Welcome to The Quality Check
Data quality standards are at the heart of everything we do at Cint. For our customers, high-quality data is paramount, and that’s why Cint puts security and quality first to provide researchers with data they can trust.
In addition to our blogs, reports, guides, and white papers that touch on all things quality, 2025 saw us launch The Quality Check, a new short-form series hosted by members of the Trust and Safety team here at Cint.
Best practices for suppliers
This episode of The Quality Check sees Shelby Downes — Senior Program Manager at Cint — running through a series of best practices for suppliers who want to keep on top of data quality issues.
From securing server-to-server redirects and vetting panelists to proactively monitoring subsource performance and suspicious activity, the video is a perfect primer for anyone on the supply side of market research who needs or wants a quality-related refresher.
Watch it in full below:
Key takeaways
Here are Downes’ key takeaways:
- Secure your links: Suppliers can protect themselves against redirect fraud by securing redirects in their system. Cint has found server to server redirects such as our Secure Survey to be the most effective solution at stopping ghost completes, but this is only effective when every link that a fraudster touches is secured.
- Vet and screen panelists: Preventing a fraudster or poor quality panelist from entering a survey in the first instance protects suppliers and helps build trust with buyers of sample. In turn, this opens up more opportunities for real people. There is no one size fits all approach to this, and at Cint we recommend our suppliers trial different solutions to find what works best for their panels.
- Define best practices for sub-sourcing: We recommend thoroughly vetting a potential sub-source before you begin onboarding them. Even when a sub source is onboarded it is essential to keep monitoring their performance. We’ve found it beneficial to keep an eye on metrics like reversal rates, quality termination rates, abnormal completion rates, even high dropout rates to stay on top of potential quality issues before they spiral out of control.
- Maintain panel hygiene: We all know that fraudsters and poor quality panelists can and do make it into surveys, this is why it’s important to have proactive monitoring of panelist activity. Monitor for suspicious activity such as speeding, excessive reversals and quality terminations. Once suspicious activities are detected, panelists should be stopped from going into surveys until steps are taken to verify them or remove them from a panel completely if they are a genuine fraudster. Automating this monitoring where possible allows for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
- Secure the entire workflow: It is important to make sure that all aspects of the respondent journey that a supplier owns or influences are secured. This is no small feat, but by implementing an array of products, programs, and policies aimed at improving quality the battle is half won. The other half of the battle is around continuous optimization and innovation. Fraudsters don’t stop evolving and so neither can sample suppliers – or the market research industry.
Want to know more about Cint’s commitment to quality?
Have you enjoyed this episode of The Quality Check and found yourself wanting to know more about Cint’s commitment to quality?
Head over to our Quality page to get the lowdown on how we pair advanced tech with dedicated teams to fight data fraud and deliver high-quality consumer insights.
You can also check out more of our quality-related content by making your way to our Quality Hub right now.
