Category: General

In recent years, something has felt…off in the world of market research. Clients canceling studies left and right, or opting to keep them in house. Research departments going silent. Budgets shifting to other priorities. And AI has everyone in our industry shaken, stirred, and spinning in circles. At first glance, all this uncertainty and pull back may look like just another cycle — a temporary budget squeeze, a shift in client preferences, or perhaps an overreaction to new technology. We’ve weathered turmoil before. So, does that mean we should just hunker down until this too shall pass? We’re not so sure.

It’s an interesting moment in our industry, and market researchers seem to agree that we’re at a crossroads. Down one path, we see a potential (and, frankly, dystopian) future where artificial intelligence (AI) does all the work — from developing screeners and discussion guides to moderating and even simulating respondents to generating the reports — making humans obsolete. That’s a bleak road indeed, one that leads our industry away from meaningful, difference-making insight.

In a previous blog post, we explained the thinking behind our adoption of the “5 Whys” methodology in our own moderating approach — asking respondents “why” five times to reveal hidden responses that yield deeper insights. This got us thinking: could we apply this same methodology to a challenge so many businesses are now facing — breaking through to new clients?

Hollywood’s award season is upon us. If we’re honest, celebrity-studded award shows have always felt more like glittering PR stunts than genuine celebrations of artistry. It’s a parade of millionaires handing each other gold statues in a celebration of privileged self-congratulations. Beneath the glitz and glamor, the reality is that studios who invest the most in “For Your Consideration” campaigns—ads, screenings, and endless schmoozing—are the ones that end up clutching the golden trophy.

Well, it’s happened. The era of Big Data has become the era of Bad Data. For market researchers and their clients, the growing prevalence of bad data is bad news — and can lead to bad business decision-making. According to Greenbook’s 2024 GRIT findings, 44% of market research buyers were highly skeptical about the quality of their research more than once over a six-month period. Fast Company recently reported that between 15-30% of all collected market research data is fraudulent. A Gartner report estimates that all this bad data costs organizations around $12.9 million a year.

Asking “why” may seem like a simple thing. But for a qualitative researcher, that little word “why” can be hugely transformative. At Thinkpiece, we believe that revealing the why behind the what leads to the truly game-changing insight. We’ll take it a step further: how often you ask why is almost as important as asking why itself.

Long before I became a qual researcher, I was an ad guy. In my 20s and 30s, I was part of the agency of record for what was then the dominant name in photography, Kodak. In that role, I helped the company build its film brand, specifically with professional photographers and photo-enthusiasts. I also had a secondary role developing ads that presented Kodak’s latest R&D activities to the scientific community.

I love books. I really do love all books, but I have a soft spot for fantasy. There are so many authors who have created a universe so immersive it feels like I never fully left, nor do I want to. Unsurprisingly, Tolkien has created one of those universes for me. In my most recent re-reading, I came across a particular passage in The Fellowship of the Ring that spoke to me not only as a Tolkien junkie but as a technology research moderator.

I’m the first to admit that I can’t carry a tune. And my dancing skills…well, let’s just say Seinfeld’s Elaine Benes and her infamous dance-floor contortions come to mind. While my husband and son may tease me for my lack of coordination, there’s someone in my household who accepts me completely for who I am — off-key voice, off-rhythm boogying and all.

It’s not often you hear T.S. Eliot mentioned in connection with qual research. But there’s a quote from his Four Quartets poem I find particularly relevant to the work we do: “The end is where we start from.” Granted, Eliot’s poem is more about existential quandaries than market research, but it does speak to one important aspect of how we approach our work here at Thinkpiece: beginning at the end.