I pulled this list of six books on user research from a much larger list of recent books and articles compiled by a colleague in the research industry. These books offer valuable ideas for all types of market research because UX research has moved far away from just website usability. It now encompasses a broad…
A survey platform we have been using launched a new service promising an “expert review” of our surveys before we send them out for data collection. Unfortunately, it is a gimmick. It turns out that there are no experts reviewing our surveys. An artificial intelligence robot reviews them. It was interesting to see which best…
An unfortunate consequence of NPS (Net Promoter Score) mania is that now zillions of surveys stalk us everywhere. Therefore, the likelihood of any particular survey being completed is extremely low. That might be okay if you are a large company with hundreds of thousands of customers to burn through with e-mail blasts. But if you…
Believe it or not, some people do not find puppies irresistibly adorable, as our newest honorary member of the Versta Research team (pictured here) can tell you. Elio arrived a couple of weeks ago. He is 13 weeks old and truly over-the-top adorable. He mostly sleeps in a crate next to me as I work…
This week we published the Versta Research Summer Newsletter, which focuses on Turning Data Into Stories. Here is a preview of what’s inside to pique your curiosity. First, what do we mean by “Turning Data Into Stories?” We don’t mean creating little vignettes or personas around every finding. No narrative arcs or emotional connection points,…
As we celebrate the 4th of July in the U.S. this year, please make it an occasion to reflect on some of the fundamental values and public goods of our country that make market research possible. There is so much infrastructure that has been built before us. Not just road and railways, but also public…
Let’s suppose that customers want to be surveyed. What is the best way to do it? Should we call them, send email, use text messaging, push surveys through mobile apps, or send old-fashioned paper surveys through the mail? This is a question we rarely ask in market research, because for most survey research we desperately…
The best way for you to get better survey data is to fix, optimize, and strategize your survey design. How? Abandon rote templates. Give up complexity. Think ahead to your analysis. Above all, put yourself in the shoes of a respondent. We market researchers complain when we get data back from surveys and see that…
What if a survey asks you a question that implies a yes-no answer (“Have you ever …”) but then offers you answer options that are different from what it implied (“often, sometimes, rarely, never”)? New research tells us that it depends on how the survey is administered. If the survey is online or on paper,…
Here is the e-mail subject line to a request I just received from a research company asking me to take a survey: Your Help Is Key to Our Success. I find it hilarious that somebody thinks this is an enticing subject line, as if I care deeply about their success. They really want me to…