe and carve out a clearer space in the growing snacking market — especially versus other nuts, seeds and pulses.

They needed to test and refine their consumer messaging in five priority markets (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) to support both trade sell-in and consumer pull. Messaging had to work across health, taste, versatility, and provenance — while clearly differentiating pistachios from the competition.

Our approach
We ran a multi-country online quantitative study with target consumers in each market.

The research began by mapping the role of nuts, seeds and pulses in consumers’ snacking repertoires — both rational (e.g. health, protein, diet) and emotional (e.g. indulgence, reward, lifestyle). This gave us a landscape view of market structure, need states and opportunity gaps.

We then tested a wide range of pistachio-focused messages across five key platforms:

– California provenance
– Taste and texture
– Nutritional benefits
– Snacking occasions
– Culinary versatility

Finally, we explored where and how to land these messages — identifying the most effective media, moments and channels for communication.

Results delivered
The research revealed strong consumer traction for pistachios on both taste and health — but also highlighted more ownable snacking occasions compared to other seeds and nuts.

Clear, evidence-based recommendations were delivered on how best to position pistachios in each market — and which messages would resonate most with local consumers. The work also pointed to optimal media channels for driving awareness and differentiation.