Safeguarding Qualitative Research: Understanding and Mitigating Fraudulent Participation

Fraudulent participation, ranging from misrepresented identities to AI-generated responses, can undermine the integrity of qualitative insight and put added pressure on teams, budgets and timelines. In this practical session from the Global Data Quality (GDQ) Initiative, we will explore what fraud looks like in qualitative work today, why it’s growing, and the reasonable, proportionate steps you can take across the research supply chain to protect data quality.

The event will include introducing new guidance from the GDQ which has been developed in partnership by AQR, MRS and the QRCA. This project is part of MRS’ contribution to the wider Global Data Quality initiative and MRS Campaign for Better Data.

What you’ll learn:

• How GDQ defines the main forms of participant-related risk in qualitative research from fraudulent participants, professional participants, ‘groupies’/over-researched participants, and fraudulent participation (including AI-assisted responses).
• Which qualitative methodologies are most vulnerable.
• Common warning signs for recruiters and moderators plus how to avoid mis-labelling genuine participants when questionnaire design or natural overclaiming is the real issue.
• Practical prevention measures, from better screener construction to identity/location verification and in-field validation.
• How to balance fraud mitigation with participant experience, legal/privacy considerations (including handling of personal data), and operational reality.
• Where responsibilities sit across the research supply chain and how to set shared expectations.

Who should attend?

• Qualitative research and insight practitioners (client-side and agency-side) commissioning or designing qual projects
• Moderators/qualitative leads running online IDIs, groups, and hybrid sessions
• Fieldwork, recruitment and operations teams responsible for screening, scheduling, incentive handling and QC
• Sample/panel and community providers (especially those supporting online/asynchronous methods)
• Data quality, compliance and privacy colleagues involved in identity verification, fraud controls, and proportionate safeguards

Speakers:

Presenters:

• Liz Diez, independent consultant
• Michael Mermelstein, Executive Vice President / Partner, Nichols Research (NR)

Plus, panellists:

• Jon Last, President of Sports and Leisure Research
• Jess Tandy, Research Opinions