1. Always question what they say There’s a saying among researchers, ‘Do a quant survey with 100 people and learn ten things. Do a qual study with ten people and learn 100 things.’ You will learn when research is only providing you a false sense of security.
2. How to be a better consumer of research results If these insights were rabbits, how do stakeholders know which insights (rabbits) are worth chasing? What leads to the best business and design opportunities?
3. Get the best value from a qualitative and quantitative study In this Masterclass, we will be going over which methodology to apply to a research question. We will discuss how to weigh appropriately, act upon, or be critical of the resulting research findings.
4. Tools to help you Know when research is only providing you a false sense of security. Be a better consumer of research results.
5. And many more strategies Learn how to catch the best rabbits!
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OPTION 01
OPTION 01
OPTION 01
OPTION 01
OPTION 01
Challenges
Alignment
Knowns
Clarity
Expectations Set expectations early. What are the
objectives and anticipated outcomes?
Prepare to have your assumptions
challenged without generating animosity.
What format will the report be delivered?
Slide deck, comic book, video clips,
podcast?
Make time to align the team on the goals,
project requirements, and insight
interpretation.
What is already known about the subject?
There’s little use in confirming what is
already established as fact.
Research Quality is a Process
Not a single event or deliverable
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Different Standards of Quality
Don’t assess using the same criteria
Qualitative Quantitative
Answers “Why”
Questions
Answers “How Much”
Questions
Qual and quant are fundamentally different and should not be
expected to provide the same kinds of data.
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The researcher communicates competency and
expertise, and their resume denotes the same.
Experience
The research was conducted with people who
specifically match the target criteria.
Intentional recruiting/sampling
The questions are thoughtful and non-leading. Broad
for qual and specific for quant.
Smart questions
The researcher involved the team at every stage of
the research process. No surprises.
Transparency
Photo by Tj Holowaychuk on Unsplash
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It’s easy to take the data at
face value or interpret it
through your own lens of
experience in a way that
may not be true.
Misinterpretation
You can only ask about
what you already know.
There’s little opportunity
for surprises or novelty.
Limits New Learning
AI is still a new technology.
It is often wrong and fails
to detect nuance.
AI is New/Inaccurate
Surveys can only assess
what is currently happening.
To see upcoming
opportunities and challenges
it pays to talk to people.
Lagging Indicator
Limitations of Quant Research
It’s all about the numbers
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Soft Results
You don’t get the
perceived benefit
of numbers to
show size and
scope of insights.
Time Consuming
Needs weeks or
more to
synthesize results,
while surveys only
needs days.
Limited Certainty
Are you only
seeing part of the
picture or
overemphasize
edge instances?
Difficult to Repeat
A lot of qual factors
are dependent on
context.
Limitations of Qual Research
It’s all about what they say
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Workshop the
research insights
• Ask the researcher to workshop the insights
with the team.
• Invite all of the major stakeholders to attend.
• Budget 2+ hours of time for presentation
delivery, discussion, and collaborative
activities.
• Ask “How might we…” questions based on the
findings of the research.
• Bring all of the solutions together and come to
a consensus on short term, medium, and long
term goals based on the workshop outcomes.
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Mixed Methods:
Qual then quant
• Qualitative research can yield a lot of
insights. How do you prioritize the
findings?
• Pick your most promising findings and
commission a survey of your customers or
the general population to which are
experienced by the most people.
• Qualitatively concept test potential
solutions to the issue and see what
resonates the strongest with the target
population.
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Mixed Methods:
Quant then qual
• You did a survey and found out a lot of
your customers experience X, or your
analytics team is noticing an odd customer
behaviour.
• Do a qualitative study with the target
population to find out why X is happening.
• Qualitatively concept test potential
solutions to the problem or do another
survey to further narrow the options.
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Options Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4 Total Score
A 1 2 (x2) 3 4 (x5) 28
B 2 3 (x2) 4 5 (x5) 37
C 3 4 (x2) 5 0 (x5) 16
D 4 5 (x2) 0 1 (x5) 19
E 5 0 (x2) 1 2 (x5) 16
F 0 1 (x2) 2 3 (x5) 19
G 1 2 (x2) 3 4 (x5) 28
Decision Matrix Analysis
Your great subtitle in this line
• Assign a score of 0 (poor) to 5 (excellent) to each option for each factor.
• Multiply the score by the relative importance of each factor. 1 (not important) to 5 (very important).
• Add up the scores for each option and the one with the most points wins.
MindTools
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CREATE THRESHOLD
DIMENSIONS
What factors matter up
to a point? What is that
point?
ESTABLISH TRADE
BUDGETS
What is the
relationship/value
between factors?
IGNORE
DIMENSIONS
Eliminate factors
that do not
matter.
Simplify the Decision
It’s easy to get stuck in the weeds of
complex decisions. How do you pull out
the weeds?
• Get rid of factors that don’t matter or are
similar across options.
• What are the table stakes? What has to
present to be worth pursuing?
• What factors are you willing to have less
of so you can have more of something
else?
Rushabh Doshi, The Startup
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Get the facts
Step 2
Make a decision
and test it
Step 4
Recognize an
ethical issue
Step 1
Evaluate
alternative actions
Step 3
Act and reflect
on the outcome
Step 5
Ethical Decision Framework
Profit should not be the only motive
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics