Planner Reads

It’s a fine line

 

 

There’s been a lot of talk about engaging research participants in this ‘new’ research paradigm.

I’m focusing on qualitative market research here because firstly, that’s my thing…

: )

…and secondly, because I hear that ‘engagement’, within the context of market research online communities, is community-nirvana. The ‘best’ communities are engaged communities.

This strikes me as, paradoxically, both obvious and alarming.

There’s a very fine line between engaging research participants enough to… well…participate in our market research, and over engaging them.

Without due diligence, research effects (pick one of many) are likely to confound the research output in unintended, unexpected and underestimated ways.

I don’t, for one second, suggest that other research methodologies are free of research effects – they aren’t! – but surely this doesn’t automatically generate a license for ‘new’ market research to ignore them.

And while I don’t think you can necessarily control for engagement, some questions;

To what degree should you try to ‘create’ it? How much is too much? When does it start to mess with what you’re looking for from your research? How do you disentangle it from your analysis?

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