MRIA Vue Magazine - January/February 2015

the magazine of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

STAYING AHEAD OF

THE CURVE

MY EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD QUALITATIVE RESEARCH MADE IN FRANCE LOBOTOMIES AND SURVEYS: WHAT’S THE RELATIONSHIP?

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

VUE MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY THE MARKETING RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE ASSOCIATION TEN TIMES A YEAR

Commentary 4 Editor’s Vue 6

Letter from the CEO

ADDRESS

SPECIAL FEATURE 8 STAYING Kristin Luck

AHEAD OF THE CURVE

Features 10 MY EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD Bruno Moynié 12 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH MADE IN FRANCE Laure Boisier 14 LOBOTOMIES AND SURVEYS: WHAT’S THE RELATIONSHIP? Annie Pettit

The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association L’association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing

21 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 1102, Toronto, ON M4T 1L9 Tel: (416) 642-9793 Toll Free: 1-888-602-MRIA (6742) Fax: (416) 644-9793 Email: vue@mria-arim.ca Website: www.mria-arim.ca PRODUCTION: LAYOUT/DESIGN LS Graphics Inc. Tel: (905) 743-0402, Toll Free: 1-800-400-8253 Fax: (905) 728-3931 Email: info@lsgraphics.com CONTACTS CHAIR OF PUBLICATIONS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Annie Pettit, PhD, Chief Research Officer, Peanut Labs (416) 273-9395 annie@peanutlabs.com MANAGING EDITOR Anne Marie Gabriel, CAE, MRIA amgabriel@mria-arim.ca ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jeff Hecker jeff.hecker@athenabrand.com Paul Long, CMRP paul@paullong.ca

Industry News 16 Best of the Blogs 18 Presentation Summary: CSRC Social Connect 21 Research Registration System (RRS)

COPY EDITOR Diane Peters diane.peters@sympatico.ca Interested in joining the Vue editorial team?

Contact us at vue@mria-arim.ca

22 From the Classroom 23 Qualitative Research Registry (QRR) 24 Chapter Chat

Please email vue@mria-arim.ca to book your ad.

The deadline for notice of advertising is the first of the previous month.

All advertising material must be at the MRIA office on the 5th of the month.

Book Reviews 26 Dataclysm 27 Qual-Online: The Essential Guide

Columnists 29 ‘Good Enough’ is not OK 29 Perspective on Polling

MRIA Institute for Professional Development Insert: back cover

ADVERTISERS 2 IPSOS

2015 ADVERTISING RATES Frequent advertisers receive discounts. Details can be found by going to: www.mria-arim.ca/advertising/vue.asp

2014-2015 Course Offerings

Original articles and Letters to the Editor are welcome. Materials will be reviewed by the Vue Editorial Team. If accepted for publication, they may be edited for length or clarity and placed in the electronic archives on the MRIA website.

The opinions and conclusions expressed in Vue are those of the authors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association.

Publishing Date: January/February © 2015.

All rights reserved. Copyright rests with the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association or the author.

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COMME N TARY / CO MME NTAIR E EDITOR’S Vue Annie Pettit

Welcome to 2015!

As always, Vue has lots of new things in store for the year. We hope you like them!

First, we say goodbye to Fiona Isaacson who was a wonderful Associate Editor and spent many hours working on interviews and gathering content for Chapter Chat. At the same time, we say hello to Jeff Hecker and Paul Long who are our new Associate Editors. The next time you’ve got some great MRIA chapter or event photos, be sure to send them to Jeff. And, Paul will be on the lookout for the next great blog post and conference review.

We’re also welcoming a new crew of columnists who plan to inspire you, teach you, and make you squirm with disagreement. Simon Bonaventure takes over the reins of La Belle Vue column sharing thoughts about research from La Belle province Québec. David Coletto takes on the controversial topic of polling and politics in research with his “Perspectives on Polling” column. Donya Germaine takes a stand against second-rate research in her column, “Good Enough is not okay.” And of course, the Dr. Ruth column will continue to answer all the standards questions you send anonymously to Ruth Corbin.

Also, stay tuned for an occasional “From the Classroom” section which will share news from Canadian post-secondary marketing research institutions. You might just find your next new hire showing off a well-deserved award or presenting at a conference.

Finally, in our midst, we have many great Canadian bloggers who have been quietly and passionately blogging about important research topics. Stay tuned for “Best of the Blogs” where we showcase a blog post you can’t afford to miss.

May the coming year bring you great vendors, great clients, and fascinating research projects!

Bienvenue à 2015 !

Vue vous réserve beaucoup de nouveautés cette année. Nous espérons qu’elles sauront vous plaire.

Nous annonçons d’abord le départ de Fiona Isaacson, notre infatiguable adjointe à la rédaction et la responsable de “Chapter Chat” et de nombreuses entrevues. Du même coup, nous saluons l’arrivée de deux nouveaux adjoints à la rédaction, Jeff Hecker et Paul Long. Vous avez des photos d’activités ou d’événements dans votre région? C’est à Jeff qu’il faut les expédier. Pour sa part, Paul se fera un plaisir de recevoir vos interventions, compte-rendus et commentaires.

Vue accueille aussi une nouvelle équipe de chroniqueurs cette année, des chroniqueurs qui ne manqueront pas de vous informer, de vous inspirer et, de temps à autre, de vous choquer.

Simon Bonaventure, un chercheur, prendra ainsi les rênes de La Belle vue, une chronique qui présente la perspective québécoise des choses, cependant que David Coletto et sa chronique “Perspectives on Polling” aborderont des questions délicates reliées aux sondages et à l’influence de la politique sur la recherche. Donya Germaine ragera pour sa part contre la recherche de second ordre (“Good Enough is not okay”) et Dr. Ruth (Ruth Corbin) continuera de répondre discrètement à vos questions « anonymes ».

Nous publierons aussi à l’occasion “From the Classroom”, un coup d’oeil à ce qui se passe dans les classes de recherche marketing dans les collèges et universités du Canada. Peut-être y ferez-vous la connaissance d’une prochaine employée qui reçoit une récompense bien méritée ou qui présente un mémoire.

Enfin, nous ferons de la place aux nombreux excellents blogueurs de notre secteur qui abordent avec passion et conviction des sujets importants dans le monde de la recherche. “Best of Blogs” : les blogues et interventions dont il faut absolument prendre connaissance.

Cette année, je vous souhaite simplement que fournisseurs fiables, superbes clients et projets de recherche intéressants soient tous au rendez-vous.

Annie Pettit PhD, Chief Research Officer / Directrice de la recherche, Peanut Labs Editor-in-Chief, Vue / Rédactrice en chef, Vue • Email: annie@peanutlabs.com • (416) 273-9395 • t @LoveStats Please share your opinions about Vue articles and columns, or submit your cartoons and infographics to the Editor.

La rédactrice vous invite à lui faire parvenir directement vos commentaires, opinions, caricatures ou infographies.

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What’s new at MRIA’s 2015 National Conference on Storytelling? EVERYTHING! Visit our website to learn more http://conference2015.mria-arim.ca/news/index.php K E YN OT E SPEAK ERS

C U R R E N T S P ON S OR S PINNACLE S PONS OR

S ILVE R S PONS OR

Kristin Luck Serial Entrepreneur former President of Decipher

Lisa Ritchie Senior Vice President, Customer Knowledge and Insights, Scotiabank Paul Smith Corporate Trainer in Leadership and Storytelling Techniques

PLATINU M S PONS ORS

BRONZE S PONS OR S

G OLD S PONS ORS

S P E C IAL GUEST – W O RKSHO P LEADER Steve Levy COO, Market Research Canada East, Ipsos

Full conference passes begin at $1,095 CAN and group discounts apply for 5 or more delegates from the same company.

C U R R E N T E XH I B I TOR S

Follow us on twitter at #mria15 and on our website, as we provide exciting updates on what promises to be a unique, fascinating, stimulating and inspiring conference!

For Conference Information and to Register, visit http://conference2015.mria-arim.ca/news/index.php Write us at events@mria-arim.ca http://conference2015.mria-arim.ca/news/index.php Pour de plus amples renseignements, veuilliez nous contacter au 416-642-9793 x8723 21 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 1102, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4T 1L9

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COMME N TARY / CO MME NTAIR E LETTER FROM THE CEO Kara Mitchelmore

CHANGES ARE COMING, CHANGES ARE HERE

L’HEURE DU CHANGEMENT A SONNÉ

In 2014, I went cross country to meet with members and hear what they had to say about the organization. More importantly I was, perhaps selfishly, looking for feedback on what needed to change. I asked the question, “what do you want from the organization” and I heard loud and clear – advocacy and standards. Not only standards, but the enforcement of standards, the “teeth” that would make the industry stand up and take notice of what MRIA members were required to adhere to in order to belong to the membership.

So, by the end of the tour, I had my marching orders from you, the membership. As a result, the following initiatives have been undertaken to fulfill these needs:

Je me suis déplacée un peu partout au pays en 2014, à l’écoute des membres et de leurs doléances.

Je leur ai demandé ce qui devait changer à l’ARIM et ce qu’ils réclamaient de leur association professionnelle. Leur réponse collective est on ne peut plus claire : des normes et une représentation efficace. Et pas seulement des normes mais aussi une rigoureuse application de celles-ci, une application avec du « mordant », qui obligerait les membres à bien prendre connaissance de ces normes auxquelles ils sont tenus de se conformer afin de maintenir leur adhésion à l’ARIM. Les initiatives qui suivent ont été prises à la lumière des besoins exprimés par les membres.

• MRIA standards and code of conduct were completely revamped and refreshed. With the prior standards being in place since 2006, there were many changes required to incorporate the ever changing market research industry. These new standards are effective January 1, 2015, I encourage members to review them at http://mria-arim.ca/about-mria/standards/codeof-conduct-for-members.

• MRIA’s complaint procedure has been completely overhauled. In the past, the feedback received was that the process was too long, too convoluted, and fraught with errors. These issues have been dealt with in the new process, resulting in a more responsive, streamlined approach to ensure that complaints are dealt with efficiently.

• MRIA continues to be a strong advocate for the market research industry in Canada. With the implementation of the new Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) in July 2014, we have been

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• Les normes et le code de déontologie de l’ARIM ont été complètement refondus et actualisés. Comme le dernier exercice du genre remontait à 2006, plusieurs changements ont été apportés qui tiennent compte des changements dans le secteur de la recherche marketing depuis cette année. Je conseille aux membres de se familiariser avec ces nouvelles normes qui ont pris effet le 1er janvier 2015 et qui sont disponibles à l’adresse url : http://mria-arim.ca/ about-mria/standards/code-of-conduct-for-members.

• Le processus de traitement des plaintes a lui aussi été intégralement révisé. Les membres le trouvaient trop lent et complexe, de même que sujet à de nombreuses erreurs. Le nouveau processus, qui a été rationalisé, sera non seulement plus réceptif mais aussi plus efficace.

• L’ARIM continue d’être la championne du secteur de la recherche marketing au Canada.

Depuis la prise d’effet de la Loi canadienne anti-pourriel (LCAP), en juillet 2014, nous nous occupons activement de ce dossier. Conseils aux

c omm entar y c omm entaire at the forefront of the issue. from offering advice to members, to holding webinars, to working with the CRTC to ensure that the industry is not adversely impacted has been a top priority. To date, the organization has been able to show that market research should be exempt from aspects of CASL as our members are not soliciting or marketing under the guise of research – a considerable WIN for our members.

• A Compliance Officer is being recruited to join the MRIA team. This role will entail conducting Gold Seal certifications, monitoring industry reporting, and auditing CMRPs for professional development requirements.

I am confident that these changes are positive steps which will increase the level of confidence amongst members that the organization is taking its role as enforcer of the standards seriously.

membres, webinaires, représentations auprès du CRTC : nous avons vu et continuerons de voir à ce que le secteur ne soit pas handicapé par cette loi. Nous avons ainsi convaincu les autorités que les activités de recherche marketing légitimes de nos membres – franches de tout volet vente ou marketing – ne doivent pas être soumises aux dispositions de la LCAP. Il s’agit là d’une VICTOIRE importante.

• L’ARIM recrute en ce moment un ou une chef de la conformité. Cette personne sera responsable de l’agrément Sceau d’or, du contrôle des rapports de conformité des membres et, aux fins du perfectionnement professionnel, à l’audit des membres agréés PARM. J’ai confiance que ces changements contribueront à rehausser la confiance des membres en leur association et que ces derniers constaterons que nous prenons au sérieux notre rôle de policier de la conformité aux normes.

Kara Mitchelmore, MBA, FCMA, Chief Executive Officer/Présidente-directrice générale Marketing Research and Intelligence Association / L’Association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing Email: kmitchelmore@mria-arim.ca • (416) 642-9793 ext./poste 8724

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SPECIAL

FEATURE STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE

By every standard measurement of business success, Decipher has excelled over the last several years.

It wasn’t an easy road. My partners launched the firm in San Francisco in 2000 during the height of the “dot com” boom, only to nearly go under during the crash a few years later when several of their large technology clients went belly up. They didn’t give up. After firing nearly all their staff, they relocated to Fresno and rebooted the company. I was fortunate to join the firm after (what I hope was) its darkest hour, but not without significant challenges. When I came on in 2007, there were some tough questions to answer. How do we differentiate ourselves in a cluttered and commoditized marketplace? How do we inspire brands to ultimately engage with us not as a vendor but as a trusted partner? How do we innovate, and create a culture that cultivates and rewards innovation, while consistently delivering against our core product offering?

Kristin Luck

Fast forward to 2014. Over the past seven years we’ve reported double-digit growth annually. Last year alone, the company delivered nearly 30 per cent year-over-year revenue growth. We’ve been consistently ranked for several years running in programs such as the INC 5000 Fastest Growing Companies, GRIT Top 50 Innovative Firms and the LEAD411 Tech 200 List.

Throughout all this growth and numerous accolades, we’ve overcome commoditization on our core services business and successfully launched our industry-leading survey software and reporting platform Beacon. Our employee satisfaction levels are at an all-time high with less than one per cent turnover in the last year. Between 2008 and 2014, our brand awareness grew from less than 10 per cent to nearly 70 per cent (yes, we track our own brand awareness!). How did we do it?

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In 2008, we underwent a strategic rebranding. With a nearly singular focus on product development since its inception in 2000, Decipher’s branding and messaging had become dated. Formalized sales efforts had failed. We needed to find new ways of differentiating ourselves in a commoditized marketplace and develop creative strategies for cutting through the industry messaging clutter. Even though we’re a research firm ourselves, many of our clients and competitors were surprised to learn that we hired a brand strategy firm and an ad agency to guide us through this process. We all know the value of good research and, for us, it came down to practising what we preach in our own business. Consider the time and resources you devote to branding and marketing, as it can have a tangible impact on success – particularly if you’re

SP ECIA L FEAT URE strapped for business development resources, as we were at the time. Even now, with a successful, growing global sales team, our marketing strategy plays a key role in driving both lead generation and our development strategy by integrating data on what our customers are doing with knowledge about why they’re doing it.

Today our branding and marketing efforts extend not just externally but internally. We’ve worked very hard to create a culture of innovation within Decipher and as I can testify, this challenge isn’t unique to large firms – even small, privately-held firms struggle to effectively (and efficiently) push new products and services to clients. As a mid-size technology-driven research firm that relies heavily on the development of innovative research solutions and techniques, we spend an incredible amount of time hashing out our innovation/development approach.

I’m asked frequently what our “secret” is: how we achieve such high levels of growth year after year while rolling out quarterly (and sometimes monthly) functionality or product releases. There’s no real secret. It all boils down to a singular strategy we’ve adopted at Decipher: a focus on improving the experience (whether that’s a respondent or client experience) rather than solely focusing on the product, and it’s a consistent effort that places importance, day to day, on basic concepts like brand communication, employee empowerment, development strategy, listening and measurement.

Putting these concepts in practice while still working in the business is challenging, no doubt about it. Here’s what I recommend for staying ahead of the curve: • Determine your brand purpose. Brand purpose is comprised of functional benefits, emotional benefits and societal benefits. In addition to engaging customers and inspiring employees, a powerful and clear brand purpose improves alignment throughout the organization and ensures consistent messaging across touch points (both internally and externally). According to the Marketing2020 study, 56 per cent of over-performing companies who have a clearly stated brand purpose said that their organization’s revenue growth was higher than their competitors.

• Encourage and reward creativity among your employees.

Create opportunities for them to engage in brainstorming and give them time to develop new ideas and approaches to your business issues. At Decipher, our U.S. offices are in Fresno, California, and Bend, Oregon – not exactly major markets.

After years of building businesses in Los Angeles and hiring (sometimes firing) experienced researchers, it was a little surreal to dip into hiring from a pool of folks with literally no research experience. It’s also been awesome. With no preconceived notions about how research services and technology should operate or look/feel, it has opened us up to innovative solutions that would likely never have been brought to the table by someone with years of industry experience (like myself ). As a company executive, I think of myself as a coach – not a boss. My role is to enable the greater team and facilitate smart

thinking, rather than overpower it.

Hone your development strategy. Are you focused on creating new products or creating new experiences (or are you a little focused on both)? Once you have that nailed down, consider your innovation implementation strategy. Generally, you need to choose between being first to market or best in market; you can rarely succeed at both. I’ve worked in firms where the development strategy was to be first in market. Being first in market has its advantages but it’s also expensive and incredibly time consuming. Best in market allows you to sit back and see what everyone else is doing, then develop a clever niche with the hope of “slingshotting” yourself ahead of the competition. So what’s your strategy?

• Be responsive. Listen to your clients’ pain points – the best solutions are generally those that solve existing problems. Many of our product upgrades and features are driven by feedback.

This translates into solutions that are perhaps a little less glamorous, but more focused on functionality that is usable, powerful and fulfills marketplace needs.

• Measure! We monitor brand awareness annually.

Marketing performance, client and employee satisfaction are tracked monthly and these measures are closely integrated with our KPIs. • Finally, read, read, read! Few of us have an unlimited amount of reading time, so be choosy. Although traditional periodicals are great resources, there are also some amazing websites like TechCrunch, Fast Company, Engadget and Daily Tech that are critical for staying on top of new technology developments. These developments can translate into viable, innovative solutions for our own industry.

Business success doesn’t hinge on just one thing: a brand promise, an innovative product, a creative development team.

It is the culture that is fostered at every level of the company, from internal to external and everywhere in between. It’s not the people you hire, it’s how you empower and support them.

It’s not a specific marketing campaign, it’s how your brand speaks to and resonates with your target audience. Above all, it’s a focus on creating a culture, both internally and externally, that inspires and fosters meaningful communication, creativity and trust.

Kristin Luck is a serial entrepreneur specializing in nontraditional marketing and branding strategies, and is a regular contributor to both commercial (Fast Company, Forbes) and academic press (Research World, Journal of Brand Strategy). She’s consistently ranked as a top sales marketing expert to follow on Twitter. Kristin most recently served as a partner and president/CMO of Decipher.

She currently serves as a strategic growth hacking consultant for companies preparing for funding or acquisition. Kristin can be reached at kristin@kristinluck.com. vue | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

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F EATUR E MY EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD

This article is adapted from my essay “Seduction in the Field: Meditations on Building Rapport through the Ethnographic Camera Lens” from Handbook of Anthropology in Business, Left Coast Press, 2014, edited by Rita M. Denny and Patricia L. Sunderland.

Bruno Moynié

My professional life is split nearly exactly into two clean parts.

On the one end, I travel extensively to various places around the world – which we are calling here “the field” – to meet with people and record aspects of their lives on camera. On the other, I stay isolated in my office – or within walking distance from it – for weeks, editing the material I have collected during my travels. I am an ethnographic filmmaker.

I specialize in applied ethnography for marketing and design research. I follow people, interview them in their day-to-day contexts, and observe their behaviours to unearth insights about their product or service experience or usage. For instance, I observed six American families and the way they eat because the Wendy’s restaurant chain wanted to gain a deeper understanding of its clientele, their relationship to food in general, and to fast food in particular, as well as to get some understanding of how its customers chose between Wendy’s and its main competitors.

My personal projects focus mainly around people’s narratives on an array of topics. The latest being a six-week, web-based photo/video journal road trip from Detroit to New Orleans, cataloguing people’s dinners along the way. (You can find out more at thetasteoftheroad.com.)

To do work in these fields, I find myself engaging in something I can only call a “seduction.” By this, I mean to be a good ethnographer you must genuinely need the affection of your participants. You must “desire their desire.”

It is well established that the success of ethnographic fieldwork relies generally on the capacity to establish good rapport and build meaningful relationships with research participants.

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Indeed, irrespective of its context, my work is always about meeting with people I generally do not know beforehand, and then filming them. The purpose is not so much to work so that they do not notice my presence, but rather to achieve a level of comfort such that they forget about the camera that comes between us. I do this in various countries, and across diverse social classes, genders and age groups.

Over two decades of work, techniques have changed, and enhancing my technical skills is certainly a challenge. However, although technical skills are required for good ethnographic filmmaking, one needs another, deeper set of skills: the ability to entice people to share their hopes and feelings. I learned this idea from Jean Rouch, one of the founders of the cinéma verité school of filmmaking, with whom I had the privilege to study in Paris in the mid-1980s. When showing his own films to a class at the Cinémathèque Française, he constantly mentioned the friendships he had built, faithfully maintained, and relied on with the people he had filmed or collaborated with. It was intuitively evident from his persona that he was a charismatic “people person.” His friends/collaborators were often invited to class sessions. I have no recollection of him giving us advice on “being a good friend” or even trying to discuss it theoretically, yet this idea has stayed with me through my practice. One must want to be with other people for them to be open with you.

The American anthropologist Charles Wagley speaks to the juncture that is the subjective grey space of science, art and the interpersonal variables that are unavoidably a part of the humancentered and human-directed research that is fieldwork. He writes: “In the security of our studies and in the classroom, we

FEAT URE claim that anthropology is a social science … But, at its source, in the midst of the people with whom the anthropologist lives and works, field research involves the practice of an art in which emotions, subjective attitudes and reactions, and undoubtedly subconscious motivations participate”(Wagley: 1960:414–5).

Desiring their Desire: My “Ethnographic Mojo?”

This sounds like confessing that there is “artsy” skill to one’s work, when everything is supposed to be part of a wellestablished process. It may also sound somewhat shameful.

In fact, it could be said that my work is part of an extreme qualitative approach where the unpredictable, subtle and sometimes contradictory human animal doesn’t always bend to rigorous processes. Nevertheless, I never hide the fact that this artsy dimension is crucial in my work. What I am trying to convey here is the emotional drive underlying the rapport that is established between the observer and those being observed.

This is what I usually refer to as – and will call here with stern humour – my “ethnographic mojo.” My ethnographic mojo piques my participants’ interest. But for this to truly work, I have to be interested in them too. My ethnographic mojo requires me to “desire their desire.” As ethnographers, we must thirst for that connection. We must make our participants want to talk to us, but we must also want to engage with them!

A lot has been said on the sexual dimension of this desire, but that is not per se what I am referring to (compare with Kulick and Wilson, 1995). I do not deny the sexual dimension, but instead I believe that it is part of something bigger: something of the same nature but broader. I strongly believe that, as Dorinne Kondo writes: “All too often standards of scientific objectivity in ethnography have masked points of view that are merely distant and unsympathetic”(Kondo 1986:84).

I am not the first to consider this “magical” connection between ethnographer and participant. It is an emotional labour that we sometimes fail at completing. Bronislaw Malinowski considered “living with” participants to be one of the most important skills an ethnographer can have (1922). It was only after he died that we learned that Malinowski himself did not consistently feel a deep desire to have a rapport with his participants, and he found it almost impossible to want to be with them all the time (1967). Other anthropologists also have struggled to connect with their participants. Ethnographer Jean Briggs (1970) stopped desiring the approval of her adopted Inuit family… and found herself dumped outside the village for months!

Desiring their desire is one of the hardest things we can do as ethnographers. This is also true for commercial ethnographers.

One of our most important tasks is to show our clients what their customers are doing, thinking and feeling. If we do not have a desire for our participants, we cannot learn what really moves them emotionally. It is acutely important for ethnographic filmmaking, which requires participants to relax in front of a camera (Agafonoff, 2006; see also Leibovitz 2008).

Desiring our participants’ desire may not be necessary to do an excellent job; perhaps it is just a very personal way of doing things. But I highly doubt it. I know that it directly correlates to and affects the quality of my work. Without it, the results are simply not the same.

References Briggs, Jean L. 1970. Never in Anger: Portrait of An Eskimo Family.

Boston, MA: Harvard University Press.

Kondo, Dorrine. K. 1986. Dissolution and Reconstitution of Self: Implications for Anthropological Epistemology. Cultural Anthropology 1(1):74–88.

Kulick, Don, and M. Wilson. 1995. Taboo: Sex, Identity and Erotic Subjectivity in Anthropological Fieldwork. London: Routledge.

Leibovitz, A. 2008. Annie Leibovitz at Work. New York: Random House.

Malinowski, Bronislaw. 1922. “Introduction: The Subject, Method and Scope of This Inquiry.” In Argonauts of the Western Pacific: An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea, edited by B. Malinowski, 1–25. London: Routledge.

Stocking, George W. Jr. 1992. “The Ethnographer’s Magic: Fieldwork in British Anthropology from Tylor to Malinowski.” In The Ethnographer’s Magic and Other Essays in the History of Anthropology, edited by George W. Stocking Jr., 12–59. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.

Wagley, Charles. 1960. Champukwi of the Village of the Tapirs. New York: Harper and Row.

Further Reading Altork, K. 1995. “Walking the Fire Line: The Erotic Dimension of the Fieldwork Experience.” In Taboo: Sex, Identity and Erotic Subjectivity in Anthropological Fieldwork, edited by Don Kulick and Margaret Willson, 107–39. London: Routledge.

Berreman, G. D. 1972. Prologue: Behind Many Masks: Ethnography and Impression Management. Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Bowen, E. S. 1964. Return to Laughter: An Anthropological Novel.

Norwell, MA: Anchor Press.

McCracken, Grant. 1988. The Long Interview. London: Sage Publications.

Newton, Esther. 2000. Margaret Mead Made Me Gay: Personal Essays, Public Ideas. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

Powdermaker, Hortense. 1967. Stranger and Friend: The Way of an Anthropologist. London: Secker and Warburg.

Stoller, P and C. Olkes. 1989. The Tastes of Ethnographic Things: The Senses in Anthropology. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

Van Maanen, J. 1988. Tales of the Field: On Writing Ethnography.

Chicago, IL: University Of Chicago Press.

Wengle, J. L. 2011. Ethnographers In The Field. The Psychology of Research. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press.

Whitehead T. L., and L. E. Conaway. 1986. Self, Sex, and Gender in Cross-Cultural Fieldwork. Champaign: University of Illinois Press.

Bruno is the founder of Studio Bruno Moynié (StudioBrunoMoynie. com). He can be reached at info@studiobrunomoynie.com. vue | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

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FEATUR E QUALITATIVE RESEARCH MADE IN FRANCE

French society is well known for its singular characteristics and pride in its national flag. Not surprisingly, the French way of doing qualitative research is entirely “nationalized.”

Laure Boisier

According to Christian Miquel, research director in CCCM Paris, this all began right after World War II, when La Société de Consommation (Consumer Society) was birthed to analyze and make sense of the reasons underlying individual motivations towards consumer products. Later, in the ‘60s, the development of human sciences in France set the main foundation for qualitative research à la française, using psychoanalysis, ethnography and anthropology to study consumers’ human behaviour. Eventually, the U.S. and AngloSaxon countries started applying some qual research à la française, in order to increase insights. So, what makes French qual research special?

Particularities of “Madame French Quali” The answer to that question seems to be easy: What makes French qual research different is its psycho-sociological tradition.

Elisabeth Martine-Cosnefroy, founder and president of Equation MR, explains that the roots of French qual research 12

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are a strong analytical culture, that is, the search for explicative solutions. French researchers have a preference for long and in-depth research methodologies in order to “reach the basic psychological patterns, trespass the boundaries of superficial responses, and analyze individual mechanisms as well as the most unconscious reactions of the group.” For instance, French focus groups are usually lengthier than in other countries, and the discussion guides are usually quite extensive. This does not mean that researchers from other countries do not have analogous backgrounds, but somehow the French seem to go deeper, strongly guided by the depths of philosophy.

Despite being known for her unique personality, Madame French Quali still feels uneasy about adopting the shorterfaster modus operandi of other companies. Since resistance to consider their methodologies might affect her relationships with international clients, the French researcher is required to be flexible. French researchers even manage to make use of innovative methodologies to succeed in their profession.

FEAT URE The Image of the French Researcher According to Boisier, in France, marketing research professionals are not well perceived. She feels that researchers today are very often mistaken for marketing agents because there’s very little awareness of their actual role. Therefore, the public tends to believe researchers are attempting to sell a product, when they are actually looking for ways to make it better for the consumer. The problem of reputation and the difficulty of discerning one job from the other due to lack of accurate information may create lack of future interest in joining the research profession.

Internationally, the image of French researchers seems to be like a jazz show. As Anouc Allaert says, “It’s about deeply understanding how people think. You need to find what song [methodology] best suits the participant and work with him on that. Qualitative research is not a science, but still demands discipline and has to be conducted carefully. In the end, when the results are presented, it’s with our soul, our human side, with emotion but still very serious.”

In addition, the French approach seems to enrich the findings and provide food for thought, even if it goes beyond the initial briefing.

for, let’s say two days, and that’d be it, whereas now we make use of different tools to get more valuable feedback from the consumer at different points of the research. For example, sometimes we send participants diaries with exercises for them to do before the focus group, or we give them a sample of the product to be tested and analyzed at home. Then come the focus groups, where respondents share their opinions with others. This gives us the chance to watch them live and read their body language, which helps us to understand their reactions more clearly. We might also add individual interviews, sometimes at the participant’s home, to watch them closely in their own space. All this to explore the different facades of the consumer, that is, the participant as consumer, as buyer, and as ambassador (somebody who spreads the word about a product).

We became aware of the fact that the participant is much more than just a consumer.

To Wrap Up From the studies I have followed in France, I notice that the French tend to use a more “romantic” vocabulary then English.

For example, the questions are more extensive. Many times I had the impression that the questions were also quite repetitive.

“For French researchers and participants, time management is less important than their need to express themselves…this is quite different from time-sensitive cultures such as in the U.S.” Challenges of Using Many Tools With the multiplication of information sources and datacollection methods, it becomes more difficult to manage the large amount of information received, something that might compromise the quality of the research. Thus, researchers need to have tools not only to do macro analysis, but also to do microanalysis in order to interpret the data, structure it, and simplify it, so that it can be put to good use.

Thanks to technological advances, research today can be done at a distance, without compromising the quality of the results. Moreover, Martine-Cosnefroy observes that “researchers prefer the proof in facts or observing live what they are studying, and images and videos provide that to them.”

Consequently, it is possible to make real-time analysis and keep up with the means of communication of the present generation born into a world where communication depends 100 per cent on technology. The fact that the research is done at a distance means that researchers have to find more effective ways to attract participants, which mostly means higher honoraria.

Qualitative research online may be as costly as offline and may even take longer. In fact, there is often much more information to process and analyze.

Also, some changes have occurred in the stages of research.

I’ve observed that, five years ago, we’d only do focus groups

French researchers strive for transparency and clearness, oddly finding the word “exhausting” amusing when it comes to discussion guides. French participants, as well, use many words to explain their point of view and lose track of time fairly easily. In general, for both French researchers and participants, time management is less important than their need to express themselves and to deepen their knowledge rather than adjust the content to the time. This is quite different from timesensitive cultures such as in the U.S. Although the French seem resistant to innovation, technology doesn’t have a nationality. Therefore, there do not appear to be boundaries in the adoption of new methodologies as well as new tools to do research. After all, our main aim is to conduct the investigation accurately and to make the client informed and receptive to that information. However, the larger pool of methodological choices does not necessarily make the job easier and seems to affect the client-researcher relationship. We all hope it will be for the best.

Laure Boisier is founder and research director at Lb Qualitative Research, a company that specializes in qualitative research in France and worldwide. She is a pioneer for online qualitative research in France. She can be reached at l.boisier@lb-qr.com. vue | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

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FEATUR E LOBOTOMIES AND SURVEYS: WHAT’S THE RELATIONSHIP? What is a doctor? You probably think you know but let me explain the profession carefully so that we’re all on the same page.

Annie Pettit

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For more than two thousand years, medical doctors were skilled bloodletters.

This remarkable technique of draining blood from a human body cured diseases and prevented illnesses by allowing the body to regain its proper balance of fluids. Using carefully researched diagrams, doctors knew exactly which part of the body to let blood from in order to cure an ailment or prevent a disease.

Correct Placement for Blood Letting, Year 1517

Stethoscope, Year 1816

Doctors were also trained in the fine art of arrow removal. They used specially designed scientific devices that entered the skin at the point of the arrow, and moved the skin away from any parts of the arrow that were pushing in the opposite direction.

And of course, lobotomies were medical procedures that were very important for doctors to learn in order to help their patients become more quiet and easy to get along with.

Recently however, doctors have been jumping on the innovative technology bandwagon, distracted by third-party companies that build shiny metal devices with fun little blinking, beeping buttons. Doctors

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FEAT URE have also dropped their tried-and-true wooden stethoscopes for stainless steel stethoscopes with volume controls. These innovative toys are generally of more interest to doctors who don’t care about reliable methods that have been validated over hundreds of years.

Perhaps these disruptive doctors see an interesting but limited use in recording sounds directly into a computer that can then instantly relay those sounds to a doctor in another part of the country who specializes in a specific disease.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines are another fancy gadget that disruptive doctors like to play with when they aren’t busy. These machines make fun loud noises and take pretty pictures of heads, arms and legs. Unfortunately, the machines are quite expensive, and given their lack of extensive validation will likely never gain traction with doctors who value tradition and norms.

Virtual surgeries seem to be the newest fad, likely because today’s doctors grew up playing video games. Specialists who perform life-saving surgeries on people in other countries are showing how fun it is to play with a new kind of game. They likely don’t realize that centuries of doctors have never used such tools and consequently there is truly no need for them.

So let’s think back to my initial question. What is a doctor? Is it someone who uses an arrow-removing tool? Is it someone who uses a beautifully stained and varnished wooden stethoscope? Is it someone who uses an MRI, electroencephalography (EEG) or a virtual surgical machine? No. Not at all.

Silliness aside, a doctor is someone who is trained and qualified to help make people healthy, no matter if the tools of the profession are made of wood, stone or precision-tooled metal.

The tools of the trade have changed drastically over the last two thousand years, thankfully, and have helped those in medicine to better work, but the true meaning of “doctor” has not changed at all. Doctors help make people healthy.

So let’s try another one. What is a marketing researcher? Is it someone who writes thirty-minute surveys with grids, scales, red herring questions, and purchase-intent questions in order to determine which demographic groups are more interested in purchasing certain types of products? Certainly not. That would exclude anyone who specializes in focus groups, moderating and individual interviewing techniques to determine what people like and dislike about products and services.

Is a marketing researcher someone who uses eye tracking equipment, sticks electrodes onto people’s heads, builds large communities of people, analyzes terabyte datasets of transactional data, or makes fun computer games? No. If such tools are being used to diagnose eye disorders and brain diseases, or play first-person shooters games, then the people using the tools are not marketing researchers. It is not, and never has been, the tool that makes the marketing researcher.

Let’s step back and think about what truly makes someone a marketing researcher. A quick visit to LinkedIn will help with this. I searched out a number of people whose titles were nothing like “marketing researcher” and whose tools included not a single survey or focus group. Here are some of their listed tasks: • Collect and analyze data on consumer demographics and buying habits to identify potential markets and factors affecting product demand

• Prepare reports of findings, illustrate data graphically, translate complex findings into written text • Help companies understand target audiences and convert shoppers to buyers • Improve marketing and brand management • Help marketers generate consumer insights • Identify potential markets and factors affecting product demand Even though these people have job titles like “eye tracking specialist,” “data scientist” and “business analyst,” the tasks sound suspiciously much the same as the people we have traditionally called marketing researchers; people who specialize in archaic things like surveys and focus groups.

So what is a marketing researcher?

Marketing research is not a tool. It’s not a survey. It’s not eyetracking glasses. It’s not communities. Marketing research is a state of mind, a process for analyzing, synthesizing, and storyizing data that help us better understand consumer behaviour.

Marketing researchers reside in all kinds of companies. In full-service marketing research firms, employees may specialize in one or more components of the business, whether data collection, survey writing, report preparation, eye-tracking analysis, EEG interpretation, social listening or insight generation. In companies that specialize in just one component of the marketing research process, researchers may focus on data collection (be it surveys or galvanic skin response) or report preparation. And marketing researchers also reside within end-client companies.

Yes, CMRP researchers, highly skilled, highly trained, highly qualified researchers who don’t need the assistance of a full-service marketing research firm, are part of our community.

Traditional marketing researchers worry about the state of our industry, the fact that outside companies and non-marketing research are stealing our business and leading clients away.

May I suggest instead that the marketing research industry is simply evolving as every industry evolves? Where 100 per cent of marketing researchers used to specialize in just surveys, focus groups or interviews, we must realize that 100 per cent of marketing researchers now specialize in surveys, focus groups, interviews, eye-tracking, EEGs, MRIs, co-creation, communities, big data and fifty other non-traditional techniques. Their titles may not say “marketing researcher” but their job descriptions sure do. We aren’t losing our industry or our jobs. We are spreading our wings and we need to realize that our definition of who and what makes a marketing researcher is archaic.

As my buddy Leo Tolstoy once said, everyone thinks of changing the world but no one thinks of changing themselves.

Well, maybe it’s time to change how you think about marketing research. Change what you think about its tools. Change what you think about who is a marketing researcher.

Annie Pettit is Chief Research Officer at Peanut Labs, a company that specializes in self-serve sampling, surveys and polling. She believes in uniting all researchers, whether they be qual, quant, neuro or some strange thing that we haven’t recognized yet. She can be reached at annie@peanutlabs.com and on Twitter @LoveStats. vue | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

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BEST OF THE HOW HIPSTERS CAN HELP US UNDERSTAND MAINSTREAM MARKETING Two fundamentally opposite tensions tug at the core of human nature: the desire to belong to a group, and the desire to express one’s individuality. Take “hipsters”, the urban style-scourge that perfectly expresses this duality: they adhere to a super cool/secret/exclusive fashion code to express their individuality, while all observing the exact same social codes and amassing the same accessories (from fixed-gear bikes to vinyl records to skinny jeans to ye olde moustache wax).

Ah, the paradox: I’m so very, very different… like all of my friends!

Chosen by Annie Pettit

Go further back into the cultish domain and we see the very same tension in the history of tattooing. Originally, in Polynesian or Japanese tribes, tattoos served as a rite of passage, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion. They had a social purpose.

Nowadays, in Western society, tattoos are a claim to individuality.

In the postmodern world tattoos broadcast “How different and unique am I? Just look at the inscrutable Chinese symbol on my lower back.”

Brands also need to choose: what is my role? Is it to confer social acceptance, or individuality? And there’s a trick: it’s hard to win on both counts the way the hipsters do.

The past decades had been the golden era of Masstige (downward brand extension bringing “prestige” to the masses).

Consumers sought social acceptance through “luxury” affordable brands such as Sony or Ralph Lauren. The recipe was simple: you buy the product and you flaunt it. No need for words – the brand itself was evidence of your success. Buy this brand, be culturally superior by aestheticizing and ethicizing the world.

Nowadays, consumers are increasingly developing their own personal narratives. The brand’s role is to retool and help the consumer affirm his individualism in order to exist more fully.

To this effect, we can distinguish three methods that help said consumer affirm and express that precious uniqueness.

CUSTOMIZATION: Car manufacturers have just gotten on board with this one. You, the consumer, can choose all the options you want, and the brand will build a car to your specifications. Or take the Guardian - The influential UK newspaper printed up two different versions of the edition announcing the birth of future King of England, Prince Baby George: one for Monarchists, with Prince George front-andcenter; one for Republicans, minus any mention of the child.

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Talk about customizing reality according to the audience’s beliefs.

PERSONALIZATION: Tailoring the brand experience to consumer preferences. Look at Amazon, which has made a science of divining your preferences based on adaopting to an array of information. But it’s not just New Marketing 101 for the Corporate set. Arcade Fire, Montreal’s globally-hot indie band, used the same premise for the video for We Used To Wait. The song is about nostalgia/love for the teenage years.

Type in the postal code for the house you grew up in and Google Street View whisks you to your teenage neighbourhood.

It makes the entire immersive experience truly personalized – and moving.

CRAFTIZATION: Here, the brand invites the consumer to bring his own skills and knowledge into the experience, making it an extension of his self-expression. This one is typically attached to domestic hobbies or – yes – crafts, like cooking, interior design or gardening. Magazine and cookbooks are full of examples of this. And yes, the hipsters are here as well, with their (supposedly) prized small-batch craft beer. None of that Budweiser for Mr. Moustachio.

So, no, Hipsters are not just annoying. They are a genuine cultural example of the tension between the social and the individual in marketing, and the shifts underway as brands retool.

But never mind, they’ll say – it’s all too cool for you.

With permission from the CROP blog. See more at: http://www.crop.ca/en/blog

THE FIVE PATHWAYS We are pleased to offer The Five Pathways to obtaining your CMRP and there is bound to be one that is ideal for you:

Certification is a way to measure the competency of individuals within our industry, based on both a certification evaluation and the practical application of marketing research competencies. Our wellknown Certified Marketing Research Professional (CMRP) designation helps to ensure professional competence while enhancing the prestige of our profession by raising standards.

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POST GRADUATE

MRIA COURSES PATHWAY

CHALLENGE THE CMRE EXAM

EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONER

CMRP EXECUTIVE RETREAT

HOW’S THE VIEW FROM YOUR CUBICLE?

JUST LOVE TO LEARN?

GOT WHAT IT TAKES?

SOME DAYS YOU CAN TOUCH THE SKY!

REALLY? YOU’RE NOT A CMRP?

This certification pathway is designed to build a solid foundation of professional competence by raising the bar for new practitioners. In addition to two years of industry experience, we are providing Mentor support by leading CMRPs (in person and online) to enhance industry knowledge and deepen the candidates’ overall understanding of MR while preparing for the CMRE exam. Mentors are provided at no cost to the incumbents and represent some of our industry’s thought leaders. This is a unique and valuable opportunity opportunity to pursue your CMRP.

You’ve graduated from University and have developed a distinct taste for marketing research. You miss the thrill of learning and the challenge of proving your abilities. If your eye is on the future, then this path is for you, as the traditional, tried and true way to obtaining certification, and with a touch of flexibility. It requires completion of MRIA’s 12 Core Courses, combined with experience and the added help of a Mentor which we provide at no charge.

You’ve been around the block and have seen some dramatic changes to marketing research in your six years in the biz. You’re good at what you do; even your boss says so. You live on the edge and are not at all interested in reading volumes about research methodology. We get it. You can prove your mettle by telling us about your experience and writing the CMRE exam.

Period.

You are the one that comes to mind when people talk about experts in marketing research. With more than ten exciting years in the market research field, you are the ‘go to’ person when questions arise on ethics or polling or margins of error.

Task forces and boards of directors seek your participation and opinion.

Even other CMRPs will vouch for your expertise and would applaud your continued success as a CMRP. We can get you there in a few short steps.

It’s called respect. Ask any client who one of the top thought leaders in MR is, and your name comes up. You are seen at high level meetings, in the media, and at MRIA policy meetings.

Often called to speak at events, your international schedule is jam packed.

Google your name and many pages appear…..

Any time spent feeding your mind can only be spent with the very best industry thought leaders, innovators, movers and shakers. Learning about advances in leadership is always welcome. Hearing about innovations from your peers can be priceless.

You will be learning from the best and getting a better view!

We’ve got the courses so bring us your mind!

We know you’ve got what it takes!

Get the recognition you deserve!

CMRP – be known for what you know!

Continuous learning is the new standard – let us help you expand your knowledge base and reach outside of your comfort zone.

For more information, visit our website or write us as cmrp@mria-arim.ca The next CMRE Prep Course will take place on September 30 - October 1, 2015.

On February 18 and 19, there were 14 CMRE writers in 3 locations. Will you be at the next sitting?

Insti tute fo r Professi o na l Deve lo p me nt http://mria-arim.ca/education/cmrp-certification/cmrp-overview

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INDUSTRY N EW S PRESENTATION SUMMARY: CSRC SOCIAL CONNECT Paul Long, CMRP

There were far too many insights coming out of the Client-Side Researcher Council’s Social Connect held on November 20th to include them all, but here are some memorable ones: Try to reign in DIY if it is out of control at your company Andrea Ward (Mosaic) spoke on the challenge she faced joining a company where the use of DIY survey tools is widespread across the organization. Initially when she joined the company, she told everyone that only she can write and execute surveys.

When she found this was not being followed, she decided instead to approach research users and offer to help them with their research needs. She found this much more productive.

Provide maximum impact Amy Davies (Wrigley Canada) provided two keys to adding value to your employer.

1) Resist being merely a research order taker, and instead find out what the business need behind the request is and find out how to best fulfill this need.

2) As best as possible, quantify the value of your contributions to the organization to prove that the research department is more than a cost center.

Video interview with Amy Davies Millennials are different, and that impacts your research Isabelle Landreville (Sylvestre Marketing) spoke of the unique characteristics of those in the millennial generation as well as

providing some myth-busting. From a research standpoint though, the keys that Isabelle provided were: to be successful research with millennials should be collaborative in nature and not positioned as how they will help you, adapt research to their lifestyle perhaps using nano mobile-surveys, and use quick-study millennials to help moderate online groups.

Video interview with Isabelle Landreville Canada and the US are not the same: make sure your head office knows Eva Tolkunow (Hallmark) told attendees that when working for a U.S.-headquartered company, it is important to ensure they are aware of the differences between the two countries to minimize poor decision-making when dealing with Canada.

She pointed to Krispy Kreme’s failure in Canada as being the results of not realizing factors such as Canada’s high per capita number of coffee shops and different doughnut taste preferences.

Eva’s suggestions on how to make sure you make your case to your U.S. head office included foster a close relationship with the head office research group, develop a strong relationship with district managers and the Canadian leadership team, and sell the usefulness of Canadian data.

For an expanded version of this article, you can view the blog posting on the MRIA site at http://mria-arim.ca/publications/ mria-blogging/blog-posts/csrc14.

MRIA Disciplinary Procedure In the July/August, 2012 issue of Vue, MRIA published a Censure Notice that a member had contravened MRIA’s Code of Conduct and Good Practices. This sanction was based on the decision of a Complaint Panel convened to consider this case. Although MRIA’s Disciplinary Procedures notes that members have the right to appeal a decision of the Complaints Panel, the request for appeal for this specific case was denied. The Board of the MRIA has concluded that, without exception, fairness must be done and seen to be done in all matters related to MRIA’s Disciplinary Procedure. The Censure has been withdrawn as due process was denied. MRIA’s Board of Directors wish to extend a sincere apology to Don Mills, FMRIA and CEO of Corporate Research Associates.

This Notice confirms that the Board by its action, expresses neither comment nor opinion on the merits of the facts disputed by the parties; but only the undisputed fact that natural justice was denied the Member when the opportunity to Appeal the Panel’s decision was not granted.

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IND U STRY NEWS MRIA • QRC • QRCA-Canada are proud to present a Joint Conference

March 26 & 27, 2015 |

Hotel Novotel Toronto

A QUALITATIVE EVENT YOU WON’T WANT TO MISS! Keynote Speaker – Hugh MacPhie A leading Business strategist, focus group Moderator and Author of “Don’t Forget your Cape! What Pre-schoolers Teach Us About Leadership and Life.”

Keynote Speaker – Laurie Tema-Lyn Creative catalyst, market researcher, strategist, coach and Founder – Practical Imagination Enterprises Laurie is the author of “Stir It Up! Recipes for Robust Insights & Red Hot Ideas”, published by Paramount Market Publishing. It has received wide acclaim from market researchers and meeting facilitators.

“Write Stuff” Qualitative Reports Evaluated by a Client Panel.

Mobile Research in Action: For those who want to get involved, there is the opportunity to participate in a live mobile research project during the Conference. Results will be reported at the end of the day.

Roundtable Breakouts: “Hot topic” roundtable discussions.

Applied Learning Workshops: Learning Workshops conducted by leading qualitative researchers will be held on Thursday afternoon, followed by a “Dine Around Evening” of networking.

Please visit our Website for Conference Updates, Registration and Sponsorship Opportunities. Visit http://qrc2015.mria-arim.ca/

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Thank you to our Speakers Reg Baker, PhD, Marketing Research Institute International

Ray Poynter, author of “The Handbook of Mobile Market Research”

Frances M. Barlas, PhD, GfK Custom Research

Jon Puleston, Lightspeed GMI

Greg Dinsmore, CBC

Joel Rubinson, Rubinson Partners, Inc.

Dan Foreman, ESOMAR

Corrine Sandler, Fresh Intelligence Research Corp.

Leonard Murphy, Rockhopper Research, BrandScan36, Gen2 Advisors

Kristin Wozniak, CBC Cesar Zea, MBA, Millward Brown Canada

Stephen Popiel, VP of GFK Research Dynamics

Thank you to our Sponsors GOLD

SILVE R

BRONZ E

Thank you to our Exhibitors

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IND U STRY NEWS RESEARCH REGISTRATION SYSTEM Since 1994, the RRS has allowed respondents to verify the legitimacy of a research project; helped legislators and regulators differentiate between legitimate survey researchers and unscrupulous telemarketers, phishers and scammers; and protected the industry from unnecessary and unwanted regulation.

MRIA’s Research Registration System (RRS) has long been a cornerstone self-regulatory mechanism for the marketing, survey and public opinion research and market intelligence industry in Canada.

Combined with other self-regulatory initiatives such as our Code of Conduct and Good Practice and our Charter of Respondent Rights, the RRS has paid huge dividends in protecting the industry’s positive reputation and good name with Canadians.

MRIA’s Research Agency Council provides strategic, policy-level oversight of the Research Registration System, and receives aggregate data-only on the System’s performance.

All Gold Seal and Corporate Research Agency members of the Association are obligated to register all of their research projects with the RRS, and Client-Side Corporate members are encouraged to require their agency suppliers to do so. Starting in 2015, RRS fees are included in MRIA Corporate Membership Fees.

Questions about the Research Registration System should be addressed to Erica Klie, Manager, Member Support Services, at 1-888-602-6742 or (416) 642-9793, ext. 8727 or eklie@mria-arim.ca.

The following companies have registered research projects with the Research Registration System Up to December, 2014 GOLD SEAL CORPORATE RESEARCH AGENCIES Academica Group Advanis Inc. Advitek Inc. BBM Analytics BBM Canada Campaign Research Canadian Viewpoint Inc. Cido Research Consumer Vision Ltd. Corporate Research Associates CRC Research EKOS Research Associates Inc. Elemental Data Collection Inc. Environics Research Group Limited Forum Research Inc. Fresh Squeezed Ideas

GfK Canada Greenwich Associates Hay Research International Head Count Insightrix Research Inc. Ipsos Reid Leger, The Research Intelligence Group Maritz Research Canada Market Probe Canada Market Pulse Inc. MBA Recherche MD Analytics Inc. MQO Research Nanos Research Nielsen Consumer Insights NRG Research Group

CORPORATE RESEARCH AGENCIES Bureau des Intervieweurs Professionnels Inc. Dialogue Research Inc. Goss Gilroy Inc. Nexus Market Research Inc.

Qualitative Coordination Inc. Quality Response Inc. Trampoline Marketing

Opinion Search Inc. PRA Inc. Quorus Consulting Group Inc. R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd. Research Dimensions Research House Inc. Research Now Research Strategy Group Inc. SmartPoint Research Inc. Tele-Surveys Plus / Télé-Sondages Plus The Logit Group Inc. TNS Canada (Canadian Facts) Trend Research Inc. Vision Critical

GOLD SEAL AGENCY - PENDING Illumina Research Partners

Rules of Conduct and Good Practice For Members of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (2007): Section A (5) Members must uphold the MRIA Charter of Respondent Rights.

Charter of Respondent Rights, Article 2 You can verify that the research you have been invited to participate in is legitimate in one of two ways. You can either obtain a registration number and the MRIA’s toll-free telephone number for any research registered in the MRIA’s Research Registration System or you can obtain the contact information of the research director who is conducting the study.

http://mria-arim.ca/about-mria/research-registration/research-registration-overview

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INDUSTRY N EW S FROM THE CLASSROOM

HUMBER COLLEGE RAPP PROGRAM GEORGIAN COLLEGE RAPP PROGRAM ALGONQUIN COLLEGE MRBI PROGRAM

HUMBER COLLEGE RAPP PROGRAM On the social research side, Kevin Mahadeo was awarded a grant from the Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund (OHCRIF) for his review project on initiatives and policies for the successful economic integration of recent immigrants to the GTA. In February, two student teams competed in the Canadian Evaluation Society’s Student Case Competition, and had a healthy placing. Contact Mary Takacs, Program Coordinator at Mary.Takacs@humber.ca

GEORGIAN COLLEGE RAPP PROGRAM RAP students presented their Major Research Projects to two leading Toronto-based companies – Ipsos and Environics Research Group – on November 7. Cindi Keenan’s research explored whether or not Cubeit – a moving and portable storage company – was succeeding as a local start-up business. Her project was recognized with the Ipsos John Fryer Award for the depth of her study. The trio of Kevin Harris, Angelica Argyropoulos and Jessica Barnett were recognized with the Environics Award for their study with the Plug’N Drive EV Experience at the Georgian College Auto Show where the team evaluated the promotion of electric vehicles to consumers and what prevents buyers from choosing an EV. Contact Dan Phillips, Coordinator, at dan.phillips@georgiancollege.ca

ALGONQUIN COLLEGE MRBI PROGRAM MRIA National published the first “Student Perspectives” Blog, written by MRBI student Arundati Dandapani. Selina Zhang was awarded the 2014 MRIA – MRBI Bursary for being a deserving student with high academic standing. Selina also received the Jim Mathews Award for Intelligence Excellence, in an annual student competition, which included a trip to the Strategic & Competitive Intelligence Professionals Conference in Orlando. Asif Khan and Thais Saitohad had their project, Technology Raises Ethical Challenges in Social Service Work and Education, featured in the 2014 education issue of Vue magazine.

Contact Nancy Johansen, MBA, CMRP, Program Coordinator at johansn@algonquincollege.com

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IND U STRY NEWS

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REGISTRY In accordance with federal privacy laws,

MRIA’s Qualitative Research Registry (QRR), or Registre de la recherche qualitative (RRQ) in French, was created to provide an ongoing, userfriendly vehicle for tracking those who do not want to be contacted or should not be contacted for qualitative research studies.

QRR is a comprehensive do not call list of those who have recently participated in qualitative research studies, those who have asked not to be contacted further, and those felt by recruiters and moderators to be best served by not being contacted. These respondents are marked as “do not call” in accordance with established MRIA Standards.

However, the ability of the system to function effectively is directly related to the co-operation received from firms who provide recruitment services.

If you are a full service research firm or field supplier that is currently participating in the Qualitative Research Registry program – thank you very much and keep up the good work!

All field and full-service companies are encouraged to submit a list of their qualitative respondents for entry into the QRR system each month, including those who do not wish to be contacted.

If you are not currently participating, please get involved! If you are interested in submitting to QRR, please visit the MRIA website at http://mriaarim.ca/about-mria/qualitative-research-division/qualitative-research-registry for further explanation and guidance on how to submit qualitative research participants’ names, along with the required electronic forms.

Participating firms will receive monthly updates of respondents to be screened from qualitative recruitment samples. QRR works effectively to increase the quality and integrity of the qualitative research process, by serving as a control to ensure respondents are not contacted more frequently than is necessary.

THE FOLLOWING CORPORATE MEMBERS HAVE SUBMITTED NAMES TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REGISTRY

Up to December, 2014 ONTARIO

WEST

Research House Inc. Quality Response Inc. Opinion Search Inc. I & S Recruiting Dawn Smith Field Management Service Consumer Vision Ltd. Barbara C. Campbell Recruiting Inc. (BCCR Inc.)

Trend Research Inc. Barbara C. Campbell Recruiting Inc. (BCCR Inc.)

QUEBEC MBA Recherche

If you have any questions about or wish to submit to the QRR please send an e-mail to: qrr@mria-arim.ca Information regarding the QRR can be found at http://mria-arim.ca/about-mria/qualitative-research-division/qualitative-research-registry Starting in 2015, all QRR fees are included in MRIA’s Corporate Membership Fees.

To view the fee scale, visit http://mria-arim.ca/membership/join-mria/corporate-memberships/corporate-dues-fees Rules of Conduct and Good Practice for Members of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (2007), Section C Rules Specific to the Conduct of Qualitative Research: 20. R ecruiters should provide accurate data to the Qualitative Research Registry, where such exists, on a consistent basis and check all respondents against the Registry.

21. M oderators buying recruiting services should give primary consideration to recruiting agencies which submit to the Qualitative Research Registry, where such a service exists, on a regular and ongoing basis.

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TORONTO CHAPTER The Toronto Chapter held its Holiday Party on December 11th.

P ictured from left to right are Mark Reid and Zachary Grashow

P ictured from left to right are Anna Zamurujeva, Chloe Lee

Pictured from left to right are Laureen Foster, Mark Wood, and Susan Ince

QUEBEC CHAPTER Souper-conférence des Fêtes

C’est le 9 décembre dernier que le chapitre du Québec a tenu son traditionnel souper-conférence des fêtes.

La soirée s’est ouverte avec la conférence « S’inspirer pour 2015 » résumant les principales tendances marketing et consommateurs observées en 2014 et présentée par Pascal Routhier, planificateur stratégique chez Cossette.

Pictured from left to right are Patricia Thomas, Ad hoc Research; Nathalie St-Laurent, Ad hoc Research; Sylvain Gauthier, CROP and Anne-Marie Fillion, A Propos Marketing.

Les festivités se sont ensuite poursuivies devant les savoureux plats du bistro Lannes & Pacifique. Comme toujours, la soirée aura été propice aux retrouvailles et aux échanges entre les gens de la profession.

Holiday Conference Supper

Last December 9, the Quebec Chapter held its traditional Holiday Conference Supper.

The invited speaker, Pascal Routhier from Cossette

Pascal Routhier, strategic planner at Cossette, opened the evening with a conference entitled “Be inspired for 2015”, summarizing the key marketing and consumer trends observed in 2014.

The festivities continued with people gathering around the tasty dishes presented by Bistro Lannes & Pacifique. As always, the evening was conducive to renewing old acquaintances and exchanging with members of the profession.

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Pictured from left to right are Richard Saint-Pierre, Ad hoc Research and François Gohier, Gohier Conseil

OTTAWA CHAPTER On November 27, 2014, the Ottawa Chapter of MRIA held a special presentation on the results of the 2014 AmericasBarometer survey, presented by Dr. Keith Neuman of the Environics Institute for Survey Research.

Pictured from left to right are Nat Stone, Keith Neuman

P ictured from left to right are Enoka Bainomugisha, Kavisha Patel, Brenda Sharpe, Michel Durocher, Alec Lumsden, Lauren Perron, Krista Montgomery

Randa Bell

Keith Neuman

P ictured from left to right are Anda Carabineanu, Sarah Roberton, Brigitte Bouchard-Morris, Alex Theus, Keely Mimnagh

Have any news or photos you want to share? Contact associate editor Jeff Hecker (jeff.hecker@athenabrand.com) Members and guests are welcome at all MRIA events: Check our online calendar at http://mria-arim.ca/events-awards/calendar for more information on all events and how to register. Members receive emails directly with event updates, so please check your inboxes for instructions on how to register for all upcoming events!

MRIA Portal: https://www.mriaportal-arimportail.ca Non members can sign up for free email, enewsletters and eVue at http://mria-arim.ca/contact-us/contact-staff

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BOOK

REVIEWS

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A Review of Dataclysm

Written by Christian Rudder Published by Crown Reviewed by Dr. Chuck Chakrapani What are the chances that one of the most interesting books on data analysis is written by a founder of a dating site? What are the chances that it would also help you understand the power of big data and its potential for understanding consumer behaviour?

Let’s start with a quiz: Who is more critical of looks? Are men more accepting of how women look or are women more accepting of how men look? In my informal survey of friends and acquaintances (both men and women), the overwhelming view was that women are less critical of men’s looks. It is also in line with some academic research I had read in the past.

Except that it is not so. While men think that about 50% women have above average looks, women think only one guy in six looks “above average”. How do we know this? Through big data.

What consumers say and what they do are two different things. We have known this all our lives but we pretend it is not so and continue ask consumers what their purchase intent (or whatever) is because we have no reasonable alternative to asking direct questions. This the basis of most, though not all, marketing, social and academic research.

Books on big data tend to treat big data as voluminous data that can be used for machine learning (such as Amazon giving you book recommendations or gmail identifying spam). They fail to demonstrate convincingly what big data can do to our understanding of human behavior that small data cannot. Along comes Christian Rudder, cofounder of the dating site OKCupid, with his book on big data Dataclysm to show the power of big data. By analyzing the actual behavior patterns exhibited by millions of consumers we can understand them better than we ever can by asking them. This is the power of big data and Rudder makes big data come alive.

By demonstrating how big data can identify behavior patterns that small data cannot, Rudder demonstrates the power of big data and presents findings that contradict current knowledge derived from standard research procedures. You will read here findings about race which you will not find anywhere else. If you are skeptical of the current social and psychological research, especially the ones that comes

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out of the academe which is almost exclusively based convenience sample of a limited section of the society (WEIRD sample- White, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic), Dataclysm will confirm that your skepticism of academic research is well founded.

And that goes to marketing research as well.

Dataclysm is a surprisingly good book on data analysis. Rudder not only understands statistics well but can communicate it with elegance and clarity.

For example, his description of what variance is, what it means and how it can lead to extraordinary conclusions like ‘having a small flaw is better than being perfect and so be yourself’ is so far removed from the mechanical way in which statistics is taught in schools and universities, you can’t but admire the ease with which Rudder takes the reader from simple data analysis to complex generalizations.

If you are tired of seeing attractive but silly graphs that litter research presentations, research reports, newspaper articles, journals and books, here you will find graphs that are deceptively simple looking yet communicate significant conclusions very effectively.

Rudder devotes a chapter to branding, and the different words used by those with small twitter followings versus larger twitter followings. Just in case you didn’t know, you can buy the list of twitter followers. Dataclysm points out what exactly in happening to our privacy. You may not follow Rudder in never posting your children’s pictures online, but you may become more cautious about being careless about your privacy.

The book is lively, well conceived, well written and beautifully produced.

If you want to know the mechanics of big data and how to analyze it, there are many, many books you can read. But if you want to know what big data are all about, why it is different from small data and how it can transform our understanding of consumer behavior, this book, as of this writing, has few peers.

Dr. Chuck Chakrapani is President of Leger Analytics. He can be reached at chuck.chakrapani@gmail.com

A Review of

Qual-Online: The Essential Guide Written by Jennifer Dale and Susan Abbott Published by Paramount Market Publishing Reviewed by Jeff Hecker One of the characteristics of rapid technological change is that it messes with categories. They can merge or split, and often the need for new categories emerges.

This couldn’t be more true than for online qualitative research. Five years ago, online qual might have been categorized either as synchronous (real-time) or asynchronous (taking place over an extended period). But today, those two categories alone aren’t good enough, because platforms and methods have evolved. Now, within “real-time” and “extended”, you can find a variety of platforms which differ in ways that are important, but which haven’t really been fully mapped out.

This is the context for Jennifer Dale and Susan Abbott’s new book, Qual-Online – The Essential Guide: What every researcher needs to know about conducting and moderating interviews via the web.

To begin, Dale and Abbott lay out an updated framework for categorizing online qualitative research approaches, so that methods like mobile ethnography, real-time text chats, and insight communities can be compared, contrasted, and understood.

What then follows is truly a “guide” of the best kind. Qual-Online goes into rich detail about every phase of an online qualitative project. There are chapters on platform selection, cost estimation, recruiting, moderating, and analysis, with each section featuring case studies, checklists, and pointers that have obviously come from deep experience. Dale and Abbott have done a very good job at communicating a high-level framing of the current state of online qual. But their book also excels at identifying all the “devils in the details” that one needs to be mindful of, whether it’s the need to explicitly state assumptions when quoting, or scheduling projects in such a way as to accommodate bathroom breaks (the importance of which cannot be overstated).

The book addresses the challenge of bringing what I can only call “moderator-mojo” into the digital world, with tips on how to establish strong

rapport with respondents who may be on the other side of the world rather than across a focus-group facility table. They point out that moderators can support rapport by offering a video-introduction or a telephone call prior to the field launch, but also by developing their own “virtual smile” – a tone that communicates your personality – and, of course, your empathy – even in the digital environment.

Dale and Abbott include a section on ethical considerations around online qualitative, where issues of disclosure, consent, and anonymity can work a bit differently.

Qual-Online is well written and accessible; it’s succinct without being overly dense, and content is nicely chunked for easy digestion. In my view, it is the most comprehensive and current book on online qualitative. (Ray Poynter’s publication – The Handbook of Online and Social Media Research – is about now about 5 years old.)

Qual-Online is an invaluable resource both for new and experienced practitioners, as well as for research buyers, who will be well served by deepening their understanding of the alternative approaches available, and their strengths and weaknesses.

But the appearance of a book of this nature also speaks to the dynamism of the qualitative research community. It says that technology is being embraced, and that good thinking has led to the development of thoughtful methodologies – and compelling results.

Highly recommended! Qual-Online retails for $24.95 and is available through amazon.com, or through the authors directly at info@abbottresearch.com.

Jeff Hecker is a Principal at Athena Brand Wisdom, a qualitative market research and strategy firm, based in Toronto. He also serves as Associate Editor at Vue magazine. vue | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015

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MRIA BOARD ELECTIONS

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: MRIA NATIONAL BOARD OF DIRECTORS In accordance with MRIA’s Bylaws, an election for six (6) At-Large Director positions on the Association’s twelve (12) member National Board of Directors will take place by secret ballot, through regular or electronic mail, from March 2 to April 15 2015. The 2015-17 Board of Directors will take office in conjunction with the Association’s Annual General Meeting on Monday, May 25, 2015 in Toronto.

The deadline for submission of completed Nomination Forms and Candidate Statements is Friday, February 27, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Each of the six positions available for election/re-election is for a two-year term, 2015-16 and 2016-17. If more than six nominations come forward, an election by electronic ballot will be arranged.

AT-LARGE DIRECTOR Eligibility: Any member-in-good-standing may be nominated.

Number To Be Elected: Six Directors.

Electors: All members-in-good-standing may vote for up to six (6) candidates.

Term of Office: Two Years, 2015-16 and 2016-17.

For complete information, please download the Election Package (PDF format), which includes the Board Nomination Form, a Position Description, and other information about the election.

Cliquez ici pour de plus amples informations en français.

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Donya Germain, CMRP Pearl Strategy and Innovation Design Challenge 2015 At the beginning of 2014, I posted a challenge, tweeted about it, displayed it on Facebook and attempted to live by it throughout the year. It is the foundation for this column and is summarized in my pinned tweet “#character #honesty #integrity #positivity don’t sacrifice these qualities in your #personal or #professional lives”.

As we move through 2015 and are busy striving to obtain the elusive work/ life balance, pay our bills and find personal and professional fulfillment, let’s not forget to apply this challenge both at home and at work.

At work, the place to start for an MRIA member is the Ten Core Principles for marketing researchers.

confidence in the marketing research and intelligence industry in 2015 and determine what we are doing to build or diminish it. Respect the publics’ right to privacy. Remember to abide by our Canadian national and provincial laws, but also make sure to know the international laws when conducting research globally.

With the public Gather correct consent and apply honesty in your disclosure. Consider whether the public has more or less

With competition You must demonstrate your own value and not use the all too frequent sales tool of disrespecting, criticizing or

With yourself Are you keeping up with the industry and specifically the marketing research Codes of Conduct from MRIA as well as other organizations like Esomar?

Are you at least generally competent in what you do but better yet, committed to education and improvement in your chosen field?

All of these points sound easy, basic and we assume everyone adheres to them. If you are doing it all already, then congratulations and please challenge yourself in some other way. But if you are honest with yourself and you are not happy with Good Enough for 2015, let’s decide as individuals and as an industry to expect better of ourselves, our company and our suppliers and in turn deliver better to our clients.

I have for the past decade, you know the mixed emotions that come with preparing that final “prediction”. The excitement of opening up the data set for the first time. The intrigue of applying your statistical weightings and running the frequency to see the final results for the first time. The anxiety that ultimately consumes you moments before voting closes and the real results, from those who actually voted, start to come in.

It’s excruciating. Over the next 60 to 90 minutes you wait anxiously to see whether your numbers match the early returns. By the end of the evening, you feel one of three emotions: relief that your numbers were not off by much, euphoria that you nailed it within a percentage point, or sheer misery that you and your colleagues blew it.

Rarely does a single polling firm deviate that much from the pack.

Usually we all do a good job or we all miss the mark. Think of Ontario 2011 and Alberta 2012 as recent examples.

Nate Silver’s analysis raised a lot of eyebrows about the tendency for polls

to converge around a single predicted outcome as Election Day nears. I recommend you read the post and judge the evidence for yourself. But the pressure on the research firm to make “the most accurate” call is almost as strong as the pressure to not be alone in making a bad forecast. So the incentive to herd is there.

How do we as an industry combat this? Transparency.

It’s time that Canadian polling firms follow the practice of our peers in the UK and the United States and start our own Transparency Initiative. And transparency involves what we teach in introductory research methods classes: sharing our question wording, weighting schemes, unweighted and weighted counts, and highlighting any doubts we have about our findings. We have to take a hard look at ourselves and our industry; If we’re not willing to stand by our results and open them up to scrutiny, maybe we need to question whether they should be released publicly at all.

With clients Accuracy and honesty in your research process and especially in interpretation and reporting of research results are paramount. Are you positively spinning data to appease or retain your clients?

Remember to keep the information your clients share with you confidential and preserve their records.

disparaging other MRIA members or professionals in the industry.

Perspectives on Polling David Coletto Abacus Data Herded Like a Flock of Sheep?

Are we afraid to be an outlier?

I’m thrilled to have this platform to share my perspective on public opinion polling, methodology and the future of the industry in Canada. Let’s start this conversation with a topic no one really wants to talk about in our business: herding.

No one likes to go out on a limb.

The tendency to conform and go with the grain is part of human nature.

Taking a look at evidence presented by Nate Silver, it seems that pollsters may be no different.

Based on Silver’s analysis of publicly released polls in the United States, poll results have an uncanny tendency to “herd” around a common result despite the fact that probability and survey error should produce more varied results.

This may explain why polls uniformly overestimate support for one party over another, as was clear in the recent midterm elections in the United States.

If you have been on research teams involved in public election polling like

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CO LUM NIST S

‘Good Enough’ is not OK

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FORGOT SOMETHING? COULD IT BE RENEWING YOUR

MRIA MEMBERSHIP

FOR 2015?

RENEW YOUR MRIA MEMBERSHIP TODAY TO DEVELOP YOUR CAREER AND BUSINESS WHILE SUPPORTING YOUR INDUSTRY. Here are some of the benefits you enjoy as an MRIA MEMBER: • Professional Standings & Credibility • Exclusive Networking Opportunities • Staying Informed • Member Discounts • Marketing of your Business

• P rofessional Recognition • Powerful Advocacy •C onnect with other Members •R elevant Professional Development • L earning Opportunities ... and Fun!

NOW IS THE TIME TO RENEW Visit the MRIA Portal TODAY at www.mriaportal.ca to renew your membership for 2015.

For more information, contact MRIA at membership@mria-arim.ca 30

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2015 COURSE OFFERINGS

CORE AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES CORE COURSES 102 – ETHICAL ISSUES AND PRIVACY IN MARKETING RESEARCH Introduces participants to the key ethical concerns that arise throughout the research process.

202 – QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN Examines the types of questions that should be asked and the best way to ask them.

OTTAWA: May 8, 2015 Instructor: Rick Hobbs

204 – QUALITATIVE MARKETING RESEARCH Examines the latest theory and application of some of the most common qualitative research methods.

301 – COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE, MYSTERY SHOPPING AND BENCHMARKING Learn to conduct competitive intelligence to anticipate your competitor’s next moves, interpret their strategies and assess their threat.

TORONTO: March 11, 2015 Instructor: David Lithwick

302 – MARKET INTELLIGENCE Learn the purpose of market intelligence (MI), how to integrate MI disciples, MI models, and building MI teams.

303 – MARKETING MANAGEMENT FOR RESEARCHERS Provides students with a solid understanding of the marketing function in business decisions.

401 – ONLINE RESEARCH, BEST PRACTICES AND INNOVATIONS Examines various online methodologies while covering their applications, pros, and cons.

TORONTO: March 5, 2015 Instructor: Jordan Levitin OTTAWA: April 16, 2015 Instructor: Abhay Tiwari

402 – ADVANCED ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES (2 days) This introduction to multivariate analysis covers a range of techniques and explains their uses.

TORONTO: February 26-27, 2015 Instructor: Chuck Chakrapani

403 – ADVANCED QUALITATIVE MARKETING RESEARCH Provides an in–depth examination of qualitative techniques, methodologies, and analysis.

Visit our web site, www.mria-arim.ca/education, for course details, registration deadlines and pricing.

Our in-class courses are available in simulcast for your convenience.

The next CMRE Prep Course is in Toronto on September 30 – October 1 2015 .

Core courses are available online, and please visit our web site for details.

If you are interested in taking any of our listed courses that are not yet scheduled please send an e-mail to education@mria-arim.ca.

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES CATEGORICAL DATA ANALYSIS An introduction to an array of methods and modeling techniques for categorical data analysis.

COMMUNICATING WITH HIGH IMPACT GRAPHS Learn how to produce effective reports, presentations, and impactful, persuasive graphs.

CONJOINT ANALYSIS An in–depth examination of conjoint analysis, its applications, and interpretation.

CREATING WINNING RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS Learn how to craft a presentation that tells a story, engages, and impacts your audience.

CROWD SOURCING Learn the basics of crowd sourcing and the marketing research crowd sourcing spectrum – from ideas, to insights, to innovation.

MARKET SEGMENT RESEARCH Covers the various methods used for market segmentation and evaluates the pros/cons of each.

MEASURING CUSTOMER STATISTICS: INTRODUCTION Learn the ins and outs of properly measuring customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention.

MEASURING CUSTOMER STATISTICS: ADVANCED Builds on the introduction by providing an in–depth analysis of the techniques used to measure customer satisfaction METRIC MADNESS Learn about evaluating digital and social media datasets, what tracking tools to use, and how to communicate these results.

MODERATOR TRAINING: BASIC (3 days) Learn core moderating skills including preparing for a focus group, introducing and warming up the group, questioning and listening skills, and dealing with difficult respondents.

MODERATORS TOOL BOX: ADVANCED An intensive workshop where participants learn the intricacies of a variety of moderating techniques such as when to (or not to) use them, how to use them, and how to analyze them.

TORONTO: May 6-8, 2015 Instructor: Margaret Imai-Compton

TORONTO: March 12-13, 2015 Instructor: Margaret Imai-Compton

SEMIOTICS: HOW SYMBOLS, PACKAGING AND ADVERTISING COMMUNICATE Examines the fundamentals of semiotic analysis with workshops to allow participants to see how the methodology works in the ‘real world’.

SPSS: INTRODUCTION This workshop will quickly help you learn the basics of SPSS for analyzing the types of data that results from most surveys.

SPSS: ADVANCED (2 days) Work through more advanced analyses that are capable of providing significant insights into consumer behaviour and motivation.

TORONTO: April 22, 2015 Instructor: Ken Deal

TORONTO: April 23-24, 2015 Instructor: Ken Deal