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Explore industry trends, research methods, and tips for your own research projects in the Versta Research Blog. All opinions are our own, and some may change over time.
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Despite having been on the front lines of social research for so many years, interviewing respondents personally and eliciting data through surveys, I still feel somewhat surprised and disbelieving that people really want to participate in research. But they do. Sometimes eagerly. Almost always truthfully. Surely, my surprise stems from my own reluctance to fill…
Choosing an omnibus survey can be a simple approach to getting survey data, because it is usually inexpensive and fast, and involves asking just a few questions. But there is sometimes a downside to simplicity: You have just a few questions to get that nugget of data you’re hoping to use as a news hook…
We feel strongly that people who give us information through surveys, in-depth interviews, or focus group deserve a promise that this will never happen to them: Courtesy of WorkChronicles.com One of the tenets of rigorous market research is that respondent confidentiality is key. Why? Primarily because it benefits you as a client. To make smart…
We are strong advocates of using surveys for public relations outreach. Commissioning surveys that answer interesting questions to help drive news stories and other types of communication can build a credible foundation so that journalists and other audiences take note and listen. But we are not fans of silly surveys that rely on outlandish, sexy,…
At its core, data visualization is about using visual techniques as shortcuts to understanding patterns in data. You don’t need fancy tools or “data viz” subscriptions to do it. Tools available in common programs like Excel provide an excellent means for visualizing data. This can save you time and it can point you in the…
Does data displayed in charts and graphs, rather than tables, lead to better decisions? Not according to research published several years ago in the Journal of Marketing Research. The authors looked at various types of biases that creep into business managers’ decisions when based on data presented to them. They did this by conducting experiments…
Doing “statistics” strikes fear in the hearts of many, so how about if we talk about “algorithms” instead? It’s a safer word because most people in the worlds of business and market research never have to take (or fail) a course in algorithms. Algorithms are central to the work that we do in business and market…
One of our heroes at Versta Research is David Blackwell, a prominent statistician and mathematician who died at the age of 91 very soon after we opened our doors for business (sixteen years ago!) For many he is well known because he was the first African American to be elected to the National Academy of…
Clients tell us that one of the biggest challenges they face is writing great research reports. There is the overwhelming difficulty of turning data into stories — making sense of volumes of data without losing the big picture or the details. And there is the difficulty of truly communicating research so that it is heard,…
Telling a story with data is one part finding the right words, and one part finding a compelling visual way to present numbers. Good visualization of data conveys the “big picture” at a glance. At the same time, it includes details so that the audience understands and sees both the whole and the parts. Effective…