On Methodology
There are certain research methods and approaches that we believe offer the deepest insight into human motivations. These are methods we find supremely fascinating and challenging because of their ability to uncover the complexity of nuanced views of perception and behavior that define human experience. These methods are grounded in strategic frameworks and philosophies that offer the most holistic views of human perception and behavior. These are things we love to do and do well.
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Having deep discussions with people. Spending meaningful time with people in their homes, experiencing their lives with them and examining the relationships and connections that are important to them. Designing conversations and surveys that delve into people's hopes, dreams, and fears. And through this all we are continually searching for the contradictions and tension in people's lives to understand how cognitive dissonance impacts people's worldview, how they live, and what they want out of life.
We believe in the proven success of tried and true methods established in the social sciences and we are excited by the opportunities for developing creative and inspirational new approaches to knowledge acquisition that innovative new technologies offer. What we do not believe is that the ever-evolving landscape of new research technologies provides the often promised panacea of deeper insight based solely on the fact that new technologies can be brought to bear on our efforts to understand human beings. While innovations in technology have changed the possible ways of reaching, engaging with, and capturing human perception and behavior, the underlying principles for analyzing those actions are still rooted in the nuanced exploration of humans through personal interaction.
Social Collaboration gathering
On TOOLS
While methodology provides the strategic framework for our approach to research, tools are the instruments and techniques at our disposal which are incorporated into a research design to improve and enhance the collection of information and the development of consumer insights. While the research methodology provides the overarching strategy for engaging with informants, research tools offer a tactical application for how those engagements can be managed through the research process.
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Research tools are incorporated into an overarching research framework as an opportunity to apply strategies and techniques for gathering information in engaging and innovative ways. However, the use of a research tool is not an end in itself and is only as enlightening as the philosophy that guides the research design framework as it has been structured to analyze the information gathered through those tools. Following is a sample of some of the tools we like to use to conduct consumer research projects in interactive and innovative ways.
Mobile Research
Experience Immersion
On ANALYSIS
When looking for deep and meaningful insight into human nature, the only guarantee of achieving objective knowledge is through methodological and analytical rigor. Beginning with a philosophical framework for designing research and selecting the tools for collecting information to build a knowledge base is only the beginning of the process of uncovering deep insights that can be used to influence target audiences in impactful ways.
A framework for analyzing information is a critically important part of the research design process. Having a strategy and techniques in place for analyzing the information collected results in a coherence of themes and insights that are developed through a structured analysis of beliefs and behaviors and the underlying drivers of those perceptions and actions. Without an explicit analysis plan, resulting insights and conclusions can be biased by the subjective opinions of the researcher or a justification of "common sense" that fails to meet basic criteria of objectivity necessary for rigorous social science research.
Hermeneutic Analysis
Cultural Domain Analysis
Psychographic Analysis
