Do you ever think about who is paying for the research you’re relying on? Is it important? If you’re relying on the information to make a major buying or strategic decision it probably should be!
You probably use research to make a decision, to educate yourself, to find information on a specific topic, to keep pace with trends, to compare your product with others, or just find out what other people are up to. Maybe all of the above.
I’m sure it will come as no surprise that most research is paid for by someone – through grants, subscription, sponsorship, etc. (the exceptions may be Consumer Reports and research done by graduate students.) And, there’s nothing wrong with this – we’ve all gotta make money : )
What is wrong is when the research your relying on lacks transparency (BusinessWeek called this “stealth sponsorship”). Perhaps you’ve read reports – in medicine, politics, journalism, securities, IT, etc. about this issue.
Just over a year ago, Brandon Hall spoke at an event and talked about transparency in research. I was fortunate enough to do some background research on the topic for him and wanted to share some tips.
Here’s what you should you expect from researchers and research companies:
- Objectivity
- Neutrality
- Honesty
- Integrity
- Unbiased
- Expert
- Independent
Remember it’s OK that someone paid for the research, you should just know who that was – was it the vendor in the report? The term independence has no meaning in the absence of transparency. You can find our statement of independence on our website and within all of our research reports. Brandon Hall Research takes it seriously.
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