Market Research
11/15/17
Breaking down the wall between quant and qual
Recently we had a project involving a large survey with numerous open-end questions. Taking the divide and conquer approach, it was all hands-on deck to quickly code the thousands of responses. As a qualitative researcher, coding survey responses can feel like a foreign process and I often found myself overthinking both my codes and the […]
By Molly HaganRead More
11/5/17
The Four Cornerstones of Survey Measurement: Part 2
Part Two: Reliability and Validity The first blog in this series argued that precision, accuracy, reliability, and validity are key indicators of good survey measurement. It described precision and accuracy and how the researcher aims to balance the two based on the research goals and desired outcome. This second blog will explore reliability and validity. […]
By Matt BruceRead More
11/3/17
Keeping it constant: 3 things to keep in mind with your trackers
When conducting a program evaluation or customer tracker (e.g., brand, satisfaction, etc.), we are often collecting input at two different points in time and then measuring the difference. While the concept is straightforward, the challenge is keeping everything as consistent as possible so we can say that the actual change is NOT a result of […]
By David KennedyRead More
10/30/17
The Four Cornerstones of Survey Measurement: Part 1
Part One: Precision and Accuracy Years ago, I worked in an environmental lab where I measured the amount of silt in water samples by forcing the water through a filter, drying the filters in an oven, then weighing the filters on a calibrated scale. I followed very specific procedures to ensure the results were precise, […]
By Matt BruceRead More
10/2/17
Human Experience (HX) Research
About a year ago, I stumbled upon a TEDx Talk by Tricia Wang titled “The Human Insights Missing from Big Data”. She eloquently unfurls a story about her experience working at Nokia around the time smartphones were becoming a formidable emergent market. Over the course of several months, Tricia Wang conducted ethnographic research with around […]
By Molly HaganRead More
9/22/17
When Data Collection Changes the Experience
One of the ongoing issues in any research that involves people is whether the data collection process is changing the respondents’ experience. That is, sometimes when you measure an attitude or a behavior, you may inadvertently change the attitude or behavior. For example, asking questions in a certain way may change how people would have […]
By Kate DarwentRead More
9/18/17
Feeding your market’s desire to participate in surveys
I got an online survey the other day from a public organization, and they wanted to know … something. It doesn’t really matter for the purposes of this post. I like to participate in surveys for a variety of reasons. First, I’m naturally curious about what’s being asked, and why. Maybe I can learn something. […]
By Kevin RainesRead More
8/31/17
Tuft & Needle: Incredible Mattresses. Incredible research?
If you have ever received a proposal from Corona Insights regarding customer research, you may have seen this line: “We believe that surveying customers shouldn’t lower customer satisfaction.” We take the respondent’s experience into account, from the development of our approach through the implementation of the research (e.g., survey design, participant invites, etc.), even in […]
By David KennedyRead More
8/29/17
Based on my experience…
Born from a conversation I had with a coworker earlier this week, I wanted to talk about research methodology and design and how a client relying solely on what they know – their own experience and expertise – might result in subpar research. Quantitative and qualitative methods have different strengths and weaknesses, many of which […]
By Greg HornbackRead More
8/21/17
Phenomenology: One way to Understand the Lived Experience
How do workers experience returning to work after an on-the-job injury? How does a single-mother experience taking her child to the doctor? What is a tourist’s experience on his first visit to Colorado? These research questions could all be answered by phenomenology, a research approach that describes the lived experience. While not a specific method […]
By Matt BruceRead More