A pet-peeve of mine is the market research industry phrase “actionable insights” which is now, in reality, mostly empty and meaningless. We are at the point where every research company, tool, and professional (even beyond those in our industry) has learned to refer to “actionable insights” as the fundamental currency of what research offers. Some…
Two recent events have me thinking about AI and the problem of plausibility in market research. First, a colleague narrated a story about the first market research company he worked for 20 years ago. The owner told him that research is always tentative and uncertain, and that all we really need to achieve in our…
A client had a surprising experience not long ago when a member of our multivariate analysis team showed up online to watch a live in-depth interview with a registered nurse about how prescribing decisions are made. “Who is that online with us?” the client inquired, not recognizing the name. The qualitative manager answered, “He’s on…
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…
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…
At a moment when our industry is scandalized by a panel provider having been indicted for selling fraudulent survey respondents, in comes another provider that is doing nearly the same thing with absolutely full disclosure. The catch? They are using AI to do it, and dressing it up with phrases like “contextually relevant” and “statistically…
There are three important characteristics of people who “satisfice” on surveys: They are less conscientious They are less agreeable They have different cognitive skills The first two refer to dimensions of the Big Five personality traits. Conscientious people are efficient and organized vs. extravagant or careless. Agreeable people are friendly and compassionate vs. critical and…
Today I saw my first “dumb election statistics” article of the season, with AP News offering this dramatically titled story: Kamala Harris’ election would defy history. Just 1 sitting VP has been elected president since 1836. We are bound to see tons of headlines and stories like this during the next several weeks. It brought…
Like most researchers who take data visualization seriously, I am not a fan of pie charts. But not too long ago I came across a pair of pie charts that display data in a striking and visually compelling way. Indeed, they tell a story with data better than other alternative types of charts. The story…
It might seem obvious that inattentive survey respondents should deleted from your data. Think again. Here’s why a “light touch” during data quality review is best.