KNOWLEDGE NETWORKS ADVOCATES TRANSPARENCY, COMMITMENT TO INTERNET RESEARCH "BASICS" IN NEW PUBLICATIONS

Decision Maker's Guide to Online Research™ now in third edition; "Toolkit" collects key articles, white papers for judging quality

Menlo Park, CA; November 20, 2007: Advocating a "back to basics" approach to online research methods and practices, Knowledge Networks (KN) has just published two free resources for assessing quality in Internet surveys: the 2007 edition of The Decision Maker's Guide to Online Research™, and "The Decision Maker's Toolkit for Evaluating Online Panels & Research™," a collection of essential articles, white papers, and other documents.

To order one or both, go to www.knowledgenetworks.com/quality; or contact know@knowledgenetworks.com.

"Our commitment to being a source of clarity and real insight on research quality is core to the KN identity," said Simon Kooyman, CEO of Knowledge Networks. "Our publication program, ongoing research on research, and contributions to industry efforts represent a key element of our work. If the industry focuses on the basic tenets of good research design and execution, clients and suppliers will be able to work together to support smart decisions and avoid disappointments."

The Decision Maker's Guide to Online Research™ (available as a PDF or in print) is now in its third edition, summarizing the important issues and developments in online research of the past year and providing guidance for making decisions about which types of data can support different conclusions and decisions. KN enumerates seven fundamentals, or "basics" – including transparency, adherence to statistical principles, and relevance – that suppliers and clients should take into consideration when assessing online studies. The past year has seen a remarkable growth in attention to online research quality in the commercial sector, with a variety of conferences and committees being devoted to the topic.

"The Decision Maker's Toolkit for Evaluating Online Panels & Research™" (available as a ZIP download or on CD-ROM) collects more than 20 articles from Knowledge Networks and other sources (including IMRO and ESOMAR) that provide insight and guidance on making decisions about online research. This first edition of the "Toolkit" includes:

• complete articles on various aspects of research accuracy
• reports from new academic research-on-research
• reference documents from IMRO/MRA and ESOMAR
• an interview with Kathleen Frankovic, Director of Surveys for CBS News
• a video conversation with Simon Kooyman about issues in research accuracy

Knowledge Networks specializes in solving complex, high-impact problems, providing extraordinary quality and service to leaders in business, government and academia. We work closely with clients to create healthy consumer-brand connections, effective marketing and advertising, sound public policies, and accurate social science research. We have established respected practices in media, marketing, advertising, and government & academic studies. KN excels in study design, analytics, and custom panel creation; we deliver affordable, statistically valid online research through KnowledgePanel® – the only available probability selected, nationally representative Internet panel.