In order to understand complex social phenomena, one must focus on the generic rather than on singularities – put aside the distracting anomalies and exceptional cases to find useful recurring patterns, to uncover common themes that may be hidden in the data and to carefully measure the frequency and distribution of these shared patterns of behavior and attitude.
We derive insights through careful listening and the interpretation of complex data, simplifying decision-making for our clients. We study people’s aspirations and anxieties, biases and assumptions, and the social contexts that influence behavioral response to concepts, messages, products, brands, and policies.
It’s a mistake to overestimate the degree to which people are rational, sovereign masters of their own beliefs, their own decisions, their own behaviors – as consumers, workers, voters and citizens, we all hold culturally-determined assumptions, biases, and prejudices that we are often unaware of. As researchers, we carefully study the role of social context, of worldview, of zeitgeist.
There are many well-worn binary distinctions that are convenient for formulating simple behavioral explanations and familiar marketing narratives – perception versus reality, thought versus action, subjective versus objective, surface versus depth, rationality versus emotion, theory versus practice. But pragmatic research must operate in a space between these simplistic, extreme theoretical polarities.
There is a temptation in research to wonder “what they think.” There is no “they.” There are tensions and trade-offs. To be useful, research must describe, quantify, and explain variation.
Our research process flexibly adapts to client objectives, the populations being studied and other practical considerations. We utilize both qualitative and quantitative research tools to provide clients with valuable analysis.
Focus Groups
One-on-one Interviews
Ethnographic Research
Surveys
Polls
Statistical Analysis & Modeling
