Quantitative Research
8/30/10
External forces impacting research
When you conduct a singular research study you’re measuring a snapshot of attitudes, awareness, and actions. However, research doesn’t happen in a vacuum and it is important to remember how outside factors may be impacting your results (yes, control groups can help, but if the external force is great enough, it will be tough to […]
By David KennedyRead More
5/4/10
Asking questions in a vacuum
Think polls make things a little too simple sometimes? Ever wonder why reality didn’t measure up to expectations (that came from a poll or survey question)? The Economist summed it up nicely in an article from last week’s edition. When asked whether they supported a variety of issues, most people showed strong support. However, when […]
By David KennedyRead More
4/5/10
Opt-in panels vs. probability samples
At Corona Insights we never use opt-in panels for online survey research. (Opt-in panels are those where the members have sought out the panel and signed up to take surveys, usually in order to earn cash or rewards.) Many opt-in panels exist and they are widely used in some circles of market research (primarily because […]
By Beth MulliganRead More
2/4/10
2010: The Year of the Census
In China it may be the Year of the Tiger, but in the U.S. it is the year of the Census. It’s like an Olympics for marketers only it happens once every 10 years. And its effects are far reaching — from government needs (distribution of congressional seats, federal funding, etc.) to consumer goods (where […]
By David KennedyRead More
1/28/10
Drawing conclusions from Amazon Kindle’s customer reviews
While we haven’t always agreed with Seth Godin in the past, in this case we think he’s spot on. In a recent post, he comments on a misleading NY Times post on the Kindle’s declining satisfaction. In summary, he noted… People can provide reviews even without owning the device Only people who are passionate (positive […]
By David KennedyRead More
11/29/09
Research gone wrong
When conducting surveys, I often say that the best survey is one where 80 percent of the figures match your guess and 20 percent of the figures surprise you. Why? Well, you hope to learn something new, hence the 20 percent. But you also hope that a good proportion of the survey matches your view […]
By Kevin RainesRead More
10/25/09
Representative sampling
While working in a Boulder, CO coffee shop, this post reminded me of the importance of making sure your sample is representative of whomever it is you want to learn more about. Looking around, it would seem like Mac has a very healthy market share (I’m one of the sole PC users here), but of […]
By David KennedyRead More
7/13/09
Avoid pie
… charts, that is. We’ve had some “debates” here at the office about the best types of graphs, charts, or other visual means of portraying data (Word clouds anyone?). We even had a few posts (here and here) last year when we disagreed with Seth Godin’s three laws of graphs. I was amused when I […]
By David KennedyRead More
4/27/09
How to rank – Four tips for smarter ranking questions
Have you ever taken a survey that asked you to rank a list? Maybe it was just a few items. Maybe it was many more. I was recently asked to rank a LONG list of attributes on a survey which quickly became an exercise in futility. When ranking nearly 20 items, can you really decipher […]
By David KennedyRead More
3/30/09
Timeliness of surveys
I was going through my mail last night and discovered a survey from the manufacturer of my car. Since survey research is a major part of my work, I figured it would be good Karma to take it. I happily started the survey and realized it was supposed to be about my most recent visit […]
By David KennedyRead More