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…
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…
Whenever we’re involved in global research work, issues of cross-cultural communication are top-of-mind. Whether we rely on translations, or whether we speak the same language as our clients and respondents, it is important for researchers to understand differences in how people think and respond to research questions because data is always context sensitive. For example,…
Asking people to fill out long, tiresome, and boring surveys is a scourge of the research, polling, and survey industry. (Another is asking them to fill out a survey every time they interact with you — see There Are Too Many Surveys.) Asking people to fill out long surveys teaches them to avoid surveys in…
It should be straightforward to ask someone a simple factual question and receive a reliable answer. Questions like: “Do you have children?” “Do you attend church every week?” or “Do you own a bank account?” seem easy and clear-cut. However, the moment we begin drafting even these seemingly straightforward survey questions, we quickly uncover ambiguity…
When multiple surveys about the same topic give different results, consider yourself lucky. It provides an opportunity to dissect and understand the question you are trying to answer in a way you might not get otherwise. A New York Times article from several years ago provides a nice example when it comes to polls about…
Nearly every survey begins with screening questions to ensure that only the people you are trying to reach are included in the survey. For example, if you are conducting a survey of women, you need to ask about gender and kick out the men. And because every question costs money, you want to qualify respondents…
Market researchers complain a lot when they get data back from surveys and see that people have been “speeding” through their surveys or that people are not giving thoughtful responses. Putting aside the issue of fraud (which is a huge problem in our industry) the problem is rarely “bad respondents” – instead the problem is…
Summer is the perfect time for professional development and training in market research methods because short course offerings in survey and questionnaire design are plentiful.
Here is a brief summary of the Versta Research Spring 2023 Newsletter, which outlines five research lessons that have transformed marketing research during the pandemic years.