How to search for the story in market research survey data

Last week, Infotools Director Geoff Lowe participated in a Webinar with Ray Poynter from NewMR. In this ‘How to’ webinar, we examined strategies for finding the story in survey data, and in particular, that part of the process that focuses on searching a data set efficiently to identify the key findings. These key findings provide the building blocks for stories that can help to drive data-driven business decisions.

For the presentation, we used a case study format that dove into data from the second wave of NewMR’s survey of insights and research professionals, which sought to take the pulse of the market research industry as a whole. The survey data was collected and then loaded into Infotools' Harmoni platform to automate the data analysis and easily visualize the stories.

First, Ray laid out a framework for the Webinar discussion, which included the multi-step process that #NewMR follows for its studies. Most importantly, he talked about defining the problem being addressed by the study. “How are researchers coping with the pandemic, and what should leaders in the industry be doing if there are problems?” He noted that there was a huge, global context to consider in this case with many specific concerns surrounding the pandemic and its impact on researchers’ daily lives.

After a quick overview of the surveyed audience, some of the specific questions that were asked, and how quality responses were determined, Ray explores some of the results. He says that data sets continue to grow exponentially in most research studies. “There is no time available to look at every possible option. It’s really inefficient. You need to learn to seek the useful things, and you do that by using the business question as your lens. Look for the main story.” Ray shows a bit of data exploration using SPSS files, and then Geoff shows how Harmoni can help researchers find the story more efficiently.

Geoff took Webinar attendees through two initial examples inside the Harmoni platform: a close look at New Zealand responses and then an examination of what is making us better or worse off as research professionals surrounding the pandemic. For example, by simply using a filter for “happiness,” Geoff can see each country's levels for each wave of the study. With just a click, Geoff showed how researchers using the platform could instantly see any significant differences in the data that might help tell a story.

To show the power of Harmoni, Geoff conducted several deeper explorations of the NewMR study data. In one example, he found that researchers in New Zealand have the highest levels of happiness. But why? With another click, he used the Discover feature and found out everything the survey data had to say about what differentiated New Zealand. From here, he was able to really look into the data, quickly and easily, to find the story. 

This is just one of the ways Geoff illustrates how Harmoni is purpose-built for market researchers to find stories in survey data efficiently. Using a case study that is extremely relevant to our times, this recent Webinar highlights the importance of finding technology to understand what the data is telling us quickly and effectively.

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