RESEARCH PROJECT MANAGER · SUPPLIER SELECTION
How to compare
market research proposals.
Use the same requirement list for every supplier. Check the actual commitments before comparing headline prices, then ask each supplier to resolve the gaps.
Compare your brief and offers →The short answer
Upload the brief and supplier proposals as PDF, DOCX or PPTX, then inspect the extracted text. Turn the brief into individually checkable requirements. For every offer, mark each requirement as explicitly covered, partly covered, not stated or contradicted. Keep the exact source wording next to the assessment. A cheaper quote for a smaller sample or a lighter deliverable is a different scope, not a like-for-like price advantage.
What to compare
| Area | Check in every offer | A useful supplier question |
|---|---|---|
| Sample | Completed interviews, markets, eligibility and exclusions. Distinguish invitations from completes. | Does this fee cover the full number of eligible completed interviews? |
| Quotas | Every requested quota, its base and whether cells are interlocked or independent. | Can you confirm each age quota and how you will handle hard-to-fill cells? |
| Method | Mode, questionnaire length, concept exposure and randomization, where explicitly required. | Is the quoted fieldwork based on the questionnaire length in the brief? |
| Fieldwork | Actual completion date, soft launch and dependencies such as final questionnaire approval. | What needs to be approved, and by when, to meet our deadline? |
| Outputs | Report language, format, data files, tables, codebook and revisions actually requested. | Does the data delivery include the requested SPSS file, rather than Excel only? |
| Cost | Currency, net/gross basis, incentives, programming and separately priced options. | Which requested items are outside the total fee? |
Worked example: the lower price hides a different scope
Suppose your brief requests 600 completed interviews, fieldwork finished by 15 November, an English presentation and an anonymized SPSS file. Your ceiling is PLN 24,000 net.
A fictional supplier offers 500 interviews for PLN 22,000 net, completion by 20 November, an English presentation and an Excel file. The price is below your ceiling, but three explicit requirements conflict: sample size, deadline and data format. The lower total does not establish better value.
A useful follow-up is: “Please revise the quote to cover 600 completed interviews, completion by 15 November and the anonymized SPSS deliverable. Show the revised all-inclusive net fee and any conditions needed to meet the date.”
Do not fill the silence with assumptions
“Full-service research” does not explicitly promise a particular quota, file type or revision allowance. Mark silent items as not stated, then ask. Conversely, do not invent a client requirement because it is good practice. A quota absent from both the brief and the quote is an open design question, not automatically a supplier omission.
Keep the checklist stable when the quote changes
- Extract and review the requirement list once.
- Compare all offers against that same list.
- Send each supplier only the points they need to clarify.
- When an updated proposal arrives, keep the requirement IDs and recheck the changes.
- Record the final agreed scope before approval.
Research Quote Check accepts documents or pasted text and follows this workflow, checks that displayed quotations occur in the documents, and exports a comparison CSV or a reusable workspace. AI interpretation and completeness still need your review.
Try the free quote checker · Calculate sample quota counts
Common questions
Can I compare suppliers using cost per interview?
Only after checking that the sample definition, interview length and included work are comparable. Dividing the total fee by completes can mix fieldwork with reporting and setup costs. If those parts differ, ask for a comparable scope or a cost breakdown.
Can AI make the supplier decision?
It can help structure a comparison and surface questions. It does not establish recruitment quality, feasibility or supplier reliability. Use the report as a review aid, alongside relevant supplier evidence and your team's judgment.