What is statistical significance anyway? The core of our survey data analysis should be directed toward generating consumer insights that are both meaningful and actionable. In order to achieve this joint goal we have to keep our eye on significance, both statistical and managerial.Previously we...read more

I read a great article by Donna Fluss in CRM Magazine recently, Surveys Alone Are Not the Answer. What really hooked me was this statement: After years of analyzing exceptional service organizations, it's clear to me that the organizations that deliver great service do something that others...read more

Should we step to the right or step to the left? There are times when questionnaire design seems a bit like a dance step. Every researcher during his or her career has asked themselves if they should start a series of scaled questions with the high number (or most positive response) closest to the...read more

My recent posts have spoken to the concept of screening participants and letting them down gently if they do not qualify for the current study. To continue in that vein, this post looks at a specific screening question appropriate for B2B marketing research. In this arena researchers often need to...read more

As an organization, you should want to feel like more than just a building on a city block. Your company should be an integral, respected part of your city, your neighborhood, even your block, maintaining a two-way relationship with the locals that's about more than just providing jobs. Last fall we...read more

Incentives are common place in the market research industry. This is true for consumer and B2B marketing research. Often we, as survey providers, offer tokens of our appreciation ranging from branded items to gift cards (can we say Starbucks, please!) to charitable donations. Yet, incentives are not...read more

“Does anyone remember laughter?” said one Robert Plant in the immortal song Stairway to Heaven. Does laughter (once described as the "best medicine") have a place in survey research? Some might argue we should follow the route of the dismal science, but I heartedly disagree.As a construct humor has...read more

I had the pleasure of recently sitting in on a webinar hosted by the AMA and presented by Keith Chrzan, the Chief Research Officer at Maritz Research. Keith took a deep dive into the sometimes murky realm of customer satisfaction measurement. Improving customer satisfaction is a critical path to...read more

One could say there is a natural order to things. In survey research when we think of order we think of ordinal data. What differentiates this data type from nominal data is that we can leverage the respondent’s willingness to rank their choices. This takes the analytical options up a notch from...read more

All it takes is one trip to the mall during the holiday season for me to realize that my patience level has decreased substantially. I catch myself tapping my shoe, looking at my watch or, more recently, firing up a game of Words with Friends. I can see the front of the line but no matter how many...read more