Versta Research is a marketing research and public opinion polling firm that helps you answer critical questions with customized research and analytical expertise.
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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We have been experimenting with the idea and the process of using infographics for all our research studies at Versta. Infographics are not easy, because they require careful attention to the data, to the succinct story that the data tells, and to graphic design. But so far I have been struck by how compelling research…
The Associated Press (AP) announced last month it is moving all of its public opinion polling from phone surveys to online surveys. This is progress, because over the last decade AP has been one of a handful of media holdouts (along with ABC News and The New York Times) who have insisted that only phone-based…
The purists in the polling industry who have always insisted that only probability sampling is valid may finally be accepting that their methods are dead. This is one happy conclusion I draw from the debate over AAPOR’s recent task force report on non-probability sampling, which is nicely summarized (and debated) as the lead article of…
There was a recent online discussion among colleagues who are active in the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) about experiences with and recommendations for survey analysis and statistics software. Many noted that traditional commercial software is getting extremely expensive, but that newer options do not always have the same capabilities that many of…
This picture sits on my bookshelf, right next to my computer monitor, and reminds me all day long about the importance of getting close to your data. It was one of my first research jobs out of college, working for Tom Greene at St. Lawrence University. We hiked up mountains in the Adirondacks, waited at…
Last week I attended the Corporate Researchers Conference (CRC) in Dallas, organized by the Marketing Research Association (MRA). It was an outstanding event. I had considered having Versta exhibit at this conference, but I’m glad I did not. Why? Because instead of being in a booth talking about Versta, I did the opposite. I went…
Does this sound familiar? I hope not, and I am happy to report that I have never encountered a business manager or senior executive who would say that research is stupid. Instead they might use words like ineffective, off-target, expensive, irrelevant, over-complicated, unhelpful, and so on. Indeed, there is a lot of research that is…
The use of mobile devices has reached the critical point where designing mobile-friendly surveys is no longer optional. Whether we want it or not, many respondents are trying to complete our surveys on such devices, and if we fail to optimize our designs with that in mind, we will probably miss a big chunk of…
The next time you field an online survey, take a look at the metadata, which will tell you the operating systems respondents are using and the devices on which they are completing the survey. You may be surprised. In our most recent general population survey, which included adults in a two-county region of a “non-tech”…
If our last newsletter convinced you there are insights to be found in academic journals, we hope our fall newsletter will convince you of another source: Henry Brockman, organic farmer friend extraordinaire and keen observer of consumer behavior. During market season, I volunteer for and work alongside Henry at the Evanston Farmer’s Market. Here are…