When deciding whether to use a mediator for a personal conflict, which factor is most important to potential clients? Convenience, Cost, Credentials, or Consumer Critiques?

Advancing Dispute Resolution posed this question to over 1,500 of your friends, neighbors, and co-workers across the U.S. Their response: 40% consider mediator credentials to be most important, while 31% choose to weigh costs first. Not terribly surprising overall, but supportive of the field's slow push toward increasing mediator credentialing and professionalization, including initiatives from such outfits as ACR, ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, and NAFCM.

As part of Advancing Dispute Resolution's commitment to sharing interesting insights with the field, we're making the entire report available for folks to peruse. Compare response variances by age, gender, income, and location: http://goo.gl/On4Xjp. Enjoy!