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Tag Archives: research

Here’s One Research Vendor to Avoid

Here’s One Research Vendor to Avoid

Resources and Recommendations, Topics in MarketingBy Joe HopperNovember 14, 2018

I never speak ill of competitors. In fact, I like them and value them. Whenever I am able to partner with them, I learn a great deal, and they make my work better. So this article might seem like a departure, except I’m not sure if this company is a competitor. I will refrain from…

Help Save the Census Today

Help Save the Census Today

Future Trends, Topics in MarketingBy Joe HopperJuly 12, 2017

It’s the week after Independence Day. You’re doing your best to re-focus on work after the holiday break. If only it could have lasted a few days longer! I can’t bring you a few more days vacation, but I can offer this suggestion for making the holiday last just a wee bit longer: Bring some…

Lousy NYT Survey Makes Researcher Cringe

Lousy NYT Survey Makes Researcher Cringe

Public Polling, Sampling, Survey DesignBy Joe HopperJuly 5, 2017

Bad surveys bug me. Bad surveys touted in The New York Times bug me even more, as I expect only the best from them. Bad surveys on the front page of The New York Times with ridiculous and sensationalist findings bug me so much that they inspire blog posts. A front page article on July…

Does Starting with a Story Bias Your Findings?

Does Starting with a Story Bias Your Findings?

Data Analysis & Analytics, Public Relations, Survey Design, Turning Data into StoriesBy Joe HopperJune 21, 2017

Two audience members at our LIMRA talk (see Public Studies: Advice for the PR Team and Advice for the Research Team) asked questions about biased research findings. Doesn’t starting with the research story and writing dream headlines lead you down a path of finding or confirming what your internal client wants to hear? I suppose…

PR Studies: Advice for the Research Team

PR Studies: Advice for the Research Team

Public Polling, Public Relations, Survey Design, Survey Tips, Turning Data into StoriesBy Joe HopperJune 14, 2017

Research for PR is definitely not “research lite” as my former boss used to think. It is the opposite, and requires more attention to rigor than strategic research. Why? Because no other research gets such intense scrutiny from people outside our firm and from audiences beyond our clients. It can’t be “directional.” It has to…

Public Release Studies: Advice for the PR Team

Public Release Studies: Advice for the PR Team

Public Relations, Turning Data into StoriesBy Joe HopperJune 7, 2017

Just back from LIMRA’s 2017 Marketing and Research Conference, I am happy to report a successful and productive “meeting of the minds” from both the Marketing Side and the Research Side of this uniquely blended gathering of financial services professionals. No matter what some may say, research is not part and parcel of marketing. Nor…

Survey Says … Trump Won? Research Lessons from the Polling Mess.

Survey Says … Trump Won? Research Lessons from the Polling Mess.

Methods & Tools, Public PollingBy Joe HopperJanuary 25, 2017

I have been surprised by the number of people—including friends and even veteran researchers within the market research industry—who believe that the outcome of the 2016 presidential election proved once and for all that surveys and polling do not work. Why am I surprised? Because it is simply not true. In the Versta Research Winter…

How to Fix the “Up Means Good” Survey Bias

How to Fix the “Up Means Good” Survey Bias

Data Collection, Survey TipsBy Joe HopperSeptember 14, 2016

There is an important directional bias in our culture such that things above tend to be perceived as better than things below. Top is better than bottom. Up is better than down. Over is better than under. Whatever the reasons for this bias (and there are several compelling theories) recent research shows that it affects…

A Quick Puzzle for Market Research Brains

A Quick Puzzle for Market Research Brains

Best of Blog, Data Analysis & AnalyticsBy Joe HopperOctober 21, 2015

We have just published the Versta Research Fall 2015 Newsletter, offering an interactive puzzle to test your analytical skills as a research brain. It is based on a fascinating study published half a century ago in The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. When I first encountered the puzzle it stuck in my mind for quite…

Defending Your Statistics in Court

Defending Your Statistics in Court

Data Analysis & Analytics, Presenting Research, Public Polling, Resources and RecommendationsBy Joe HopperSeptember 2, 2015

There is nothing worse than presenting research findings to an audience predisposed to hate it. Maybe you’ve had that experience of being in a boardroom of hostile managers? They don’t like what you’re about to say, so they pick at every methodological decision, shifting focus away from the story that the data have to tell.…

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