--- title: What Makes a Survey for Litigation Successful? description: Survey expert Jacqueline Chorn discusses important factors to consider when designing surveys for litigation. --- #### [![ams-litigation-new-logo](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/hubfs/ams-litigation-new-logo.svg)](https://ams-litigation.com) - [Home](https://ams-litigation.com/) - [Services](https://ams-litigation.com/services/) - [Trademark Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/trademark-surveys/) - [Likelihood of Confusion](https://ams-litigation.com/services/trademark-surveys/likelihood-of-confusion/) - [Dilution](https://ams-litigation.com/services/trademark-surveys/dilution/) - [Secondary Meaning](https://ams-litigation.com/services/trademark-surveys/secondary-meaning/) - [Genericness](https://ams-litigation.com/services/trademark-surveys/genericness/) - [Deceptive Advertising Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/deceptive-advertising-surveys/) - [Class Action Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/class-action-surveys/) - [Claim Substantiation Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/claim-substantiation-surveys/) - [Patent Infringement Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/patent-infringement-surveys/) - [Content Analysis](https://ams-litigation.com/services/content-analysis/) - [Antitrust Surveys](https://ams-litigation.com/services/antitrust-surveys/) - [Rebuttal Surveys and Reports](https://ams-litigation.com/services/rebuttals/) - Experts and Staff - [Survey Experts](https://ams-litigation.com/survey-experts/) - [Staff](https://ams-litigation.com/staff/) - Knowledge Center - [Case Studies](https://ams-litigation.com/case-studies/) - [Webinars](https://ams-litigation.com/webinars/) - [FAQ](https://ams-litigation.com/faq/) - [Resource](https://ams-litigation.com/resource-guides/) - [Blog](https://ams-litigation.com/blog/) - Join Us - [Why Work at AMS](https://www.ams-inc.com/why-work-at-ams/) - [Roles and Career Paths](https://www.ams-inc.com/roles-and-career-paths/) - [Contact Us](https://ams-litigation.com/contact-us/) ![banner Image](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/hubfs/AMS-Dec2017/Images/banner%201.jpg) - [Home](https://ams-litigation.com/) - » - [Blog](https://blog.ams-litigation.com) - » - What Makes a Survey for Litigation Successful? # What Makes a Survey for Litigation Successful? Surveys have become a routine form of evidence for courts in cases involving trademarks and deceptive advertising. Although it may appear simple to design a survey (don’t you simply write some questions and have consumers answer them?), surveys for litigation require specialized expertise. Probative surveys for litigation will be carefully tailored to test the legal concepts at issue whether it be likelihood of confusion, secondary meaning, genericism, deception, fame, deceptive advertising, or class action. Regardless of the legal issue being addressed, surveys used in litigation must adhere to valid and reliable scientific standards because they are subject to critique from both judges, who have the responsibility to keep “junk science” out of the courtroom, and rebuttal experts whose job is to look for and identify flaws. Hiring a survey expert that specializes in surveys for litigation will ensure that your survey is carefully designed and executed and that the resulting data have been analyzed using appropriate techniques. Below are few considerations that survey experts must carefully weigh when designing a survey for litigation. **Defining the relevant universe: Asking the right people** A critical consideration when designing a survey for litigation is the definition of the survey universe or population. It is important to survey those whose perceptions and state of mind are relevant to the issues in the case. Furthermore, universe definitions may vary based on the legal issue being addressed in the case. For example, the relevant universe for measuring fame varies from the relevant universe for measuring secondary meaning. In fact, the relevant universe may vary substantially depending on whether a survey is testing forward confusion or reverse confusion. Even figuring out whose perceptions and state of mind are relevant may require careful consideration in some circumstances. Consider, for example, a scenario when the person who ultimately pays for a home improvement item, such as a new kitchen sink, is the homeowner and end user, but the actual purchaser is the home decorator who specified, selected, and physically purchased the sink. Whose state of the mind is most relevant: the homeowner or the decorator? This choice of universe may very well determine whether the survey is criticized and afforded little weight, or worse, deemed inadmissible. **The survey: Asking the right questions** Careful consideration must also be given to crafting survey questions. Like universe, which questions are appropriate will vary depending on the legal issue being addressed in the case. Every word in a survey has the potential to influence how a respondent interprets and responds to the question. As such, it is imperative that nonessential information be omitted and that careful consideration be given to each word to minimize any possible bias. For more information on what makes a survey for litigation successful, watch our webinar on demand presented by Applied Marketing Science's survey experts and researchers.  [![WATCH NOW](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/3936175/3306f5da-2262-438b-9327-df3bf911578c.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/3936175/3306f5da-2262-438b-9327-df3bf911578c) [Trademark](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/trademark) Share this: Previous Next ### SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG ### Categories - [Trademark (59)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/trademark) - [News (28)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/news) - [Conference (23)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/conference) - [Conjoint Analysis (20)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/conjoint-analysis) - [Deceptive Advertising (18)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/deceptive-advertising) - [False Advertising (18)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/false-advertising) - [Likelihood of Confusion (17)](https://blog.ams-litigation.com/tag/likelihood-of-confusion) ### Applied Marketing Science Founded in 1989 with roots in the MIT Sloan School of Management, Applied Marketing Science is a market research and consulting firm with an established practice focused on consumer surveys for litigation. ### Join Our Mailing List By submitting your information you agree to receive electronic communications from AMS. You may unsubscribe at any time. ### Recent Posts ### Contact Us Applied Marketing Science 78 Blanchard Road, Suite 203 Burlington MA 01803   Phone: [781.250.6300](callto://17812506300) Email: [litigation@ams-inc.com](mailto:litigation@ams-inc.com) [AMS Corporate Site](http://www.ams-inc.com) ©2023 Applied Marketing Science, Inc. | [Sitemap](https://ams-litigation.com/sitemap_index.xml) | [Terms of Use](https://ams-litigation.com/terms-of-use/) | [Privacy Policy](https://ams-litigation.com/privacy-policy) - - ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "ams-legal", "url" : "https://blog.ams-litigation.com/author/ams-legal" }, "dateModified" : "2022-11-21T17:58:29.918Z", "datePublished" : "2019-04-02T11:51:46.000Z", "headline" : "What Makes a Survey for Litigation Successful?", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.ams-litigation.com/what-makes-litigation-survey-successful", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.ams-litigation.com/hubfs/Applied-Marketing-Science-Litigation-Survey-Experts-2.jpg" }, "name" : "Applied Marketing Science" } } ```