MRS Silver Medal 2015
23 September 2015

The finalists for the best IJMR paper have been announced

Selected from recommendations by the IJMR Executive Editorial Board, the MRS Awards Panel have selected four contenders from Volume 56 of the International Journal of Market Research for this year’s prestigious Silver Medal.

In Including Don't know answer options in brand image surveys improves data quality, Sara Dolnicar and Bettina Grün use an experimental design to indicate that ‘Don’t know’ options are primarily used when respondents genuinely cannot answer the question, as opposed to representing a quick, low-effort option to complete a survey.

When 'significant' is not significant, co-authored by Rachel Kennedy, John Scriven and Magda Nenycz-Thiel, looks at how statistical significance is easy to find, but not necessarily important. The paper offers insights for market research practitioners and marketers alike, to ensure they are getting the best from their data for robust marketing decision-making.

In Andrew Green’s Readership measurement in the digital age, the author draws from the experience of a handful of countries who have experimented with new methodologies for measuring newspaper and magazine readership and brings many of these together into a single approach.

The final paper, The importance of rank for shorter, smarter surveys by Kyle Findlay, Jan Hofmeyr and Alice Louw, explores the counter-intuitive standpoint that '‘less is more'. Drawing on the authors' familiarity with neuroscience and behavioural economics, they argue that it is important to measure 'just enough' but not too much information about brands.

Fellows and Certified Members can read these papers online today. Other Members can request copies by emailing us.

The winning paper will be announced at the MRS Awards Dinner on 7 December in London. Tickets are on sale now.

An archive of all past Medal-winning papers can be found here.