I Love a New Adventure
By Tamara Kenworthy, PRC, PCM, MBA, VIEWS Editor in Chief, On Point Strategies, Des Moines, Iowa, tamara@on-pointstrategies.com
In 2015 when I joined the VIEWS team, I was looking for a way to engage with QRCA and was intrigued with the VIEWS committee. I vividly remember my call with then-Editor-in-Chief Kay Corry Aubrey and how passionate she was about working on the VIEWS publication. She quickly sold me on the idea that this was the committee for me. Who knew then that I would be given the opportunity to helm the publication, which I’m so excited about—thus launching me into this new adventure.
Having first started as Feature Editor for Schools of Thought, and then as a Managing Editor, I’ve worked with so many incredible authors and thought leaders around the world. I always found sourcing a new quarterly column as a fun adventure with an author as they took me along for a ride as they crafted their story. I’ve always loved a new adventure—my husband and I have lived in three states, and I always saw each move as a wonderful challenge. And the work we do in qualitative research—I always view each new project as an exhilarating adventure that clients are paying me to go on. Now, I’m ready for this new adventure as Editor-in-Chief. I promise our members and readers that our VIEWS team is amped and ready to continue tackling each issue to bring the latest trends, innovative ideas, and applicable tools to your attention.
We have a terrific committee who have executed another great issue for spring with loads of applicable and thought-provoking information. Thank you to our new Managing Editor Karen Lynch and current Managing Editor Susan Fader for leading their teams with precision and a quest for innovative thinking.
The theme of adventure continues with our Travel column featuring a young professional who took five months to hike the Appalachian Trail, an adventure he will never forget as he shares life lessons he learned along the way. And in our Global column, we’re taken to South Africa where we’re challenged to explore how the pretext of a poster selling “magical insurance” in a local neighborhood has the potential to disrupt a global market.
If you’re one for pop culture (I admit I’m one of those), our Luminaries column features an interview with Kevin Goetz on his research career working in Hollywood. Our returning Podcasts Editor, Mike Carlon, features another luminary, Fred John, and how he has focused on storytelling in market research over a 40-year career.
I love how QRCA educational efforts focus on applicability in our work—VIEWS delivers on this as well. We have two key articles in Toolbox, the first on how to work with stakeholders in a UX research project, and a second on how to deal with ethical dilemmas in research via an interesting case study on studying family consumption. On the other extreme from application is enlightening us to think in thought-provoking ways, and our Schools of Thought column discusses polarity thinking and how to leverage the natural tensions of qualitative research.
With the lens on data privacy escalating in the U.S., our Business Matters column focuses on how we as researchers need to navigate this arena. And our Trends column highlights the increasing dynamic of fake respondents and how to recognize and root them out. We adore our Emeritus members and their Dear Emeritus column, and they provide a slew of ideas on how to focus our energies when overwhelmed with so many tech platforms and applications to choose from. Finally, our myriad Book Reviews offer so many great titles—be sure to check them out and set a goal of reading at least one from each issue.
Please share this spring issue (qrcaviews.org) with your network, post the digital flipbook link on social media, and email your clients an interesting article relevant to them. Lastly, we love feedback—please let me know if you have ideas or thoughts on VIEWS.
Happy reading! Until the next issue,
Tamara Kenworthy
