Let's make the NRS a credible currency this time

N Shepherd-Smith

Fragmented media need focused research. One in a series of articles on media research currencies, this one looks at replication, an old distortion in readership studies, and suggests in which areas the methodology and contents of the National Readership Survey needs to be adapted.

Let's make the NRS a Credible Currency this Time

Neil Shepherd-Smith, media research consultant, explains why NRS readership measurement needs to be re-examined

As the future methodology of the National Readership Survey (NRS) is currently the subject of much discussion, this seems a good time to put forward some relevant thoughts. First, we should consider what a readership survey is for and what it is reasonable to expect from it. The NRS claims its objective is ‘ ... to provide the common currency of readership research data for newspapers and magazines’.

The provision of a currency

Any currency must...

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