Video: Why Research Takes So Long
Or better yet, we might say “Why GOOD Research Takes So Long.” Our answer (before you feel inspired by the video embedded below) is that good research is creative and thoughtful and takes a great deal of intellectual energy at several crucial points:
- It puzzles over multiple ways (including data sources and methods) to get novel answers
- It thinks “behind” what managers are asking to figure out better questions that have unknown answers
- It experiments with new techniques of data collection that might not be standardized
- It toys with data and investigates multiple approaches for analysis
- It turns data into stories that get revised and refined so that managers see the answers in ways that matter
All of this takes time. Good researchers can crank out quick and dirty research, gussied up with thousands of “actionable insight” buttons and bullet points. But what is the point of research if you get the same thing (and the same answers) over and over again?
This video was filmed by a marketing communications magazine to highlight the importance of time to the creative process. It applies just as well to the benefits of time when it comes to curiosity and puzzling over questions that good research can answer.
Many thanks to Susan Silver at Argentum Strategy Group for pointing us towards this video!
