How Nate Silver did it
By Michael Lieberman
During the 2012 election, Nate Silver drew fire for his projections. Joe Scarborough, the conservative host of Morning Joe on MSNBC, attacked Silver during the election and Politico.com called him a "one-term" celebrity, saying, "For all the confidence Silver puts in his predictions, he often gives the impression of hedging." (Later, Silver replied that Politico covers politics like sports but "not in an intelligent way at all.") But in the end, Silver beat them all. (And Scarborough eventually apologized, sort of, acknowledging that Silver did get it right.) Read on... |
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10 tips for conducting better product research with clinicians
By Joe Kalinowski
So maybe you're the second coming of Steve Jobs. You know what consumers will need, even though they don't know they'll need it. However, that approach to new-product definition is very rarely successful. In fact, Jobs is now known to have done extensive market research with consumers before going to market. Likewise, you need to somehow discover what consumers want (i.e., what will sell).
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Built well to work well
By Michael J. Britten
The January issue of Quirk's features a focus on mystery shopping. From our archives, this article discusses why the various groups within a company that will be using a mystery shopping program must agree on many things at the outset, such as what the program will measure, how the information will be used and how the program will be organized.
The value of mystery shopping as a management tool seems to be unquestionable. The increasing numbers of businesses that use internal or external shopping programs and the variety of businesses that utilize mystery shopping speak well to its value. However, value is dependent on program design. This article supports the proposition that mystery shopping can provide both operational and strategic data if designed to do so. Without forethought and careful planning, mystery shopping will be a step or two short of reaching its potential as a value-added business tool.
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Share your opinions about market research software and technology for the Confirmit 2012 Technology Survey, carried out by meaning ltd. This annual study has been providing benchmark and trend data for the research industry since 2004. As in previous years, Quirk's will be covering findings from the survey later in the year.
The survey is open to all involved in technology or technology-related decisions within research companies in the U.S. and around the world. It takes about 15 minutes to complete.
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Research War Stories: 'In what state do you practice?'
Tara J. Abrams recalls mail studies she used to conduct in the pharmaceutical field, where physicians were asked, "In what state do you practice?" Some of the write-in answers were: "Denial," "Confusion" and "Psychosis."
Read on...
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Enter to win: Quirk's monthly contest
This month's prize is free market research training - up to a value of $779 - from Research Rockstar. Choose from over 15 topics,
including data analysis, project management, market
segmentation, customer satisfaction research, social media and more! All brought to you by Research Rockstar -
market research training ... amped up!
For more information visit
www.researchrockstar.com.
Enter now or send an e-mail to contest@quirks.com with your complete contact information. Please include "Research Rockstar Contest" in the subject line. Deadline to enter is January 31, 2013. The winner will be selected at random and announced in the March issue of Quirk's.
To become a future contest sponsor contact Evan Tweed at 651-379-6200.
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Latest market research
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Featured white paper
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THE RESEARCH PATH TO UNCOVERING CONSUMERS' DEEPER THOUGHTS
How viewing consumers' purchase process through the lens of cognitive theory leads to richer qualitative insight.
Download this free white paper from iModerate!
Download now!
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| Coming in February... | 
Creative ethnography helps small nutrition-bar start-up find its path
Dads are a rising consumer force ignored by most brands
Are we ready to become scientists?
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