Market Research Firm Wins Rare Case Over Data Integrity
Las Vegas, NV and Portland, OR (PRWEB) June 28, 2016 -- Portland based marketing research firm James Industry Research Group (JIR Group) recently won an unprecedented claim (Case # 15AH309 Henderson Justice Court, Henderson Nevada) against Las Vegas-based Carol Greco DBA Ansel Consumer Research and Ansel Business Resources for falsification of data and related damages.
“Data integrity in our research means everything to us and to our clients. The clients we work with are making important business decisions based on the data our firm provides, and we take that very seriously,” says JIR Group Director of Research Jocelyn Thomas. “Ultimately, real jobs and real futures are at stake, so we feel the quality of our research defines us as a company. Companies who fabricate research data to us are likely to do it to others, and we feel a responsibility to challenge their place in our industry. So, we sued them.”
In 2015, according to court documents, Ansel Research was subcontracted to assist with marketing research data collection for Las Vegas-based public opinion research. During its quality assurance control procedures, JIR Group employees discovered gross misrepresentation of respondent data and challenged the integrity of the results being provided by Ansel. A full investigation by JIR Group resulted in all of the research by Ansel being discredited due to changed responses, failure to ever be actually surveyed, and falsified data.
“Making the decision to redo and replace the research for our client was easy, but making the decision to sue and risk our own assets was difficult,” says Jim James, founder of JIR Group. “Many discouraged us, saying that a lawsuit ‘wasn’t worth making trouble,’ and that ‘data integrity wouldn’t matter to the court.’ I disagreed; our commitment to our clients and employees is always worth the trouble.”
JIR Group took a unique approach to the court, seeking compensation for the additional labor and resources they incurred, the money required to pay cancelled participants, and the ethical violations identified across multiple marketing research associations. Carol Greco and Ansel Research counter-sued, but the court found for James Industry Research Group in both lawsuits and awards.
“We believe that cheating is wrong, and this was an opportunity to show our commitment to integrity,” explains James. “We’ve seen this type of data fabrication previously, and that’s what led us to start our own company in the first place – our commitment to doing market research the right way. We want our employees to be proud to work here, and our clients to know they can trust our data.” James hopes that his company’s high standards are an example to other market research companies as well.
“I’m happy to provide the roadmap for how we presented our case to the court,” says James. “When companies within our industry operate without integrity, it’s a detriment to marketing research, and it hurts the industries and working people that depend on accurate data for accurate decisions. We’re dedicated to doing it right, and aren’t afraid to fight for that.”
About James Industry Research Group: James Industry Research Group is a Las Vegas & Portland, OR full service marketing research company serving a variety of industries including hotel and casino, gaming manufacturing, conventions and tradeshows, political and consumer research.
Media Contact
Maggie Palmer
maggie(at)mkpcreative(dot)com
503-419-7677
Maggie Palmer, Principal, MKP Creative, http://www.mkpcreative.com, +1 (503) 419-7677, [email protected]
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