vue
the magazine of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association
SEPTEM BER 2014
Technology Raises Ethical Challenges in Social Service Work and Education
Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40033932
Visualize your Data with Storytelling Protecting Privacy in Big Data Research Understanding the Midland Salvation Army’s Food Bank: A Research Journey Watching TV and Tw-eating
THE FIVE PATHWAYS We are pleased to release 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 Next CMRE Prep Course is on October 6-7, followed by the CMRE Exam on October 27-28 in Toronto. Check our online Events Calendar for additional information.
Insti tute fo r Profess i o nal Deve lo p me nt http://mria-arim.ca/education/cmrp-certification/cmrp-overview
vue SEPTEMBER 2014
VUE MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY THE MARKETING RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE ASSOCIATION TEN TIMES A YEAR
Commentary 4 Editor’s Vue 5 Letter from the Chair 6
Letter from the CEO
SPECIAL FEATURE 8 Technology
Raises Ethical Challenges in Social Service Work and Education
Nancy Johansen, Asif Khan and Thais Saito
Features 12 Visualize Your Data with Storytelling Rudy Nadilo 14 Protecting Privacy in Big Data Research Ann Cavoukian 16 Understanding the Midland Salvation Army’s Food Bank: A Research Journey Amanda Vena, Anna Zamurujeva and Samantha Gelinas 20 Watching TV and Tw-eating Lisa Fisher, Stefanie Commisso & Matthew Murray
Industry News 19 Qualitative Research Registry (QRR) 24 Your Vue 25 Chapter Chat 26 Research Registration System (RRS)
MRIA Institute for Professional Development 27 Education Course listings
Book Reviews 28 Now you see it 29 The Digital Metrics Field Guide
Columnists 30 It’s a Qual World 30 “Good Enough” is not OK 31 We are Pleased to Announce…
ADDRESS The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association L’association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing
94 Cumberland Street, Suite 601 Toronto, ON M5R 1A3 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 EDITOR Fiona Isaacson fisaacson@gmail.com COPY EDITOR Diane Peters diane.peters@sympatico.ca Interested in joining the Vue editorial team? Contact us at vue@mria-arim.ca 2014 ADVERTISING RATES Frequent advertisers receive discounts. Details can be found by going to: www.mria-arim.ca/advertising/vue.asp 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. 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: September © 2014. All rights reserved. Copyright rests with the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association or the author. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association or the author. All requests for permission for reproduction must be submitted to MRIA at publications@mria-arim.ca. RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association L’Association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing 94 Cumberland Street, Suite 601 Toronto, ON M5R 1A3 Canadian Publications Mail Agreement #40033932 ISSN 1488-7320
COMME N TARY / CO MME NTAIR E Editor’s Vue Annie Pettit
I always like the education issue of Vue magazine. It’s where new and recent graduates share some of the research they’ve been working on over the last year. I received more than 10 student submissions from three different colleges and had a difficult time narrowing them down to just one article from each institution. But if I hadn’t just told you that three of the articles in this magazine were written by students (and you had skipped the author bios at the bottom of the stories), you might not have realized it. No, they don’t have five or 10 or 20 years of research experience behind them, but they’ve learned when to choose multi-mode strategies, they know which types of statistics are most appropriate given the methodologies, and they’re working hard to find the answers that their clients need. This summer, I was beyond lucky to visit Easter Island, isolated thousands of miles from its nearest neighbour, where the larger-than-life, extraordinary moai statues dot the shorelines. The Rapa Nui people who lived there hundreds of years ago suffered the consequences of not looking to the future. They didn’t realize that the trees they were cutting down to build houses and boats would not regrow quickly enough for the next generation. Their land suffered greatly, and still suffers to this day. Fortunately, the marketing research industry readies itself for the future every year when a fresh crop of students graduate from Algonquin, Georgian and Humber colleges. They bring with them a solid foundation of skills and expertise. They also bring with them hope, new ideas, and boundless energy for our future. Let’s make sure our industry embraces all that they have to offer. Many heads – many fresh heads – are better than one.
J’apprécie toujours les numéros que Vue consacre à l’éducation et dans lesquels les nouveaux ou récents diplômés nous font part de la recherche qu’ils ont faite au cours des 12 derniers mois. Cette année, plus de dix étudiants de trois collèges différents ont proposé des articles. Le choix d’un représentant par établissement n’a pas été facile, je vous l’assure. Je parie que vous n’auriez pas remarqué que les rédacteurs de ces articles étaient des étudiants si je ne l’avais pas mentionné. Non, ils n’ont pas dix ou 20 années d’expérience en recherche à leur actif, mais ils savent quand opter pour une stratégie multimode et quels résultats sont les plus valables compte tenu de la méthodologie. Ils travaillent d’ailleurs avec énergie pour trouver les réponses dont leurs clients ont besoin. J’ai eu cet été la chance inouïe de visiter l’île de Pâques, isolée à des milliers de kilomètes des terres les plus proches. Sur cette île aujourd’hui sertie des fameuses statues gigantesques moaï vivait auparavant le peuple de RapaNui, qui a élevé ces statues. Pendant des centaines d’années il a exploité la forêt de l’île sans prêter attention à l’épuisement progressif de cette précieuse ressource. Le résultat catastrophique de cette exploitation non durable a durement touché l’île et ses habitants, qui ont presque tous disparus. Heureusement, le secteur de la recherche marketing, lui, se prépare pour l’avenir en accueillant chaque année de nouveaux diplômés des collèges Algonquin, Georgian et Humber – la relève. Ces jeunes gens compétents apportent à la recherche marketing l’espoir, les nouvelles idées et l’énergie inépuisable de la jeunesse. Et nous en profitons tous. Voyons donc à leur faire une place de choix dans notre secteur. Après tout, plusieurs têtes valent mieux qu’une, non?
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. 4
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CO MME NTARY / CO MMENTAIRE Letter from the Chair Shane Skillen, CMRP
As we evolve MRIA into a more businesslike and member-serving organization, there are some important initiatives underway. CEO Kara Mitchelmore is working hard to make these goals a reality and I am confident she will be successful as we remake our association into the glue that holds our profession together. In terms of the CMRP, we are targeting having 40 new experienced practitioners, 20 postgraduates and 15 executive program participants this year.
D’importantes initiatives lancées en 2014 visent à faire de l’ARIM un organisme davantage professionnel, qui sert bien ses membres. Kara Mitchelmore, notre chef de la direction, oeuvre d’ailleurs avec énergie à transformer ces objectifs en réalités. Je suis confiant qu’elle réussira et que l’ARIM deviendra le ciment qui unit tous les gens de la profession. À l’égard de l’agrément PARM, nous visons cette année certifier 40 nouveaux praticiens d’expérience, 20 diplômés d’études supérieures et 15 participants au programme de perfectionnement des cadres.
We are also looking to improve our school outreach, a key source of research talent. This year we plan to have student members at 10 schools across Canada, and help senior faculty at these schools achieve their CMRP. We will increase exposure at career fairs, ensure we have speaking opportunities in marketing research classes, and sponsor at least one case competition.
Nous comptons également tisser des liens plus étroits avec les institutions d’enseignement, autant de pépinières de nouveaux talents en recherche et intelligence marketing. Nous estimons pouvoir ainsi recruter des membres étudiants dans dix établissements où nous aiderons également les professeurs à obtenir l’agrément PARM. Nous serons aussi davantage présents aux salons de l’emploi et dans les classes de recherche marketing. Nous commanditerons de plus au moins une compétition d’étude de cas.
In terms of Gold Seal, we plan to grow membership. Adam Froman, chair of the MRIA Research Agency Council (RAC), and his team continue their revitalization initiatives with good results so far, including increased Gold Seal engagement and satisfaction.
Nous avons aussi comme objectif d’attirer plus de professionnels à la distinction Sceau d’or. Les efforts de revitalisation d’Adam Froman, le président du Conseil des sociétés de recherche de l’ARIM, et de son équipe portent d’ailleurs déjà fruit, tant à l’égard de l’engagement que de la satisfaction.
Regarding education, we plan to offer several courses through the Americas Research Industry Alliance (ARIA) in Latin America, and we are launching three new professional development programs selected based on a member survey.
Au chapitre de la formation, nous proposerons des cours en Amérique latine par l’entremise de la Americas Research Industry Alliance (ARIA), de même que trois nouveaux programmes de perfectionnement professionnel qui s’inspirent des résultats des sondages de nos membres.
We are updating our standards and code of conduct to reflect current industry realities. We have a new complaints procedure and are introducing a protocol for sanctions against violators; the rules will be launched and communicated to members this fall. We will know our revitalization has been a success if we can mark at least 1,000 attendees at our 2015 annual conference in Toronto. We plan to invite people from different industries and to leverage best practices in conference planning to ensure a strong, vibrant event. And last of all, the MRIA golf tournament is just days away. This is a wonderful opportunity to make some new connections. You don’t need to be a great golfer to enjoy a day away from the office with industry colleagues. I hope to see you there! If you ever want to connect, you can find me at shane.skillen@hotspex.com.
Nous voyons aussi en ce moment à l’actualisation de notre code de déontologie, afin qu’il « colle » mieux à la réalité contemporaine du secteur. La procédure en cas de plainte a été révisée et nous mettons en place un protocole de sanctions à l’endroit des contravenants. Tous les détails vous seront communiqués dès cet automne. Par ailleurs, nous estimons que les efforts de revitalisation de l’ARIM auront produit les résultats escomptés si au moins 1 000 personnes participent au congrès annuel cet automne à Toronto. Les invitations lancées aux gens de divers secteurs et le recours aux meilleurs pratiques en matière de planification devraient résulter en un congrès aussi intéressant que dynamique. Enfin, n’oublions pas le tournoi de golf de l’ARIM qui aura lieu bientôt. C’est une occasion de réseautage. Vous n’avez pas besoin d’être un excellent golfeur pour profiter d’une journée loin du bureau avec des collègues. Au plaisir de vous y rencontrer ! Vous pouvez me rejoindre en tout temps à shane.skillen@hotspex.com.
Shane Skillen, CMRP, CEO / PARM, PDG, Hotspex Inc. Chair, Marketing Research and Intelligence Association / Président du conseil, L’Association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing Email: shane.skillen@hotspex.com • 416-487-5439
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COMME N TARY / CO MME NTAIR E Letter from the CEO Kara Mitchelmore
As members are undoubtedly aware, the new Canadian anti-spam legislation (CASL) came into effect on July 1, 2014, and with it, questions abound. As CASL is seen as one of the toughest pieces of anti-spam legislation ever implemented, our counterparts around the world are looking to MRIA for leadership and guidance as we work diligently to provide clarification, education and advocacy for our membership. Over the past two months, MRIA has been working closely with the Canadian government and legal counsel to gain additional insight into how CASL will be implemented and interpreted. Some of the clarifications that we have gleaned include: • CASL does not apply to federal or provincial governments; therefore, it would not apply to a third party contracted by either of these two levels of government to conduct research solely on behalf of the government. • CASL does, however, apply to Crown corporations and municipal governments. Liability Who might be found liable for a non-compliant email? It would be the sender and the person on whose behalf the communication is being made. The key section in CASL is Section 6, whereby it is “prohibited to send or cause or permit to be sent to an electronic address a commercial electronic message” unless certain requirements are met. Incentives There is no exception in CASL for marketing and survey research. Rather, the government has confirmed with MRIA that it does not consider Internet research to be a commercial activity, therefore CASL does not apply. That said, the act would apply to an incentive that offered an opportunity to be entered into a draw or contest, as CASL is explicit that “gaming opportunities” are considered commercial in nature.
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La Loi canadienne anti-pourriel (LCAP), ou loi antipourriel, a pris effet le 1er juillet dernier. L’une des lois du genre les plus sévères au monde, la LCAP a incité des associations soeurs étrangères à consulter l’ARIM quant aux activités de représentation et de formation qu’elle a mis en oeuvre suite à l’adoption de cette loi. Depuis deux mois, l’ARIM, ses avocats et le gouvernement du Canada cherchent à clarifier comment la loi sera interprétée et appliquée. Relevons à ce jour deux clarifications importantes : • la LCAP ne s’applique pas aux gouvernements fédéral et provinciaux ni aux tiers qui, en vertu d’un contrat, font de la recherche pour l’un de ces paliers de gouvernement; • LCAP s’applique aux sociétés de la couronne et aux gouvernements municipaux. Responsabilité À qui incombe la responsabilité d’un message qui contrevient à la loi? À l’expéditeur du message et à la personne au nom de laquelle le message a été envoyé. L’article 6 précise ainsi qu’il « est interdit d’envoyer à une adresse électronique un message électronique commercial, de l’y faire envoyer ou de permettre qu’il y soit envoyé », sauf sous certaines conditions. Incitatifs La LCAP ne prévoit aucune exception pour la recherche marketing et les sondages. Le gouvernement a toutefois fait savoir à l’ARIM que la recherche en ligne n’est pas considérée comme une activité commerciale et, de ce fait, à l’abri de la LCAP. Par contre, si un incitatif est offert – la participation à un tirage ou un concours, par exemple – le message devient une possibilité de jeu, une activité commerciale selon la loi, donc interdite. La loi est moins claire à l’égard de la proposition d’un incitatif monétaire, qui pourrait être interprétée comme étant de nature
CO MME NTARY / CO MMENTAIRE
The law gets grey when it comes to offering financial incentives. Potentially, the offer could be interpreted as a being commercial in nature. Unfortunately, the language in CASL is ambiguous and does not provide a clear, definitive answer regarding monetary incentives. There is a strong legal case to be made that a financial incentive should not trigger CASL. The law targets messages that encourage participation in a commercial activity. As the government has been clear that survey research is not a commercial activity, then the incentive itself should not trigger the act because it is encouraging participation in a noncommercial activity (i.e., the survey). So, all told, our position is legally defensible when it comes to financial incentives. That said, we’re at the whims of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; the government department responsible for administering this section of CASL) and potentially the courts. So far, the CRTC has not given us a clear answer on how it would interpret a financial incentive, but it has flagged it as a potential commercial activity. Given how the CRTC is broadly interpreting the term “solicitation” in other legislation, MRIA members should be aware of the potential implications. Given the above, our legal counsel recommends that members meet the obligations under CASL, whereby organizations can continue to communicate with the public as long as they follow three requirements when sending an electronic commercial message:
commerciale. Le libellé de la LCAP est ambigu à ce sujet et n’offre aucune réponse claire quant à la proposition d’incitatifs monétaires. Il existe des arguments juridiques valables selon lesquels un incitatif monétaire ne devrait pas être soumis à la LCAP. La loi vise en effet les messages qui proposent une activité commerciale. Or, les sondages de marketing ne constituent pas une activité commerciale – le gouvernement lui-même l’affirme. La proposition d’un incitatif à la participation à un sondage de recherche, une activité non commerciale, ne devrait donc pas être interdite en vertu de la loi. Notre position quant aux incitatifs monétaires est donc juridiquement valable. Par contre, nous demeurons à la merci de décisions futures du CRTC (l’organisme responsable de l’application de cette portion de la loi) et des tribunaux. À ce jour, le CRTC ne nous a toujours pas dit comment il interprèterait « incitatif monétaire ». Il a cependant relevé que les incitatifs monétaires pourraient peut-être constituer une activité commerciale. Compte tenu de son interprétaion plutôt large du terme « démarchage » dans d’autres lois, les membres de l’ARIM devraient être bien conscients des conséquences éventuelles du recours à un incitatif monétaire. Nos avocats conseillent donc à nos membres de se conformer aux exigences de la LCAP et de respecter les trois conditions qui suivent quand ils expédient un message électronique commercial. 1. Le consentement du destinataire est obligatoire.
1. Consent is required. 2. Option to unsubscribe. 3. Clear identification: including on whose behalf a commercial electronic message is being sent, which may be done by providing a hyperlink to a web page containing this information as long as the page is readily accessible.
2. Il y a obligation d’offrir la possibilité de se désabonner.
The MRIA will continue to work with and educate the CRTC on this issue in the hopes of getting a more definitive and positive statement. As strong advocates for the profession, we will continue to update our stakeholders of our continued progress with the CRTC.
L’ARIM, le champion des intérêts de notre secteur, continuera de sensibiliser et de collaborer avec le CRTC, dans l’espoir qu’il obtiendra de lui un énoncé final favorable à sa position. Nous vous informerons des progrès à ce dossier dès que nous aurons des nouvelles du CRTC.
3. Transparence : l’expéditeur du message doit être clairement identifié, de même que la personne pour le compte de laquelle il agit. Cela peut être accompli par l’insertion d’un hyperlien menant à ces éléments d’information, sous réserve d’un accès facile à cette page.
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 Technology Raises Ethical Challenges in Social Service Work and Education
Nancy Johansen (not shown), Asif Khan and Thais Saito
When you hear the term social service workers, you likely think of dedicated individuals who help people through some of life’s more difficult moments. What you probably do not consider is technology and how it is having a profound impact on the way social service workers and educators do their jobs. For instance, in colleges, e-learning platforms help educators provide course materials on demand. In field agencies, webcams allow social service workers to liaise “face-to-face” with clients in remote locations. Instant messaging means busy practitioners can touch base with a large caseload. For some people in at-risk groups, social media may be one of the few ways they feel comfortable communicating, so technology enables workers to reach out to them. 8
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But the use of technology in social service work and education raises some unique challenges. Can social service workers, educators and students readily access the hardware and software they need? Who will provide the necessary training? How will the privacy and rights of clients be protected? What ethical dilemmas might arise?
SP ECIA L FEAT URE Invisible Barriers and Lost Opportunities
Layers of Approval
For technology to be used appropriately in educator-student or worker-client situations, host organizations need policies to protect personal data, procedures for the correct use of social media, and training for users. In Canada, however, there has been little formal guidance on the use of technology in social work and social service work (SW/SSW); the relevant codes of ethics do not include adequate information about technology and practice. Educators have no consistent teaching materials. In addition, the social service field is chronically underfunded and most organizations lack the means to develop guidelines on their own. The Association of College Educators in Social Services and Social Service Work Diploma Programs in Canada (ACESS) advocates for the advancement of social service and social work programs. In 2013, the membership voted to support research into the use of technology in the workplace and the classroom. Spearheading the project were Lisa Shaw-Verhoek of Algonquin College and Nellie Sheppard of Sheridan College. They were supported by an advisory committee of instructors from Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, Nunavut and British Columbia. ACESS partnered with the Applied Research and Innovation Office at Algonquin College and we undertook the research. We designed a study to investigate the issues of invisible barriers, lost opportunities and ethical challenges, and to allow for evidence-based planning for more effective use of technology in the future.
The questionnaire was first vetted by the ACESS committee, which took some time; after all, instructors are busy people and they were volunteering their time. Then, the questionnaire had to be approved by the research ethics boards at several colleges. Any research done by, for, or about a college community and involving human subjects must be vetted by the college’s own board (even though the research team was adhering to MRIA’s code of conduct and best practices). Multiple applications were filled out. Definitely an exercise in patience and persistence! The final survey included 46 questions, and was hosted using FluidSurveys – which was generously made available to us free of charge by Fluidware. The survey was open from March 10 to May 2, 2014. The survey took an average of 14 minutes to complete, with responses per question ranging from 333 to 476. Participants included students taking classes, students in field placements, educators at colleges, field placement supervisors and field practitioners. Although snowball recruiting does not allow for estimates of sampling error or for extrapolation of results with scientific rigour, we felt that based on the number of responses and the richness of the data collected, we could still draw effective conclusions.
Snowball Recruiting One of the first challenges was to identify the hundreds of individuals who could potentially participate in the study. But we faced significant barriers: no sample, no budget, and not much time. Colleges in five of Canada’s provinces and territories offer diploma programs in social service work – including Alberta, where it is called social work. However, educational institutions closely safeguard the personal information of educators and students, and contact data was not made available for the study. There are numerous small and medium-sized organizations across Canada that employ social service workers and provide field placements for students. There are, however, no national or regional associations that provide direct access to these agencies. As a result, we spent long hours searching for organizations and reaching out to educators in the field. Each email sent included a request to refer the study to others in the social service worker, educator and student community. Via this snowball recruiting approach, we were able to get enough respondents to successfully run our survey.
Financial Burden Once the data was analyzed, some startling findings emerged. First was the lack of access to technology in this cohort. Fully 20 per cent of practitioners and educators reported they do not have the technology needed to succeed at work (see Figure 1). The situation is particularly acute at Nunavut Artic College, where only one third of participants in the Social Services Worker Program reported having the necessary technology to succeed in their studies. Another part of the technology puzzle is the use of software specifically designed to facilitate social service work, such as GenoPro, Intervention Services Information System or software used by The Homeless Hub. Only 13 per cent of respondents reported using social work related software. Before the study began, we hypothesized that a lack of access to technology would be closely related to the financial constraints of acquisition. While only 28 per cent of educators and practitioners consider the financial burden of acquiring technology to be high or very high, when it comes to students, 42 per cent consider the financial burden high and 14 per cent consider it very high (see Figure 2). This is exacerbated by the proportion of students living in poverty: 30 per cent of student respondents declared an annual income of $20,000 or less. These findings are particularly significant given the current efforts of the education system to migrate more courses to online delivery. vue | SEPTEMBER 2014
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SPEC IA L F EAT U R E Figure 1: Do you have the necessary technology to succeed in your program or workplace?
Figure 2: Financial burden for purchasing technology
Figure 3: When facing an ethical dilemma related to the use of social media and other technologies in SW/SSW, where would you look for guidance?
Guidance Lacking for Social Media Social media is being used by a significant number of respondents for both work and education: 43 per cent of all respondents reported using some kind of social media in their work, and 57 per cent use social media in their education. Facebook is by far the most popular platform, with 24 per cent using it for work purposes and 42 per cent for education. The 10
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confirmation that social media is being widely used makes the question of how it is being used even more pressing. Although slightly less than half (43 per cent) of respondents use social media in their work, almost two thirds (64 per cent) are concerned with the potential problems that using social media could cause in their relationships with clients. One respondent commented: “I personally don’t feel like I learned enough about ethics in school and I also feel like every placement/workplace is different and the employers need to be informing their students/workers what their appropriate ethical stance is on technology in the workplace.” Another participant said their college treats ethical issues broadly and encourages people to seek appropriate training, but provides no specific procedures related to social service work. The findings tell us there is a lack of centralized guidance, which leaves space for each agency or institution to create their own rules. Some respondents believe they have appropriate guidance, while others do not. One respondent, for example, mentioned not knowing how to delete information from Google Maps after visiting a client, and another said that Skype was the only way to talk to some clients despite not being aware of a policy to guide those conversations. This situation creates inconsistencies that a large number of respondents did not know how to address. When asked about available sources of guidance, most respondents reported consulting with other social workers or social service workers, or they referred to a SW/SSW code of ethics for guidance (see Figure 3). Despite the lack of centralized information, 52 per cent of respondents were either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with the guidance they received. The following respondents’ quotes illustrate both sides of the situation: “There is a blanket ‘no use of social network tools’ at my agency, yet our clients are only communicating now using social network tools, which we are not allowed to view. So we are viewing these sites without approval from our agency as it is an excellent source of publicly available information, until the client adjusts their privacy settings.” “Throughout my schooling we have gone over our Code of Ethics numerous amounts of time and I am confident in my faculty and my field placement supervisors that they have given me the right tools to handle technology appropriately when dealing with clients.” The lack of common guidelines is underscored by the fact that a large majority of respondents (70 per cent) want more information on how to protect confidentiality when using technology in social service work. Need for Training Two thirds of respondents (67 per cent) rated themselves as having intermediate level computer skills, while one third (36 per cent) felt they need social work-related technology
SP ECIA L FEAT URE training. There is a clear relation between either age or income and needing training. Educators, who are most often sought for guidance, are also the ones most needing training, the lack of which could marginalize their role. As expected, the preferred method of training was faceto-face: in-class, followed by small groups and one-on-one training. Respondents were not prone to choose digital training methods such as online, webinar and videoconference, likely due to their low level of comfort with technology. One participant expressed the training dilemma: “I’ve repeatedly been frustrated attending training, which frequently during the training presentation does not work and we are then instructed to ‘play with it’ to generate self-directed learning.”
Alberta. ACESS is already at work preparing a digital repository of materials to be shared by educators. Our research findings confirmed that a number of barriers are preventing technology from being used to its full potential in social service work and education. Comments from respondents underscore the need to investigate the ethical challenges of using technology, including social media, and to develop appropriate guidance. The study also revealed a strong commitment in the community to provide those essential social services which are part of the fabric of Canadian society, and which we all count on being delivered when we need them, in an effective and ethical manner.
Encouraging Colleges to Act The results of this study were presented at the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) conference, held in May 2014 in Ottawa. ACESS encouraged Canadian Colleges to play a leadership role in a number of areas, including: developing policies for the use of technology in programs and field placement; creating continuing education courses for employees or people looking to go back to work; and training current students. The results were also presented at the annual ACESS conference in June 2014 at Blue Quills First Nations College in
Nancy Johansen, MBA, CMRP, is the coordinator of the postgraduate Marketing Research and Business Intelligence (MRBI) program at Algonquin College in Ottawa. Asif Khan, MRBI 2013-14, has five-plus years of experience in research and project management, and is looking forward to a career as a research analyst. Thais Saito, MRBI 2013-14, has a background in international relations and the not-for-profit sector, and hopes to combine this in a successful marketing research career.
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Visualize Your Data with Storytelling In my daily work, I see a clear trend. The research buyer is looking for better and more effective ways to present survey results to their organization. Their motivation is simple. They need to extract more value from their investments in data collection by getting more stakeholders in their organization involved with and acting upon the data. Rudy Nadilo This article reviews the presentation possibilities that are now available using modern data presentation platforms, and outlines some common mistakes when moving from PowerPoint to an online reporting process. The following are some of the things to keep in mind to increase the value when presenting data online instead of using PowerPoint or Excel. Don´t Replicate PowerPoint Online A very common mistake is trying to replicate PowerPoint reports online. PowerPoint is linear while a modern dashboard reporting tool allows one dynamic slide to literally replace hundreds of PowerPoint slides. The magic behind this capability is something called dynamic filters. A dynamic filter is a dropdown menu placed on top of a web-based dashboard. When clicking the menu, the user gets a list of different alternatives to select. Selecting a filter dynamically generates the view of the data based on the selected criteria. For example, a typical tracker deployed in PowerPoint might have hundreds of slides for countries, regions, brands, salesperson, etc. All of these can simply and easily be replaced with a dynamic filter. Don´t be Bound by the Limitations of Traditional Reporting It is critical to change your thinking to capitalize on the benefits of a dashboard tool. We are so programmed by years of using PowerPoint and Excel it is easy to be bound by the restrictions of these tools. They are static, linear and iterative. For example, with online reporting, a few clicks allows you to add benchmark values to a report. Or, imagine you are reporting on customer satisfaction and want each manager responsible for a group of customers to compare his results with the average or best-in-class results from other managers. With traditional reporting, producing this volume of reports is labour intensive, time consuming and cost prohibitive. With dashboard reporting technology, it is very easy to accomplish and results are dynamically generated through hierarchical access rights to the data. These hierarchical access rights are another benefit of a modern reporting tool, which makes it easy to create userunique views for each user or category of users. 12
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A dashboard tool offers the ability to select a variable in your data and configure the system to create a unique report for each instance of this variable. Let’s say you have a variable called “Customer Type,” and that variable has the associated values “Standard Customer,” “Important Customer,” “Customer to be Developed.” It is very easy to first create a dashboard for all customers and then, with a click, create a unique view for each type of customer. The dashboard tool will automatically create one unique report per customer type. A Dashboard Tool will Never Fully Replace PowerPoint Another common mistake is to believe that the dashboard will be the single channel for an organization to use when consuming data. This is normally not the case. People still want to have a PowerPoint deck for a variety of reasons. A dashboard tool is used to efficiently deploy results to the organization so team members can explore and understand results. These users then need: • The ability to download the full online report to PowerPoint for making their own notes and to be used in combination with other slides. • The ability to pick and choose individually filtered results from the dashboard and save them as a customized “story” that can then be downloaded to PowerPoint. Providing the user the ability to custom-filter their specific results to be viewed online or downloaded to a PowerPoint is an essential capability. Use a Combination of Infographics, Dashboards and Charts and Tables Use infographics to tell your story. A dashboard tool must provide full functionality to visualize data in free form. The picture below is a good example of a way to visualize data from
FEAT URE a set of important metrics. A well-designed dashboard provides an engaging experience for the report user and allows nontechnical users to appreciate and explore the results. Using infographics creates initial interest and will engage your audience. By clicking on the infographic, the users can drill down further into the result. Combining infographics with an engaging dashboard will solve these information requirements. A dashboard is normally a report with more comprehensive information compared to an infographic. In my experience, it’s best to use an infographic as a door-opener and then follow with a set of dashboards like the image below.
But don´t forget to consider specific heavy users: data analysts, category managers, product managers, etc. In almost all information deliveries, you have a few users that want to have the ability to interact with the data on a table level. It is recommended to include an online cross-tabulation and charting tool as part of your information delivery.
Views Depend on User Type Note the filters on top of this dashboard allow the user to generate 300-plus unique views. When designing a dashboard, you normally cover the requirements for the majority of your users in terms of information sharing. But for those who want more, you can create added value by building up a set of traditional charts and tables for details. These views are good to use when the need is to find complex and detailed patterns based on the finding made in either the infographic or dashboard view. The image below is one good example of a more comprehensive view.
The most common – and deadly – mistake when moving from PowerPoint to online reporting is the desire show everything to everyone. But the expression “less is more” should be the rule of thumb in this situation. It is important to scope out the dashboard and get the user organization to agree on what the various user groups should see. It is best to limit the majority of the users’ access to only part of the information portal – ideally the sections that show results as infographics. Then, allow line or middle managers access to dashboards and traditional reports. Finally, only allow a few people from an expert group access to the cross-tabulation tools. Finally, and most importantly, make sure your dashboard tool retrieves the data and calculates the data from the same data source and in the same manner. You don´t want to end up in a situation where you get different results for the same query. Happy dashboarding!
Rudy Nadilo is president of Dapresy North America, Inc. He can be reached at rudy@dapresy.com.
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Protecting Privacy in Big Data Research
Ann Cavoukian, PhD
With 90 per cent of the data in the world created in the last two years, it is clear we are now moving towards the age of big data. This data is being generated from practically everywhere at a blistering pace. It will surely provide enormous opportunities for researchers who want to reap the benefits of growing information assets to discover more efficient operations and better customer experiences, while finding ways to limit fraud, waste and abuse. However, some of the data used for such research may reveal personal details of the consumer or user.
Where does privacy fit into all this? Researchers must face the increasing challenge of ensuring personal information is protected and privacy is respected. Existing privacy protections should be supplemented so that researchers can respond to opportunities in real time, produce good data, and at the same time protect the privacy of the data subject. This is achievable by taking a proactive Privacy by Design approach to big data research. First, what is privacy? Many will agree that privacy is a vital aspect in maintaining long, prosperous relationships with consumers. Privacy is all about providing the user with control over how his or her information is used and shared, and it is critical to preserving and further developing trust. When using people’s information, researchers are often required to be transparent and accountable about the work being done. As data analytics advance and the vastness of data sets grow, so does the risk of creating new linkages between seemingly non-identifiable information that may enable data processors to identify individuals and their lifestyles, consumer habits, and much more. Protecting privacy in the age of big data may seem daunting. Some have even suggested that this 14
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increased ability to gather personal information means our notions of privacy should change as a result. Nothing could be further from the truth. These suggestions reflect an outdated, zerosum way of thinking – sacrificing one interest (innovation) for another (privacy). There is no evidence that suggests the public is prepared to cast aside its existing expectations of privacy. In fact, quite the opposite is true: there is growing intolerance of data breaches and privacy infractions. According to Forrester Research, 62 per cent of respondents say they would “not at all be likely to repeat a purchase from a company that had shared their personal information with a data broker.” Its research also suggests a “growing awareness about companies’ uses of consumer data will lead consumers to expect simpler, much more graphical privacy policies – misuse and abuse of data will impact profitability.” Privacy needs to be viewed as a business issue, not just a compliance issue. Researchers who think strategically can transform privacy into a competitive business advantage and still allow research to move forward. By acting now to address the privacy risks associated with big data, and the analytics
FEAT URE technologies used to make sense of these vast data sets, researchers can avoid risks before they become realities. The solution for researchers is to embed privacy directly into big data research projects’ technology as a default standard. The seven principles of Privacy by Design provide this framework. Recognized worldwide as the international standard for privacy protection, Privacy by Design seeks to proactively embed privacy into the design specifications of information technology, accountable business practices and networked infrastructure. It endeavours to change the paradigm from the dated “zero-sum” (win/lose) to a “positive-sum” model. By creating a win/win scenario, not an either/or (vs.) involving
postal codes or birthdates. While not personally identifying in and of themselves, indirect identifiers may be linked to other data sets that contain direct identifiers, and may thus be used to identify individuals. If done properly, de-identified data can be used for research purposes and data analysis – thus contributing new insights and innovations – while minimizing the risk of disclosure of the identities of the individuals behind the data. 3. User Access Controls. By segregating how much information is provided for research and analysis through user access controls, a transparent model for producing quality data can be developed. In big data analytics, the size and variety of
“Protecting privacy in the age of big data may seem daunting. Some have even suggested that this increased ability to gather personal information means our notions of privacy should change as a result. Nothing could be further from the truth.” unnecessary trade-offs and false dichotomies, researchers can replace “vs.” with “and.” In the case of big data, this means you can have both privacy protections and advanced comprehensive data analytics. This is imperative for organizations and researchers to use analytics to get quality data and at the same time assure consumer confidence. There are several possible strategic Privacy by Design approaches to big data deployments: 1. Data minimization. When data analytics use personally identifiable information, data minimization has the biggest impact on managing privacy risks by effectively eliminating risk at the earliest stage of the information life cycle. According to this strategy, the starting point for designing big data analytical systems must ensure there is no collection of personally identifiable information – unless and until a specific and compelling purpose is defined. For example, uses of personal information should be limited to the intended, primary purposes of collection and only extended to other, nonconsistent uses with the explicit consent of the individual. This strategy can help define what researchers will be able to obtain from the data, and help them develop their privacy policies to ensure they still get the quality research they are looking for, while being transparent to customers. 2. De-identification. This strategy is likely more attractive to researchers, as it refers to a set of tools or techniques used to strip a data set of all information that could be used to identify an individual, either directly or indirectly, through linkages to other data sets. These techniques include deleting or masking direct identifiers, such as names or social insurance numbers, and suppressing or generalizing indirect identifiers, such as
information being analyzed makes safeguarding of the data a vital concern. For networked computers, access control refers to the process of granting or denying specific requests to obtain and use information and related informationprocessing services. When combined with other security by design policies, such as least privilege, need-to-know, least trust, and segregation of duties, access control is an effective way to safeguard personal information. A financial institution’s customer database, for example, can contain a wealth of information about customers: their employer’s name, their income, the identities of their spouse or children, their address, and more. However, very few people in the institutions require access to that information – or at least, all of it. It is important to develop levels of appropriate access to personal information on a need-to-know and least-privilege basis. Designed effectively, this strategy can allow researchers to get the level of detail they need without seeing personal information. Through careful planning, a forward-thinking approach, and the application of Privacy by Design principles, a doubly enabling “win-win” solution may be realized. Privacy and innovation together will allow researchers to use information to provide quality research data while at the same time protecting the personal information contained within it. It is possible to have it all with the Privacy by Design framework in place!
Ann Cavoukian is the executive director of the Ryerson University Institute for Privacy and Big Data and former Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario. She can be reached at ann.cavoukian@ryerson.ca and tweets at @PrivacyBigData. vue | SEPTEMBER 2014
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Understanding the Midland Salvation Army’s Food Bank: A Research Journey
Amanda Vena, Anna Zamurujeva and Samantha Gelinas
The Salvation Army is an organization committed to the eradication of poverty and to caring for those who have fallen on hard times. Inspired by the belief that everyone has the right to the basic necessities of life such as food, clothing and shelter, millions of people are supported around the world through a variety of programs and services. The Midland Salvation Army is 127 years old and runs the largest of six food banks in the North Simcoe Region. In addition to supporting approximately 400 people every month, the Midland Salvation Army also runs a yearly Christmas assistance program. Our client, Peter Thomas, community and family services director, wanted to know why there had been a 30 per cent decline in the number of people using his organization’s food bank. He wondered if the recently adopted appointment system – which allows clients to pick up their food package during a pre-arranged appointment as opposed to dropping in – was driving client numbers down. While he thought the appointment system provided clients with dignity and allowed things to be better organized, his volunteers felt as though it might be doing more harm than good. In addition to investigating this concern, the Midland Salvation Army was seeking to understand the strengths and weaknesses of its programs and services and get some insight into the future development of new initiatives so it could continue to meet clients’ needs. In addition to an initial phone call with the client, we were also welcomed into the Midland Salvation Army to get a firsthand understanding of how the food bank worked. After collecting as much information as we could on our client, and after many long Skype meetings, circular 16
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conversations and cups of coffee later, this is what we came up with. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the programs and services provided by the Midland Salvation Army. Consequently, our objectives were as follows: 1. T o investigate the usage trends of the food bank. 2. T o assess the food bank appointment system from the perspective of clients and volunteers. 3. T o determine client satisfaction with the programs and services. 4. T o explore the attitudes and perceptions of clients and volunteers regarding the Midland Salvation Army. 5. T o explore potential program and service offerings for the future. 6. T o develop a demographic profile of survey respondents. These objectives, however, were quite subjective. After spending so much time talking to Peter
FEAT URE and seeing first hand the wonderful work that the Midland Salvation Army did, we felt a genuine connection to our project and client. We wanted to give Peter answers, so he could continue to give hope to his community. Our Mixed-Method Approach We realized quite quickly that our project demanded a certain degree of immersion into the community to respectfully and accurately collect data. Ultimately, we decided that the best way to meet our objectives would be to utilize both qualitative and quantitative methods: an analysis of existing attendance records from May 2013 to March 2014, paper-based surveys and individual interviews with clients and volunteers. This approach would provide us with the complete picture of how the Midland Salvation Army was doing. Not only would we get the breadth we needed from the numbers, but also we would get a depth of understanding from our interviews. The interviews would also bring the hard facts and numbers from our surveys to life – giving both the volunteers and clients a voice and our client invaluable insight.
PHASE 1
PHASE 2
The Experience of Data Collection Throughout the entire research process, we found ourselves directly involved with those who are dependent upon the programs and services that the Midland Salvation Army provides. The first phase of data collection occurred during the Christmas holidays at a local mall, where The Salvation Army provides Christmas assistance packages (i.e., toys, clothing, food and more) to over 200 families every year. As a team, we joined them in setting up for a busy day. We gave out cookies and surveys, and our plan worked: by the end of the long day we had collected over 120 completed surveys. What we did not foresee was how worthwhile this experience would prove to be. We got to know the people, the volunteers, the process and the community. Simply observing the interactions between clients and volunteers gave us a real understanding of client satisfaction with the Christmas assistance program. In January, we began the second phase of our data collection process. Every client visiting the Midland Salvation Army food bank received a brief paper survey. The survey was optional, but while waiting for their food packages, many clients took the time to fill out our questionnaire. In total we collected 187 completed surveys, which we picked up in the middle of February. We finally felt that our project was going to be a success. The second of phase of our data collection did not end here. The three of us were keen on incorporating qualitative methods into our project, so we decided to divide and conquer. During the food bank’s operating hours, Amanda conducted volunteer interviews, Anna spoke to the clients, and Samantha observed
the morning food-pick-up routine. In total we conducted 15 interviews in just one day (10 with clients and five with volunteers). By listening and giving a voice to those that mattered most, we unexpectedly found that both the volunteers and the clients shared a similar view of the newly implemented appointment system – they liked it, but there was room for improvement in how it was executed. Clients were facing constant barriers in their everyday lives. Something as simple picking up a phone to make an appointment before getting food was not an option for many of the visitors, as they often did not have a phone. Additionally, clients could not always plan ahead. They did not always know when they would need the services of the Salvation Army – sometimes picking up food was an emergency. Compounding this client-side challenge was the fact that resources were tight for the Salvation Army, and it was not always able to answer the calls it was receiving. Without a doubt, this is something we would have never learned if we had not sat down and talked with the clients and volunteers. Reflecting upon the data collection process, we all agree that this project would not have been the same experience without both qualitative and quantitative methods, and without immersing ourselves in the community.
Our Key Findings and Recommendations After managing and analyzing our data using a combination of Excel, SPSS and coding we found three reoccurring and key themes: 1. T he Midland Salvation Army does a great job for its clients with its existing programs and services. An exceptional majority of clients expressed positive feelings towards the food bank and Christmas assistance program (88-96 per cent). 2. T he majority of clients (74 per cent) like the food bank appointment system; however, improvements could be made to increase clients’ satisfaction with it. 3. T he majority of clients (75 per cent) want to see fresh food incorporated into the food packages they receive. Based on these findings, three recommendations arose: 1. T he Salvation Army is doing a great job, and it should continue to keep up the great work it does for clients, as they are happy with the current programs and services. vue | SEPTEMBER 2014
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FEAT UR E 2. T he communication around making and accepting appointments needs to be better organized; the Salvation Army needs to modify how it manages incoming calls if clients cannot make an appointment in person. Additionally, clients that attend their appointment should be rewarded in order to positively reinforce this behaviour and reduce no-shows. Finally, the bank should continue to allow walk-ins so that it can continue to support clients who are facing various challenges and barriers.
Figure 3: Potential future programs in order of preference (n=187).
3. The bank should incorporate fresh food into food bank packages, as there appears to be a major opportunity here to better meet clients’ needs. Additional volunteer assistance may be required. We suggest looking into the Community Projects Initiative (CPI) partnership program offered as part of the Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Georgian College in Orillia. Presenting these insights to our client after eight months was a very satisfying experience – we knew the data and the project inside out, and we were able to provide our client with the information he desired, as well as actionable recommendations he could implement in the future. It was easy to communicate what we had discovered to our client as we had developed a great working relationship with him over the course of the project. Peter was very happy with the results, and we were very pleased with how our research project turned out. Figure 1: Food Bank respondents feel positively about the Midland Salvation Army (n=187).
Figure 2: The majority of Food Bank respondents “like the appointment system” (n=177).
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Reflecting on the Journey As we wrapped up this project, we are left with a great sense of fondness over our journey with the Midland Salvation Army. While challenging at many points, the things we take away as researchers far outweigh the sleep-deprived days and daring drives up north. First, we realized the importance of relationships. In our fast-paced world of technology and numbers, it’s important to remember to connect with your clients and truly understand their information needs. Secondly, we found that qualitative and quantitative methods worked beautifully together, allowing us to meet our client’s needs in a very appropriate way. Finally, we learned that although the research path is anything but smooth and straight, it is an extremely satisfying journey to go on. Amanda Vena is an associate consumer researcher at Critical Mass, a digital marketing agency in Calgary. She just graduated from the Georgian College Research Analyst program and holds a bachelor of commerce in service management marketing from the University of Victoria. She can be reached at amanda.e.vena@gmail.com and tweets at @AmandaVena_. Anna Zamurujeva works at Hotspex Inc. in Toronto. She majored in sociology at Ryerson University, and is a recent graduate of the Georgian College Research Analyst program. You can connect with her at anna.zamurujeva@hotspex. com. Samantha Gelinas is a research analyst at Hotspex Inc. She is a recent graduate of the Georgian College Research Analyst program and previously acquired an honours B.A. in political science with a minor in philosophy from the University of Guelph. She can be reached at samantha.gelinas@hotspex.com and tweets at @SamG1404.
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 August 08, 2014 ONTARIO
WEST
QUEBEC
Barbara C. Campbell Recruiting Consumer Vision Dawn Smith Field Management Services Inc. Head Count I & S Recruiting Opinion Search Quality Response Research House Inc.
Barbara C. Campbell Recruiting Opinion Search Trend Research
MBA Recherche Opinion Search
ATLANTIC Opinion Search
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
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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Watching TV and Tw-eating Social Media and Viewership for MasterChef and Chopped Canada
Lisa Fisher, Stefanie Commisso & Matthew Murray What do you get when you combine advanced mobile technology and a society addicted to social media? A marketing researcher’s dream. In response to the recent boom in the market for wireless devices and social media platforms, many researchers are now able to utilize these platforms for data collection, pulling unprecedented amounts of information from diverse audiences in a matter of minutes. We decided to take advantage of this emerging trend in data collection to examine how the proliferation of smartphones, tablets and laptops is changing the way we watch television. When doing an online search on social media and television viewing, it does not take long to come across the term “second screening.” This refers to the use of an additional device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop while watching television. There has been very little research done in Canada on exactly how second screening is influencing television ratings and how television companies can leverage these second screens as a tool to form deeper engagement with audience members. Hence, an ideal focus for our research. Research Questions and Samples For our study, we decided to focus on two research questions: 1. Is there a relationship between television ratings and Twitter interactions across multiple episodes of Canadian television shows? 2. W hat type of content drives people to tweet while watching television? With direction from BBM Canada – the country’s radio and television ratings measurement organization – we selected MasterChef Canada and Chopped Canada as the programs of 20
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focus. The episodes included in our analyses were the first eleven episodes of the inaugural season of Chopped Canada, which aired on Food Network Canada, and the first eight episodes of the inaugural season of MasterChef Canada, which aired on CTV. The data we were provided with came from two samples. The first was BBM Canada’s panel of Canadian television viewers who volunteer to carry around with them a portable people meter (PPM), a device that detects inaudible codes that are embedded within all radio and television broadcasts. BBM Canada selects its panel members using a multi-staged sampling technique to ensure that participants are representative of the national population of Canada in order to estimate ratings across the country. Our second sample consisted of Twitter users who posted tweets about either of these shows during the airing of our selected episodes. The data-mining platform DataSift was used to gather this information. We used a series of appropriate hashtags and Twitter handles to refine our sample to only include those posts that actually referenced the shows. In an effort to ensure that our samples were consistent, we further refined our Twitter sample by only including posts from Twitter users who indicated that they were Canadian. Method In order to get a full understanding of the relationship between TV ratings and Twitter interactions, we took a mixed-method approach. Firstly, we conducted statistical analyses to examine minute-by-minute correlations between the number of tweets and the ratings for each show, as well as trends in the number of tweets posted throughout season. Secondly, we conducted a content/sentiment analysis to better understand what is driving people to tweet.
FEAT URE Results The findings from our correlational analysis were nothing short of exciting. For almost every episode we examined, the correlations between the number of Twitter posts and television ratings were significantly positive. This suggests that as ratings increase, the number of tweets also increased. Of the handful of episodes that did not show a significant positive correlation, we were able to determine why this may have been the case. For example, Chopped Canada experienced technical difficulties during one episodes and it aired an hour late. Also, CTV broadcast an episode of MasterChef Canada immediately following the Super Bowl, which resulted in a significant, negative correlation. (Some further insight as to why this occurred was found in our content and sentiment analyses.) But are They Engaged? In order to understand the extent to which Twitter and television activity was sustained beyond the novelty of the first few episodes, we compared early, middle and late groupings of episodes. Our findings indicated that viewers of MasterChef Canada remain engaged via Twitter from the beginning of a season through to the end, whereas Chopped Canada viewers were not as consistent in their engagement on Twitter. The frequency of tweeter activity surrounding early season episodes of Chopped Canada were statistically higher when compared to mid and late season episodes. This suggests that Chopped Canada is unable to hold the attention of most viewers beyond the hype of the first few episodes. This is likely due to the format of the show, which does not follow contestants from week to week and thus does not offer an overarching plot to captivate viewers. What are They Tweeting About? Our study was one of the first to examine Twitter content in order to provide insights into what drives viewers to tweet while watching reality cooking shows. Using content analysis, findings from this study suggest that Twitter content regarding MasterChef Canada and Chopped Canada is very different in nature. Tweets surrounding Chopped Canada tend to be driven by a sense of connectivity toward the show and fellow viewers, whereas tweets about MasterChef Canada tend to be driven by
*Note: This particular episode of MasterChef Canada featured a special guest appearance by the Toronto Maple Leafs, explaining why such a large percentage of tweets fell into this category.
competition and entertainment (see graph for a full breakdown of tweets by sentiment). We did find one commonality between the two shows, in that a large portion of the tweets featured the contestants as their subject. Interestingly, the two shows differ quite drastically in their format. Investment in the contestants for MasterChef Canada is understandable, as this is a traditional, episodic program that follows the same contestants week after week. This allows viewers the opportunity to get an in-depth look at each contestant and the time to relate to or become empathetic towards particular contestants. Meanwhile, Chopped Canada features a cooking competition that is completed in the course of each episode with contestants that do not return the following week. Conclusions and Insights The take-home message of our research is simple: gone are the days of passive television viewing! It is obvious that networks are placing a higher value on audience engagement, and are attempting to connect with their viewers and fuel conversations online, a marketing strategy that so far has been successful, as indicated by the positive relationship between Twitter interactions and Chopped /MasterChef Canada television ratings in our study. Taking these findings into account, it is predicted that in the future a show’s worth will be partially based on its social media level of engagement with viewers. Our study found that viewers are most engaged with what appears to be forging strong relationships with TV personalities. This viewer interest surrounding reality contestants can create a lucrative opportunity for networks if they cast people with the right personality for their target audience. For example Chopped Canada airs on Food Network Canada, a niche network geared toward foodies. The show inspired a substantial number of tweets that involved sharing recipes and discussing food dishes, whereas CTV’s MasterChef Canada tweets were predominantly of an entertainment-driven nature. Taking these findings into account, networks should gear Twitter conversation as well as television content to fit the interests of conversation to increase fan engagement. And let’s face it, an engaged viewer on Twitter is a word-of-mouth advertiser for television programs. This will only fuel broadcasters to continue to come up with creative onscreen hashtags. Love it or hate it, we think it’s safe to say the merger of social media and television is here to stay. Lisa Fisher is a graduate of Brock University and the Research Analyst postgraduate program at Humber College. She’s currently working at Aon as an analytics Assistant and can be reached at fisher. lisa.j@gmail.com. She tweets at @lisaafisher. Stefanie Commisso is a graduate of the University of Guelph and the Research Analyst postgraduate program at Humber College. She’s currently working at IPG Mediabrands Canada as a research assistant and can be reached at scommiss@alumni.uoguelph.ca. She tweets at @JhrisChericho. Matthew Murray is a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University and the Research Analyst postgraduate program at Humber College. He is currently working as a marketing research analyst in Toronto. He can be reached at matthew@mattmurray.ca. He tweets at @mhaywardm. vue | SEPTEMBER 2014
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INDUSTRY N EW S
C
alendar of EVENTS MRIA and Partner Events
SEPTEMBER 2014
OCTOBER 2014
Sept. 23, 2014
Oct. 15–17, 2014 QRCA Annual Conference New Orleans, LA
RIA Toronto M Chapter Annual Golf Tournament Royal Ontario Golf Club MILTON, ON
Sept. 24–26, 2014 TTRA “Research on the Edge” Conference Yellowknife, NWT Sept 29 - Oct 1 2014 IIR USA The North American Consumer Insights Event Toronto, ON
Oct. 20–22, 2014 IIR USA The Market Research Event 2014 Boca Raton, FL
NOVEMBER 2014 Nov. 19, 2014 Net Gain 9.0 Vancouver, BC Nov. 20, 2014 CSRC Social Connect and Holiday Party Toronto, ON
JANUARY 2015
Sept. 26, 2014 MRIA Dialogue Series – Free Webinar – Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) and How it Affects Your Business – with Kara Mitchelmore, CEO Online
January 27, 2015 Net Gain 10.0 Toronto, ON
Sept. 29–Oct. 2, 2014 CASRO Annual Conference Denver, CO
May 24–27, 2015 MRIA National Conference 2015 Marriott Eaton Centre Toronto, ON
Sept. 17 / Oct. 9, 2014 CSRC Virtual Connect (Webinar)
MAY 2015
MRIA members enjoy discounts to partner events - Call us or visit our website 22
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vue
IND U STRY NEWS
Be Heard Be Seen Be Vue’d
2014 EDITORIAL
CALENDAR Thank you for the support you have shown for Vue magazine over the years and we look forward to counting
you among our print and digital advertisers in 2014 and 2015. We welcome inquiries from advertisers, authors, students and the business community.
Editorial Submisson Deadline NOVEMBER 2014 Qualitative Submission Deadline: October 1
DECEMBER 2014 Innovation Submission Deadline: November 1
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INDUSTRY N EW S
THIS MONTH’S ISSUE: How would you convince a new college graduate to pursue a career in marketing research? Gail Cowling Manager, Market Insights (Contract) at Sun Life Financial I would tell them that in 20 years I’ve never been bored. I’ve gotten to work with really nice, smart people who are genuinely interested in the human condition. I get to learn new things each and every day. I’ve had three careers and this is the one that I like best. Nick Drew Multiple award-winning, Head of Research at Yahoo! Canada Based on my experience mentoring at a college, it seems that we might not have to do too much convincing. When grads previously talked about wanting to go into marketing research, now they talk about wanting to go into analytics and data-led marketing research. It seems a shorter hop from there to MRX than otherwise. But in short, “How do you feel about being the best-informed person in any meeting?” Kathryn Korostoff Founder, President at Research Rockstar Part of the challenge is the term “marketing research.” As a phrase it focusses too much on how we do things and not what we are ultimately working on. If you were at a party and someone said they were a “scientist,” ho hum. BUT if they introduce themselves as a “marine biologist” or “geoscientist,” now it is interesting – it evokes imagery, areas of real impact, things anyone might relate to. But we market researchers tend to be generalists, though potentially we could be “advertising effectiveness analysts,” “product innovation researchers,” “customer loyalty analytics specialists,” “market segmentation strategists,” etc. Now that would be more of a conversation starter.
Karl MacIsaac Social Media Coordinator at Marketing Research and Intelligence Association I would show them how the marketing research industry can cater to a wide variety of interests and backgrounds. Whether you are a numbers geek, interested in qualitative methods, fascinated by social media, or like to be on the forefront of emerging technologies, there is bound to be something that interests you. Students coming from almost any background are able to find a way to put their skill set to use. A testament to this is that in my short time since beginning my career, I have met people in the marketing research industry who have degrees in everything from neuroscience to philosophy. This can not only make for very interesting discussions, but also a very innovative, forwardthinking career field. Lindsey Boyle Vice President & Head of Vancouver Office, The Sound Research I always tell students I guest lecture (or anyone I meet, frankly) that my job in strategic qualitative research is mix of “-ologies”: psychology, sociology and anthropology blended with brand strategy. I also find that research documentary making is really appealing to younger Millennials (and Gen Edge to come) – for the Youtube generation, video is the way they learn and become inspired. Leading a research project (at The Sound) means you play Director – and often the most powerful insights sink in for clients not from a debrief, but after they watch a film about their target, category and brand.
Your Vue is a collection of opinions gathered from selected MRIA LinkedIn discussions. Share your opinions and you could be featured here in our next issue! Comments are edited for length and clarity.
Institute for Professional Development Comprehensive Marketing Research Exam (CMRE)
READY TO GROW YOUR CARRER?
CMRP PATHWAYS WILL GET YOU STARTED! Pathway requirements and application forms available at: http://mria-arim.ca/education/cmrp-certification/cmrp-overview Need answers fast? Contact cmrp@mria-arim.ca
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OTTAWA CHAPTER On November 27, the Ottawa Chapter will host a special presentation on the results of the 2014 AmericasBarometer survey, presented by Dr. Keith Neuman, executive director of the Environics Institute for Survey Research.
The presentation will focus on the Canadian results – how they have changed since 2012 (and before) and how Canada compares with other parts of the hemisphere. Themes to be covered include: • Civic and political engagement
The AmericasBarometer (www. AmericasBarometer.org) is a multiKeith Neuman country public opinion survey on democratic values and behaviours in the Americas. The research is conducted every two years by a consortium of academic and think tank partners. The research encompasses 27 countries spanning North America, Latin America and the Caribbean. The Environics Institute is a partner and conducts the Canadian portion of the survey.
• Confidence in democracy and political institutions
PRAIRIE CHAPTER
ALBERTA CHAPTER
• Civil rights and tolerance for political dissent • Experience with crime and confidence in the justice system The Canadian portion of the 2014 AmericasBarometer survey was conducted online in June andJuly 2014, and is based on a sample of 1,541 adult Canadians. Register for the event through the MRIA Portal.
The Alberta Chapter wants to congratulate its 2014 National Conference award winners! Best Vue Article went to Brian Singh; The City of Calgary picked up one of two Public Policy Impact awards; Jared Prins won the Client Side Researcher Impact and Effectiveness Award; Joanne O’Connell (former Alberta Chapter president) won an Award of Outstanding Merit, and the Alberta Chapter won the Chapter Merit Award. Congratulations to all of our Alberta winners!
TORONTO CHAPTER
Prairie Chapter board members held their 2014-2015 annual strategic planning session on July 28.
The annual MRIA national golf tournament takes place on September 23 at the Royal Ontario Golf Club. Only 56 golfers can play, so register right away! Shotgun start is at 1:32 p.m. Cost is $175 per person and includes “The Birdie” snack bar, and the 7 p.m. buffet dinner plus 2 drink tickets. Non-golfers can attend the dinner for $65 + cash bar. Register through the MRIA Portal.
Have any news or photos you want to share? Contact associate editor Fiona Isaacson (fisaacson@gmail.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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INDUSTRY N EW S 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. All Gold Seal and Basic 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.
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. 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 August 08, 2014 GOLD SEAL CORPORATE RESEARCH AGENCIES Academica Group Advanis Inc. Advitek Inc. BBM Analytics BBM Canada Bond Brand Loyalty (Formerly Maritz Research 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. GfK Canada Greenwich Associates Head Count Ipsos Reid Market Probe Canada Market Pulse Inc. MBA Recherche MD Analytics Inc. MQO Research Nanos Research Nielsen Consumer Insights
BASIC 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
Nielsen Consumer Insights NRG Research Group Opinion Search Inc. PRA Inc. R.A. Malatest & Associates Ltd. Research Dimensions Research House Inc. Research Now SmartPoint Research Inc. Tele-Surveys Plus / Télé-Sondages Plus The Logit Group Inc. TNS Canada (Canadian Facts) Trend Research Inc. Vision Critical
INDIVIDUAL MEMBER ORGANIZATION Burak Jacobson Research Partners Inc. GOLD SEAL CORPORATE RESEARCH AGENCIES PENDING Illumina Research Partners BUSINESS SUPPLIER Blue Ocean Contact Centers
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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IPD MRIA INSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Marketing Research and Intelligence Association l’Association de la recherche et de l’intelligence marketing
Ready to grow your career? All of our Core CMRP Courses will be offered in-person in Toronto and other cities across Canada. Not in the city? We’re also accepting a limited number of registrants via simulcast over the Internet for members outside of the region! Just choose the simulcast option on the registration form. Professional Development courses MRIA offers include:
**NEW** • Crowdsourcing (November 6) • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
11 of 12 core courses are available anytime online
Communicating with High Impact Graphs Conjoint Analysis New course dates Creating Winning Research Presentations are being added all Gamification the time! Check out the Market Segment Research insert for booked dates and the website Measuring Customer Statistics for daily updates. Measuring Customer Statistics: Advanced Metrics Madness Moderator Training Moderator Tool Box (Advanced Moderator Training) Semiotics SPSS: Introduction SPSS: Advanced Writing Reports
Registration closes approximately 1 week prior to course start Deadlines may be extended up to 3 days before course starts Please contact the MRIA office (education@mria-arim.ca) to inquire! http://mria-arim.ca/education http://mria-arim.ca/education/online-learning
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BOOK
REVIEWS
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A Review of
Now you see it Written by Stephen Few Published by Analytics Press Reviewed by Larry Rockoff
The focus of Now you see it lies at the intersection of data analysis and visualization. As described by its subtitle, “Simple Visualization Techniques for Quantitative Analysis,” the author’s purpose is to explain how visual charts and graphs can complement the process of data analysis by allowing the analyst to perceive patterns in data. Filled with many illuminating graphics, this book is well-researched, persuasive and just plain fun to read. The tone is set in the introduction when the author states that “despite…the construction of huge data warehouses that we can access at incredible speeds, the business intelligence industry has largely ignored the fact that intelligence resides in human beings, and that information only becomes valuable when it is understood, not just when it’s made available.” The book is divided into two main sections, followed by a summary of new trends in the field. The first few chapters presents general concepts of visualization and the basic elements that are common to all types of graphs. This addresses basic aspects of perception and how we perceive and respond to different visual elements. One particularly useful chapter covers the basic ways in which analysts can interact with data, such as by sorting, aggregating or applying filters. With this background in place, the second section of the book delves into specific areas of analysis, including time-series, ranking, deviation, distribution and correlation.
For each topic, the reader is shown typical analysis scenarios and treated to an informed discussion as to the most appropriate charting techniques for that purpose. For example, in treating time-series analysis, the author focuses on the value of line charts, but also covers the use of radar charts, box plots and other miscellaneous charting options. Consideration is given to the use of logarithmic scales, running averages and lagging indicators. One of the strengths of this book is that it is not specific to any particular piece of software. Graphics are taken from many different software packages, such as Tableau and Excel, but the author doesn’t get bogged down in the specifics of how to create charts. The focus is much more on the big picture of the value of visualization. There is the occasional mention of some of the limitations of visualization, but that type of discussion is kept to a minimum. All in all, as an evangelist for visualization, the author makes an compelling case for our increased awareness and use of visualization techniques in one’s analysis toolkit, and this book is an excellent vehicle for exploring that topic.
Larry Rockoff is the author of Microsoft Excel 2013 for the Business Analyst and other computing titles. For more information on his publications, please visit www.larryrockoff.com.
BO O K R EVI EWS
A Review of
The Digital Metrics Field Guide Written by Stephen D. Rappaport Published by The ARF Reviewed by Ray Poynter
One of my favourite social media/listening books is Stephen Rappaport’s Listen First!, so I was delighted when his new book The Digital Metrics Field Guide was announced, and even more delighted to get a copy to review. The book has been produced and published by the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) and you can download an interactive PDF from this link on the ARF site. The Field Guide is free for ARF members and $29.95 for non-members. To produce the book Stephen reduced a list of about 350 metrics to 197, and backed these up by referring to almost 150 studies, which illustrates the claim that online is the most measurable medium. The book covers four digital channels: email, mobile, social, and the Web, and produces a really easy to use reference for anybody interested in the area. To make things easier, Stephen has organized the information in three ways: Alphabetical, Category, and Marketing Stage – to deal with different tastes and preferences. 12 Fields per Metric The book is organized in terms of 12 fields per metric, including: where it fits in paid/owned/earned, its category, a definition, and the sorts of questions it answers. The use of a standardized format makes it much quicker for the user to find and locate a specific piece of information. Examples of metrics covered include: • Average time spent on page – including issues such as tabbed browsing and download time. • Brand Lift – Did exposure to the advertising impact brand lift measurement? • Conversation – How many conversations are people having about the brand? • Direct Traffic Visitors – How many people came to the site directly?
Who should buy this book? I think anybody who, over the next year or so, needs to check on the meaning, use, or definition of more than three or four of the digital metrics should buy this book. If you only need to refer to one or two, you could simply Google them, find some links, read some articles and come to a view. But, if you want a handy, well-researched, well laid out reference – this is the book for you. Note, you will not want to necessarily sit down and read this book cover to cover, it is much more of a reference than a good read (but see next note on the essays). Viewpoints/Essays The book finishes with a series of 12 essays and viewpoints, from people such as Gunnard Johnson from Google and David Rabjohns from MotiveQuest. Unlike the rest of the book, these should be read as opposed to referred to. Whilst I don’t agree with all the points made in the essays, they are valid and interesting points, and ones that anybody engaged in the medium should be familiar with. Timely publication For me the publication of Stephen’s book is very timely as I am working on part of the IPASocialWorks project, looking at a guide to “measuring not counting” in social media. The focus of our work is much more about the strategy and best practices of measuring social phenomena, but Stephen’s book provides a great reference to the variety of metrics available. See more at: http://newmr.org/book-review-stephenrappaports-the-digital-metrics-field-guide/
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COLUMNIST S
It’s a Qual World Susan Abbott, CMRP Abbott Research & Consulting Are you ignoring the introverts? Introverts may finally be getting their day, with articles popping up everywhere, and now a bestselling book. Susan Cain in her 2013 book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts, makes the case that introverts are treated as second-class citizens despite their many accomplished standard carriers (Bill Gates, J.K. Rowling, Albert Einstein, etc.). Research methodologies, especially real-time qualitative methods, force introverts to respond too quickly. One would have to assume that many introverts would not choose to participate in a focus group discussion. Others will go with the plan to spend most of their time listening. This is not a problem as long as everyone understands they are not being recalcitrant, nor are they a recruiting error; they are just thinking quietly and perhaps waiting to be asked for their view. Introvert-friendly qualitative The one-on-one interview is a more introvert-friendly method, but it can
call for patience on the part of the researcher. I recall a set of web-enabled depth interviews with accountants, a field known for attracting those with a preference for introversion. We needed reactions to print advertising concepts. I recall many occasions of dead silence on these calls, where I wondered if we had lost the audio connection. The participant was just thinking, processing their reactions before speaking. Top-of-mind, for an introvert, takes more than a second or two. In an online discussion forum, participants can read the question, then go away and think, coming back to respond later. Everyone can “talk” at the same time, so the extraverts don’t dominate as they can do in face-to-face sessions. Introvert-friendly brainstorming Brainstorming and offsite workshops are surely hellishly hard work for introverts: hours of people expecting quick reactions and on-the-spot creativity conducted in an overstimulating environment.
If we want to tap into the introverts’ powers of deep introspection, they need time to consider, opportunities to recharge, and shorter sessions. The value of nerf balls on creativity is vastly overrated, so we would lose little by making the environment a little quieter. You can expect your introverts to show up to the next off-site with fresh insights about the topic of last week’s session. Why not plan for this, instead of just moving on? Does it really matter what a third of the population prefers? Academic efforts to identify a relationship between personality and consumption patterns have not been all that productive. However, we are now in an experience economy. Perhaps planning a nightclub experience to appeal only to extraverts makes sense, but what about an insurance experience? Perhaps we should try harder to incorporate the viewpoints of introverts, and not rest on assumptions that it doesn’t really matter.
‘Good Enough’ is not OK Donya Germain ACCE International What are Best Practices?
When asked, at the end of a recent keynote, what he was looking for in “best practices” from a supplier, the president of Tim Hortons, Mark Ciara replied, “Best practices are an attitude…a behaviour in people… not prepared to accept complacency.” I agree! It is a mindset, a fundamental thought process one must have at their core: ethical standards, integrity and moral character. It even includes the drive to go beyond, to evolve, discover and improve. Classically defined, best practices are: “procedures or guidelines that are accepted or prescribed as being correct or most effective.” Many see best practices as rules, a script or perhaps 30
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a recipe for success to settle within. Some are mandated by an industry or organization. More importantly, best practices must come inherently from within and impact daily attitude and behaviour. Members of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) in Canada are bound by their Code of Conduct and Good Practice. Those who want to go beyond, have their internal business practices externally validated to ensure the highest standard and become Gold Seal Members. What drives this interest in “going beyond,” to not accept complacency? Is it purely a sales tool for clients? Perhaps it is for some. It should be fundamental to business and personal leadership.
With all the interest in and lip service paid to “best practices,” why then is the prevailing attitude of many to be OK with “good enough”? This research methodology is good enough. Cutting that corner is OK. Some transparency is fine, but there are limits. That advertising, packaging, concept or product is good enough. Those results can be spun to sound positive. Does any of this sound familiar? Our challenge is found in a quote from Oprah Winfrey; “If you are going to half-a** it, don’t bother.” Are you going to accept complacency or go beyond?
Chris Commins Commins Wingrove In 1990, I published a short article in the Canadian Journal of Marketing Research entitled “Women and Management: An Archival Analysis.” In the article, I analyzed appointment notice advertisements in the Globe and Mail’s Report on Business (ROB), and found that women’s share of these corporate notices was significantly lower than their presence in Canada’s labour force. Almost 25 years later, I decided that it was time for an update. The first thing I discovered was that – not surprisingly – the newspaper appointment notice advertisement business ain’t what it used to be. There were far fewer such ads in the period January 2011 – March 2013 than had been the case in earlier years. Number of Individuals Featured Period Weekly Average 1969..................73 1979..................71 1989..................57 2011 to 2013.......9
Despite the considerably lower base, I still believed that the share by gender was an important variable. What progress – if any – had women made in this regard over the past quarter century? By the end of 2012, there were about 18.8 million Canadians in the labour force, 47% of them female. Presence in the Labour Force Year % Female 1969................... 33 1979................... 39 1989................... 44 2012................... 47 In 1969, the first year of this trend analysis, women represented just 1% of individuals in ROB’s Appointment Notices. By 1989 this had risen to 10%, and has now reached 22% for the most recent period. Share of Appointment Notices Year % Female 1969..................... 1 1979..................... 3 1989................... 10 2011 to 2013...... 22
Progress for women, certainly, in terms of this measure of inclusion in senior management, but still less than half of their share of the labour force. I wondered if I might be able to do an equivalent analysis for the marketing research industry. At present, membership in the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association is divided equally between men and women. My proxy for Corporate Notices was to identify researchers in leadership roles, consisting of the past presidents of CAMRO, CSRC, PMRS and the MRIA, along with fellows of the latter two organizations, from 1960 to the present. With duplication removed, 104 individuals qualified. Of these, just 17 (16%) were women. Hmmm. I wonder what Peter MacKay might make of these statistics? Chris Commins is a senior partner with Commins Wingrove in Toronto. Both principals of the Organization are male. He can be reached at chris.commins@comminswingrove.com
COLUMNIST S
We are Pleased to Announce…
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GOLD SEAL ACCREDITED SINCE 2006 Academica Group ACCE Inc. Advitek Inc BBM Canada/BBM Analytics
Got GOLD?
Bond Brand Loyalty Corporate Research Associates CROP Inc. EKOS Research Associates Inc. Environics Research Group Limited Focal Research Consultants Ltd. Greenwich Associates
The eve before the 2014 Marketing Research Intelligence Association National Conference got underway, GOLD agencies gathered in Saskatoon at Winston’s English Pub and Grill. More than 40 representatives from Canada’s MRIA Gold Seal agencies toasted the opening of the 54th annual conference.
Hotspex Inc. Ipsos Reid Lang Research Inc. Leger, The Research Intelligence Group MD Analytics Inc. Millward Brown Mustel Group Nielsen Consumer Insights NRG Research Group Inc. Opinion Search Inc. POLLARA Research & Incite
The MRIA’s Gold Seal members are a select group of corporate organizations who have successfully completed a third-party certification process to attain the MRIA GOLD seal. The Gold Seal certification signals the commitment these organizations have to delivering world-class professional standards. At the gala event, the MRIA recognized the corporate research agencies that were the first to attain and continue to hold the MRIA’s Gold Seal standard. This is a small but important first step to recognizing the commitment of our Gold Seal members’ leadership and commitment to the future health of our industry. Each agency received a plaque commemorating their leadership in attaining and upholding this important symbol of quality for our industry. We look forward to recognizing future 5 and 10 year milestones for all of our Gold Seal organizations.
TNS Canadian Facts
The MRIA’s Research Agency Council (RAC) is focused on identifying opportunities to increase the visibility, value and importance of the Gold Seal as our industry’s symbol of gold standard best practices. Your RAC members are working on a number of initiatives to invigorate the Gold Seal.
Trend Research Inc.
http://mria-arim.ca/news/mria-news/gold-seal-agencies-initiatives
Research House Inc. Tele-Surveys Plus Inc.
2014-2015 COURSE OFFERINGS CORE AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES CORE COURSES 101 – INTRODUCTION TO MARKETING RESEARCH Examines elements of quantitative and qualitative methods that define market research today.
OTTAWA: November 4, 2014 Instructor: Robert Wong
102 – ETHICAL ISSUES AND PRIVACY IN MARKETING RESEARCH Introduces participants to the key ethical concerns that arise throughout the research process.
TORONTO: November 27, 2014 Instructor: David Stark
201 – MARKETING RESEARCH DESIGN: AN APPLIED COURSE This course examines the key research designs used in marketing research.
TORONTO: September 30, 2014 Instructor: Robert Wong
202 – QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN Examines the types of questions that should be asked and the best way to ask them.
TORONTO: January 20, 2015 Instructor: Jordan Levitin
203 – MARKETING RESEARCH STATISTICS AND DATA ANALYSIS (2 days) This course takes an applied approach to teaching core competencies of statistics.
TORONTO: October 30-31, 2014 Instructor: Chuck Chakrapani
204 – QUALITATIVE MARKETING RESEARCH Examines the latest theory and application of some of the most common qualitative research methods.
TORONTO: February 9, 2015 Instructor: Kelly Adams
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.
TORONTO: January 27 & 28, 2015 Instructor: Jordan Levitin
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
402 – ADVANCED ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES (2 days) This introduction to multivariate analysis covers a range of techniques and explains their uses.
TORONTO: February 5-6, 2014 Instructor: Chuck Chakrapani
403 – ADVANCED QUALITATIVE MARKETING RESEARCH Provides an in–depth examination of qualitative techniques, methodologies, and analysis.
TORONTO: February 10, 2015 Instructor: Kelly Adams
CMRE PREP WORKSHOP (2 days) This workshop will review everything you need to know to prepare for the CMRE.
TORONTO: October 7, 2014 Instructor: Robert Wong
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. Core courses are available online, 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.
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 **NEW** Learn the basics of crowd sourcing and the marketing research crowd sourcing spectrum – from ideas, to insights, to innovation.
TORONTO: November 6, 2014 Instructor: Sharon M. McIntyre
GAMIFICATION **NEW** Understand the fundamentals of gamification, its uses, and how to apply it. 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.
TORONTO: October 1-3, 2014 Instructor: Margaret Imai-Compton
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. 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’.
CALGARY: October 7, 2014 TORONTO: October 17, 2014 Instructor: Charles Leech
SPSS: INTRODUCTION This workshop will quickly help you learn the basics of SPSS for analyzing the types of data that results from most surveys.
TORONTO: April 22, 2015 Instructor: Ken Deal
SPSS: ADVANCED (2 days) Work through more advanced analyses that are capable of providing significant insights into consumer behaviour and motivation.
TORONTO: April 23-24, 2015 Instructor: Ken Deal
WRITING THAT GETS RESULTS Learn how to write persuasively to different audiences, avoid common mistakes, and hone your ability to summarize complex materials.
TORONTO: February 24, 2015 Instructor: Patricia Davies