AI, Data Quality, and the Evolving Role of the Researcher: Key Takeaways from Quirk’s NYC 2025

Recently, some members of our North America team attended The Quirk’s Event in New York – one of the largest gatherings of research and marketing professionals in North America. Dan Attivissimo and Taylor Wray recap their thoughts and reflections from the event below.

Thinking about the many insightful discussions and presentations we engaged in at this event, we found ourselves constantly coming back to three overarching themes or takeaways, which we think are relevant for researchers and marketers working in all specialties and industries, today.

1. AI as a Research Partner

It was no surprise to us that AI was the single biggest topic or trend at Quirk’s NY this year, and we know its place at the center of “industry buzz” in B2B research will persist for many years to come. Thankfully, the conversation around AI has shifted from one that was initially simplistic and fatalistic (“How long until AI puts all of us researchers out of a job?”) to one that is now much more nuanced and pragmatic.

Rather than simply fearing or rejecting AI as an existential threat to the profession, research and marketing professionals are now rightly focusing on the more productive, but also more difficult, questions of how we should (and should not) be using AI to support and enhance our work. In short, the industry discussion around AI is no longer about replacing researchers; it’s about how researchers can leverage AI-driven tools and platforms to collectively “raise our game” across all phases of research, including:

• Research design – e.g., using AI to help draft and refine survey questions and response options

• Data collection / fieldwork – e.g., using AI to help flag and reject poor-quality or fraudulent responses, leveraging AI moderation platforms to conduct large-scale qualitative studies more efficiently, and exploring the potential role of synthetic data, “digital twin” respondents, and the like.

• Analysis and reporting – e.g., leveraging “AI analysts” to help review interview transcripts and identify themes or using “AI designers” to help create and refine data visualizations in reports

Of course, the use cases and applications for AI are continually and quickly evolving – but it was great to see the industry starting to embrace this evolution.

2. Heightened Focus On Data Quality

One of the greatest threats undermining the value of market research today is the proliferation and sophistication of fraudulent data. The sources of bad data are many, from individual panel members “gaming” their way into studies they are not qualified for to entire “bot farms” comprising hundreds or thousands of PCs, all working 24/7 to scam their way through online surveys at a massive scale.

At Quirk’s NY, we saw an industry rising to meet this existential challenge with a renewed, ramped-up focus on data quality. For some, this means shifting toward more custom-recruit and CATI (computer-assisted telephone interview) methodologies, as opposed to relying on less-verifiable online sample sources, alone. For others, this means embracing and applying new, sophisticated quality checking tools, including those with AI and machine learning capabilities, to review survey responses and automatically flag and reject bad data before it makes it way into a dataset.

For us, at B2B International, it means all of the above and more. In the world of B2B research, in particular, the need to verify and qualify each respondent carefully and to ensure they provide high-quality data is absolutely essential. We have always been, and will remain, obsessed with data quality in our work, and we are excited and encouraged to see many of our industry partners and peers adopting a similar paradigm. From our POV, the more our entire industry can ensure valid and high-quality data, the more value we as researchers will be able to deliver for projects and clients of all kinds.

3) Our Role As “Data Whisperers”

While it is easy at research events for us data geeks to get our heads too far into the weeds, focusing on the nuances of research methodologies, analytical approaches, or the latest tools and technologies we can use to conduct fieldwork, one great thing about the large client / brand presence at The Quirk’s Event is that it keeps us continuously grounded in the bigger picture, in terms of what our role as researchers really boils down to, from the client’s perspective. Put simply, we act as the “data whisperers.”

This means that our clients don’t necessarily need to know all the wonderful details about how well we designed the methodology or research instruments for their study; they don’t get much value from hearing about all the data quality measures we used to ensure a really valid and representative dataset for analysis; and many times, they don’t even really need to see all of the precise charts and tables we’ve included in the comprehensive PPT report we uploaded to their SharePoint site.

What clients really want is for us to visualize and explain the key facts and findings from our research, with a focus on telling them exactly what those learnings mean for them and what we think they should do next. Accomplishing this fundamental, yet far from simple, task is truly what enables us as researchers to extract maximum value from all the expertise, time, and effort that we put into completing each study and to deliver that value to our clients and stakeholders.

After all, at the end of the day, we are not doing “research for the sake of research.” We are doing research to solve problems and deliver answers that our clients can act on. So even as we focus on making improvements and driving innovations within our industry and profession, we must always keep in mind and strive to fulfill this fundamental role as “data whisperers” for our clients.

Overall, we came away inspired and invigorated by what we heard, saw, and discussed at The Quirk’s Event in NY, this year.

To discuss how our tailored insights programs can help solve your specific business challenges, get in touch and one of the team will be happy to help.