Global Research: Taking the World by Storm without Getting Wet

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As our world becomes more interconnected, global market research becomes increasingly important for manufacturers and service providers who want to take advantage of international marketing opportunities. Global research is especially challenging as it requires more planning, coordination, resources, and analysis than research conducted domestically. Multi-country research brings with it the complexities of conducting surveys in different languages, working with interviewers based in other countries, and interviewing in environments that vary in terms of technological, political, and social conditions. Laying a strong foundation for the execution of global research requires careful planning when selecting markets, determining the appropriate data collection method, translating questionnaires, and analyzing and interpreting results.

Selecting Markets

When designing and planning global research, the selected markets and the total number of markets greatly affects the complexity of executing and analyzing the results. The devil is most certainly in the details, and when fielding a study in multiple countries, the details pile up fast. Each market may have a unique set of problems involving sample recruitment, survey translation, delivery of data, and all the steps in between. Solving problems can be time consuming, especially with multiple people involved in each country, many of whom either speak English as a second language or not at all.

Data Collection Realities

Deciding which data collection methodology to use is usually based on country capabilities, not on timing or budget considerations. What is feasible in the U.S. may not be feasible in other countries. This means that standardization of data collection methods across countries is not always possible: many countries do not have high enough Internet usage penetration for successful online research (although Internet penetration in many countries is increasing); some countries must use pen-and-paper questionnaires instead of CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) due to poor telecommunication infrastructures. Cultural differences also play a role in how data is collected. For example, in strict Islamic countries, men must be interviewed by men and women interviewed by women, and sampling is done via respondent referrals. In Japan, short telephone interviews are considered rude, even though one might think the interviewers are being considerate by not keeping the respondent on the phone too long.

Translation

Perhaps one of the greatest challenges to global research is achieving an accurate translation of the questionnaire. Exact translation of survey questions is not always possible, as translation is often subjective. For example, the word "bothersome" is frequently used in our U.S. surveys, but can mean many different things in other languages and often requires careful explanation of the intended meaning for appropriate translation. Furthermore, not only must the nuances of the original English-language question be captured, but also the response scales from country to country must be congruent. This is more difficult for attitudinal questions than for behavioral questions. With behavioral questions, the answer is usually "yes" or "no," a number, or a timeframe, all of which are relatively easy to translate from one language to another. With attitudinal questions, responses usually take the form of verbal scale points, which can be subjective and therefore present complexities for translation as well as data interpretation.

Multi-Country Analysis

Data collected from multiple countries can be analyzed several ways, depending on the business objectives of the study. For example, results can be analyzed by country, by region, or globally. When making comparisons between countries, it is important to realize that there are wide variations in scale usage. For example, German respondents generally give scores that are more conservative, Spanish respondents typically give higher ratings, and Japanese respondents are often reluctant to give strong opinions and therefore tend to avoid the extremes of a scale.

Lessons Learned

Understanding the implications of global research can help prevent issues from arising during the study. The following guidelines will help ensure smooth execution and actionable results when conducting global research.

Lesson 1: Invest in a pre-test

A pre-test is invaluable to the success of a global study and well worth the investment. It will save time at the end of the study, reduce the number of unexpected expenses, and ensure that the results are of the highest quality. A pre-test is critical to nailing down the most accurate translation of the questionnaire, identifying problems during the field period, ironing out potential data processing issues early on, and confirming that the study design is really going to work. For example, in some countries respondents may live in gated communities (due to high crime rates) and would need to be interviewed "over the fence." In this case, it would be important to take into account how respondents should be exposed to visual aids.

Lesson 2: Set realistic timelines--and be prepared to allow for more time

Global research typically takes a lot longer to conduct than domestic projects. It is unrealistic to achieve the same timing without sacrificing key quality control steps. Timing is driven mainly by the methodology chosen for the project, the number of countries involved, and the complexity of the study. The more languages a survey needs to be translated into, the longer the timeline will be. Languages may differ not only by country, but also within a country. For example, India has 15 official languages. Other examples of multi-language countries are Belgium, South Africa, the Philippines, China, and Switzerland.

Other factors can also affect timing: poor weather conditions can delay face-to-face interviewing, weak telecommunications infrastructures can impede telephone surveys, and political unrest and strikes can bring fieldwork and data processing to a temporary halt. In addition, there may be cultural differences in which certain countries expect to deliver the data later than promised, which needs to be accounted for in the timeline.

Lesson 3: Use a staggered approach

For multi-country studies, staggering the field launch and data processing so that one country fields and processes ahead of the others helps identify problems early on. This approach saves time and money by crystallizing the data processing and analytical issues upfront, thereby avoiding compounding the number of errors by the number of countries.

Lesson 4: The questionnaire: less is more

Questionnaires should be kept as simple as possible. Complicated interviewer instructions, unusual question structures, confusing response scales, and tedious attribute lists should be avoided. Results from the pre-test can be invaluable in designing a workable questionnaire. It is important to remember that the questionnaire needs to be both respondent-friendly and interviewer-friendly.

Lesson 5: The brand list: more is less

Whenever possible, one comprehensive brand list should be developed for the entire project, instead of individual brand lists for each country. This does not mean that all countries see all brands in the study; rather, each country uses a subset of brands. During the processing phase, this approach will allow for the capture of the same products with different names across countries, eliminate complicated recoding, and ensure accurate country-by-country comparisons during analysis. It is important to consider carefully which brand name will be used in the data tables if the same product exists in multiple countries under different names.

Lesson 6: Conduct a full translation and back translation

A translated questionnaire must communicate the overall intent of the original English in order to say with confidence that all respondents were asked the same question in every country. At the same time, a translated questionnaire must reflect the subtleties and nuances of the local language; literal translations may not make sense. This is best accomplished by in-country translations where knowledgeable market researchers translate the document by taking into consideration not only language subtleties but also the most effective survey layout. The process of translating and back translating a questionnaire, while time consuming, is key to the accuracy of cross-cultural research.

Lesson 7: Verify the accuracy of the data collection

Because countries use different research methodologies, it is important to carry out full quality control procedures. In countries where a telephone methodology is being used, CATI should be implemented whenever possible. If data is being collected through a pen-and-paper methodology, the accuracy of data capture increases if CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviewing) is used. If CAPI is not an option, verification of data entry should be conducted. Local research agencies should also keep photocopies of completed pen-and-paper questionnaires so that the data entry process can be verified during quality control procedures.

Lesson 8: Agree to the analytic plan--before start of field

Knowing how the data will be analyzed before finalizing the questionnaire will ensure that your research objectives will be met. A key consideration in the analytic plan is whether the results will be analyzed by country, by region, or globally. If the analytic plan is agreed upon before field start, the survey design, tabulations, and report will be more likely to meet the objectives. Another point that should be considered early on is how the variation in scale usage by country will be handled. One way is to center the data to remove country tendencies (in other words, look at the overall means and then the differences from the means), but there are other ways of handling this issue that depend on the research and business objectives of the study. Finally, studies always run more smoothly when it is decided ahead of time how the results will be delivered (for example, electronically via email, shipped via post office, or presented in-person).

Lesson 9: Automate reports

Global research involves tight deadlines, and automation will help make sure the study is done on time. In addition, it can increase the overall quality and consistency of the deliverables. This is especially useful in multi-country research studies where the same report template can be used across all the countries.

Lesson 10: Create a shared website for document exchange and delivery of results

With multi-country studies, there are a tremendous number of documents, including multiple questionnaires, analytic plans, and country-specific reports. A shared website that allows for document exchange will streamline the continuous exchange between the client and the research partner.