As part of my personal Alzheimer’s prevention program, I’ve added ukulele lessons to my life. In addition to now being able to play both “Sea of Love” and “Hallelujah,” I
….please be aware of how you present research results in the news. Happy Election Day! In the spirit of our great democracy, I wanted to share a few articles I’ve
When I’m not trying to save the world through research, I’m on the board of a tiny non-profit that my friend started out of her living room in 2011. Little Essentials
…but I finally took a vacation! A real, unplugged, no wi-fi, locked up my phone kind of vacation. I had all kinds of worries before I did this: “My clients
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
Tomorrow is my birthday!! Instead of asking for presents, I’m going to give you all one: 5 ways to make your surveys better. 5. Keep the big picture in mind. Why
On the heels of International Women’s Month (that’s March), Jessica Broome Research recently got certified as a woman-owned business by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and I also joined The Wing,
It’s award show season! Watching the Oscars and the Grammys isn’t my favorite thing to do, but I’ve learned that treating customers like stars can get companies robust insights. Before
“Why should I bother paying for a survey when I can learn so much about my audience from social media?” It’s a fair question, and one I get asked a
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
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
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
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
Like everyone else I know, I got a little obsessed with Serial at the end of last year. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Serial is a podcast
Last week I went to moderator training at RIVA. It’s one of the best known training centers for qualitative researchers, and I’d been wanting to go for several years (and
I only drink decaf coffee. I know, this is terrible and tragic and I’m obviously not living life to the fullest. But bear with me. When I order decaf, in
I’ve been teaching Questionnaire Design at the University of Michigan’s Summer Institute in Survey Research Techniques, and I’m finding it hugely fun for a few reasons: 1. My students are
Like many people, I was saddened by the passing of author Maya Angelou last week. After her death, I learned that she had once been a market research interviewer. In A
Summer is my favorite season, and I’m always happy when Memorial Day kicks it off. To start my summer off even better, this year my Red Cross client got some great media
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: everybody needs research. I love the diversity of companies and topics I get to work on. Lately I’ve done research for professional associations
I’m on my way back from Portland, where I spent two days at a fantastic conference of independent workers: freelancers, entrepreneurs, and other intrepid souls like myself. Like most conferences, there were
I moved to New Orleans last year, and I’ve just survived my first Mardi Gras! (That’s me on Mardi Gras day.) If you’ve never experienced it, Mardi Gras is a
One of my very first jobs was interviewing incarcerated people in maximum-security prisons in New York State. It was part of an evaluation of a parenting class for incarcerated men,
Last week I gave an overview of one of my favorite projects from last year, a global qualitative study on beverages. I thought you might like to see what a few days
One of my favorite projects in 2013 was a global study on beverages. The client wanted to know about the kinds of beverages people were making at home, as well as what
I may have gone a little overboard by coming up with 14 work-related goals for 2014. The 7 I covered last week are all about the kinds of clients and projects I
