The other day on the subway I saw an ad that claimed “Only 3% of kids’ meals options are healthy.” Of course this was disturbing, but then I started wondering,
As the year starts to wind down, I want to thank you for being on this journey with me. “What journey?” I can hear you wondering. Let me explain. Making
I recently gained 35 pounds without realizing it. Scratch that. I realized that my clothes didn’t fit and I felt like I was dressed up in someone else’s body. But
After a three-day conversation with 12 strangers about peeing in their pants, I can now safely say I will talk to anyone about anything. Let me back up. Last month,
Hello from the European Survey Research Association (ESRA) conference in Lisbon, Portugal! It’s a huge conference, and I had a great time yesterday speaking about some work I’m doing with
It’s been a busy few weeks, but I’m glad to be sneaking in under the wire with my once a month blog post! I’ve had such a great range of projects
My clients often want to ask people questions like, “Do you like this product?” “Is this ad credible?” “Would you take this off the shelf or take some action if
It’s been a busy few weeks, including a mid-winter trip to America’s heartland! I had never been to Kansas City before, so when I was approached by a food
Ever since our presentation on the Respondent Experience at CASRO last year, one response has really stayed with me. We asked people what makes a survey experience BAD, and while
It’s that time of year again. My inbox is full of holiday greetings from every research vendor who has me on their mailing list. I know it’s the thought that
It’s been a few weeks since my talk at CASRO, and I’ve been too busy with client work (that’s a good thing!) and current events to really focus on delving
You may have seen the famous 1948 picture where a jubilant Harry S Truman holds up the Chicago Tribune whose front page headline was written based on faulty poll data.
The Respondent Experience (REX to its friends) research on research that my friend and colleague Kerry Hecht of Recollective and I presented at IIEX last summer has exploded! We’ve joined
Last month I presented at IIeX for the first time along with my friend and colleague Kerry Hecht Labsuirs of Recollective. She gives a great overview of our research on
I got to San Diego at the beginning of January for a 2-month stay. I was expecting sunshine and warm days at the beach. Instead, I was welcomed by El
2015 was a blast!! I had trouble keeping my list to “only” 15 great experiences, but here are my favorites: 1. Visiting Iguazu Falls in Argentina and making my location
Improv comedy and research might seem like strange bedfellows, but more and more I’ve seen the two collide. The main takeaway from my work on telephone survey introductions was that being
I’ve written before about what my clients do that make me love them— but here are a few things I do to demonstrate how much I adore my clients and
“It feels as if each week, there is some lunch or some dinner or some phone call that is going to blow my cover, reveal that I am not nearly
We’ve all heard the adage “when one door closes, another one opens,” but I always thought of this in terms of breakups, not clients. Last week I shared the story
I recently had a project get canceled. This is not out of the ordinary; budgets get cut, priorities shift, and occasionally, another researcher wins the work instead (unbelievable, I know).
I just got back from 12 days in China and Nigeria, doing in-home focus groups with teens. A lot of people have been throwing questions at me, so I thought
I’m currently in Lagos, Nigeria doing in-home interviews (after 5 days of the same in Shanghai, China). More on this adventure soon, I promise! Right now I’m too deep in
September 2008 was the last time I sat in a cubicle, wearing high heels and making money for someone else. Far from having the 7-year itch, I’m pretty much
I spent last week in North Carolina, working with the client who has taken over my life this summer. This time, I trained ten local women in face-to-face interviewing. They are
Anyone who has spent ten minutes with me in the past few months knows that I’ve been consumed by my latest client: a Native American tribe in North Carolina. Like
Here’s a riddle for you on this August morning. What do these two people have in common? Jill is the CEO of a small but growing company that makes buckets.
A former client and friend called me this spring and invited me to collaborate on a super fun and dynamic project: experiential “hike-alongs” with Millennials. I’ve done “shop-alongs,” where we
I like to think of myself as a giver: I’m giving my clients information they didn’t have before, information they can use to make smarter decisions. Here are a few
I’m teaching Questionnaire Design again this summer at the University of Michigan’s Summer Institute in Survey Research Techniques. I have a really diverse group of students: three of them work at the
This is Connie and Joe. They are amazing in-person interviewers who can get anyone to talk to them, whether it’s someone coming out of a store or a doctor attending
A client of mine is a social service agency. One of their smallest programs (serving about 40 clients at any given time) offers case management for individuals involved with the
Winter is almost over! Q1 is usually slow for me, but not this year! Here are a few of the things I’ve been working on: A consumer survey about New Year’s
What I do: I tell stories with data. I collect information using surveys, interviews, and focus groups, and then I help companies and organizations make smart decisions based on what people are
