Having participated or directed hundreds of qualitative and quantitative research projects over the years, in dozens of industries and multiple countries, Ive seen the good, bad and downright ugliest of research endeavours. Here are 15 of the most common research mistakes. Ive omitted things such as bad survey design and poor moderating (obvious things which can wreck any piece of research) and focused solely on items that can result in inadequate or skewed findings which can lead to the development of ineffective, and even detrimental, business strategies.