On behalf of the Global Data Quality initiative, the Insights Association is pleased to release the latest findings from the Global Data Quality (GDQ) Benchmarking Project, the industry’s only international benchmarking initiative dedicated exclusively to measuring and evaluating online research data quality.
Now in its third wave, the GDQ Benchmarking Project continues to strengthen its methodology through ongoing refinements to data requests, collection processes, and analysis procedures. These enhancements improve the reliability, consistency, and value of the benchmarks while helping participating organizations more effectively assess their performance against industry standards.
The GDQ extends its sincere appreciation to the organizations that contributed data to this wave of the study. Their continued participation is helping advance transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement across the global insights ecosystem. Additional process enhancements planned for future waves will further streamline participation and reporting.
[Download the GDQ H1 2026 Report]
About the Report
The GDQ Benchmarking Report establishes key industry benchmarks for online research data quality and provides critical insights that help organizations assess, improve, and maintain the integrity of their research data.
Drawing on data from 13 countries and nearly 1.8 million survey records, the report offers an unparalleled view of current data quality performance across research agencies, sample suppliers, countries, and study types. The findings provide organizations with a valuable resource for measuring performance against industry norms, identifying opportunities for improvement, and tracking progress over time.
As the insights industry continues to evolve, high-quality data remains the foundation of trustworthy research and informed decision-making. The GDQ benchmarks provide a consistent framework for evaluating and strengthening quality standards worldwide.
Key Findings from H1 2026
B2B research remains the most challenging environment for data quality globally.
B2B studies reported the highest combined pre-survey and in-survey respondent removal rates, along with exceptionally high post-survey cleanout rates, underscoring the importance of robust quality-control measures.
Research agencies reported higher respondent removal rates than sample suppliers.
Globally, agencies reported overall pre- and in-survey removal rates of 28.5%, compared with 21.2% among suppliers, driven largely by stronger in-survey fraud detection efforts and expanded reporting methodologies.
Incidence rate forecasting continues to improve.
The gap between sold and actual incidence rates narrowed at the global level compared with previous waves, indicating improved forecasting accuracy. However, healthcare patient and B2B audiences continue to present significant challenges.
Country-level benchmarking continues to expand.
Germany and France were added to the country-level benchmarking program, revealing meaningful market-level differences and highlighting notable quality-control patterns in Australia, Canada, and France that warrant further examination.
Link encryption remains an important opportunity area for the industry.
Reported adoption rates ranged from 46% to 50% globally. However, nearly half of all records lacked reporting on this metric, emphasizing the need for greater consistency in measurement and reporting practices.
Expanded Country-Level Reporting
In addition to the global report, country-specific benchmark reports are now available for:
- United Kingdom
- Japan
- Australia
- Canada
- Germany
- France
These reports provide localized benchmarking and deeper regional insights to help organizations better understand market-specific data quality trends and practices.
Looking Ahead
The GDQ Benchmarking Project will continue on a consistent six-month reporting cycle, with fixed data submission deadlines of April 15 and October 15 each year.
Organizations involved in data collection, sampling, research, and analytics are encouraged to participate in future waves and contribute to this collaborative effort to strengthen the quality, transparency, and trustworthiness of the global insights industry.
Together, the industry can continue raising the standard for data quality worldwide.