Title:	“Are your Results True? Reducing Bias in Marketing Research Data”
Presenter:	Dr. Doug Grisaffe

Abstract:
Technology and societal changes are radically affecting the ways we think about and gather marketing research data. Modern data collection and analysis options ultimately produce results that typically involve numbers. These results are presumed to accurately reflect truth and form a sound basis for managerial decision making and action. But what if the results are biased, even to the point of being wrong? Managerial decisions and actions will suffer, putting at risk time, money, and the potential success of corporate change efforts. In this presentation, we explore factors that can severely bias marketing research results and describe practical approaches to reducing these biases. Reducing bias and ensuring truthful results ultimately leads to better managerial decisions and actions.

Doug Grisaffe received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. He is the former Vice President, Chief Research Methodologist for Walker Information, a well-known marketing research firm with national and international reach in strategic customer satisfaction and customer loyalty measurement and management. For 16 years, Doug consulted with many multi-national Fortune 500 companies on the development and application of advanced marketing research methodologies useful for collecting customer data and converting it to managerially-actionable business-improving customer insight. Prior to joining UTA’s marketing faculty in 2005, Doug was also an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Managerial Studies at Vanderbilt University.

Doug has published papers in Journal of Service Research, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Marketing Letters, Human Resource Management Review, Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing, Marketing Science Institute Working Paper Series, Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, and ESOMAR’s Marketing and Research Today. His article on consumer comprehension of over-the-counter drug labels won best article of the year in the Drug Information Journal. He also has published several applied trade articles on marketing and marketing research.

Doug has been an ad hoc reviewer for Journal of Marketing, Journal of Retailing, Human Resource Management Review, Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior, and has presented at a variety of conferences including Frontiers in Services, AMA Winter Educators Conference, AMA Advanced Research Techniques Forum, Marketing Science, Consumer Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction & Complaining Behavior, the Advertising Research Foundation Global Research conference, and the Council on Foundations conference.

At UTA, Doug teaches two courses in UTA’s Master of Science in Marketing Research (MSMR) program: advanced research analysis, and marketing models. In addition, he teaches marketing research to undergraduate students.