Book Reviews

Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell, Portfolio Penguin, 2023

Josef-Konrad Radomski reviews Dan Martell’s book, Buy Back Your Time, which guides entrepreneurs and business owners in increasing efficiency and personal satisfaction by outsourcing certain tasks. The author reframes hiring as a way to buy back time on the calendar, allowing leaders to concentrate on activities that drive passion and business growth. […]

Industry Focus

That Was Then, This Is Now: How Financial Services Product Research Has Evolved in the Past Quarter Century

Mike Carlon takes us back in time to show how product development research in financial services has evolved from solution-focused to customer-focused. Today’s clients are using more agile, iterative explorations, conducted with far less money and time. The article details the essential methods and skills qualitative researchers need to be successful in financial services product research. […]

Travelwise

What I Learned from Guided Tours… as a Traveler and as a Researcher

In this travel reflection, Oana Popa Rengle reevaluates guided tours based on tours she recently took in Sicily and Portugal, drawing parallels between her experiences and qualitative research. Read how the exploration of a unique “spleen sandwich” in Palermo, a visit to a family-owned salt pan in Trapani, and touring Lisbon with locals inspired her approach to qualitative research. […]

Trends

Qualitative Researchers Are Facing More Anxiety, Fatigue, Stress, and Burnout, and the U.S. Mental Health Crisis Isn’t Helping

Americans’ mental health is in crisis, and it can’t help but affect the health of qualitative researchers. The notion of “catching” depression isn’t hyperbole, but a real danger for qualitative researchers. Stressed and depressed respondents, stressful client demands, and lack of management support can trigger stress, depression, and burnout. Author Renee Hopkins shares some helpful advice on how to care for one’s own well-being. […]

color photo headshot of Professor Batja Mesquita in front of a large bookshelf
Luminaries

Professor Batja Mesquita on Culture’s Role in Shaping Emotions and Accounting for Them in Research

Zoë Billington speaks with Professor Batja Mesquita, a pioneer of cultural psychology, about how culture shapes emotion, and how emotions act as powerful tools in relationships. After reading, you may be compelled to rethink if, when, and how to ask participants the very important question, “how did you feel about that?” …and even add on “and what did you do about that?” and “and how did you respond to how that made you feel?” […]

an image of Sigmund Freud psychanalyzing a female patient
Schools of Thought

How Techniques from Psychoanalysis Can Provide Deeper Insights

Darren Harvey draws from his psychoanalytic training to explain how leaning into research participants’ defensive behaviors and anxiety can provide valuable material for understanding their world. When one’s true self is seen, validated, and brought into the space, participants can enjoy a more enriching and satisfying experience, and our clients can net deeper and more meaningful insights from consumers. […]