Superior quality data collection at competitive prices, on time, on budget, "24/7"
From the day we opened our doors on March 17, 1997, our commitment has been to deliver high quality data collection to the market research community, and to ethical survey research practices. It’s a commitment we ingrain in everyone that drives everything we do.
We know that your surveys must be programmed to exact specifications, and data must be collected and processed to meet your needs.
Our training and quality standards reflect our commitment to you. In addition, we routinely invest in industry premiere hardware and software to ensure the most efficient data collection and processing means available.
Our approach is built on delivering 3 results
- Our staff is RESPONSIVE to your requests
- The data we deliver is RELIABLE
- Our organization is FLEXIBILE to meet your schedules
At Universal, our projects are painstakingly planned and meticulously executed. We take great pride in the efficiency of our organization in conducting high quality research projects, meeting schedules and the general satisfaction of our clients.
Universal is as well known for fast turnaround custom research studies as it is for longer termed strategic tracking surveys.
For each project, we recommend numerous ongoing checks and balances to assure maximum quality control throughout the duration of the study. We prepare written specifications for all large studies where each Universal employee knows his/her responsibilities and part of the survey communication process. Any changes to the process are carefully documented to avoid missing an important step or detail. It is our belief that even minor errors can be extremely costly, negatively affect client relationships, and jeopardize the success of the project.
Therefore, we recommend the following as a list of steps to be undertaken:
- Schedule: A detailed listing of all critical dates for each project.
- Sample: Sample specifications reviewed. Sample can be procured by Universal. In addition, sample is always checked by Universal.
- Questionnaire Review, Translation (if necessary), Programming, and Checking: We will be responsible for questionnaire review, translation (if necessary), programming and checking.
- Interviewing: Universal conducts interviews from our NYC location, which operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. Exact interviewing days and times will be suggested by Universal.
- Supervision: Each interviewer’s work is routinely checked for accuracy, including adhering to cooperation and sensitivity issues, administering questions accurately, enunciation, handling of respondent comments, accuracy of recording responses, etc.
- Interview length: We will also closely watch the length of interview for each interviewer and an interviewer’s general productivity. Any interviewer not meeting our quality control standards will be removed from the project.
- Interview monitoring / recording: We listen to interviews regularly as part of our quality control process for all projects. You will be able to monitor interviews from your office or home, or onsite at our facility. We also offer digital recording of all interviews, and digitally recorded interviews can be emailed to you in a .wav file format for your review.
- Field status reports: We will review daily progress reports. This is accomplished via our automated field report system. Comprehensive field reports help guarantee faultless execution. Field reports will be shared and discussed with you daily.
- Open end responses: Responses are directly entered into our systems during the interview. Therefore, verbatim responses can be supplied in the same time frame as data. Verbatim responses will be supplied in electronic format with respondent number. Information can be sorted by respondent ID or question number.
- Data delivery: Raw data can be delivered in ascii, binary, excel, SPSS, or SSS format, and a data map will be included along with the survey responses. In addition, if requested, data will be processed by Universal’s data processing department, and tabulations will be provided.
Ensuring Quality
In addition to painstakingly planned projects, we ensure quality by placing real time and back end quality assurance checks on all of our projects.
- Ensuring Quality with Telephone Data Collection
- Quality assurance checking during programming, including manual checking of programs and Random Data Generation
- Dedicated interviewer training room for initial and continual training
- Data and open ends reviewed daily
- Daily real time and recorded monitoring
- Real time reporting
- Ensuring Quality with Web Data Collection
- Real Time Automated Checks built into each web survey including Time Tests and Validation Questions
- Back End Checks including data and open end review, and respondent name/address review
- Real time reporting
