I believe you need a balance of both types of data to accurately put your case. I don't feel that it is enough to state 80% of people surveyed agreed, without commenting on the environment and any other opinions given at the time of the survey or questionnaire. It is far better to give a wider picture of the situation, so that the reader of a report can understand the context in which the report was written.
Information like this can lend more credibility to a report in my opinion.
I agree, giving the statistics of the research results does not clarify the entire situation. It depends on how the research was gathered, the situation/ environment the participants were put into to gain the results.
ReplyDeleteA good example of this would be beauty products adverts. At the bottom of the screen there is always a statement saying "90% of Women agreed that this product worked for them" But no other information is given as to how many participants were involved or how the study was undertaken. The makes the statement less credible and it is misleading.