Conference

Celebrating 40 Years of Qualitative Excellence – 2023 Annual Conference

Our 2023 conference theme, “Eyes, Ears, Senses, Oh My! Powering Up for the Future of Qual,” is about honing our skills for the next 40 years, which will undoubtedly be centered on a digital-first and tech-enabled world. Charlotte, North Carolina, is the perfect backdrop for this context, given it is one of the fastest-growing southern U.S. cities and caters to a wide variety of industries from banking, energy, and you guessed it—technology. […]

Toolbox

Conducting an Experience Investigation: A CX Approach That Adds Depth and Dimensionality to the Discovery Phase of Your Research

Show your clients a vivid picture of what it’s like to be one of their customers by delivering an Experience Investigation. Using a Customer Experience (CX) mindset, go beyond rational and conscious observations to better understand how expectations, emotions, subconscious clues, and behavioral psychology affect how customers feel toward a company. The article is a useful primer on how to pay attention to, capture, and evaluate the signals firsthand that create the emotions that can either attract or repel customers. […]

Global

Crossing Over from Traditional Qualitative to User Experience Research: The Journey with a Thousand Faces

There is increasing demand for user experience (UX) research, and qualitative researchers’ unique expertise in understanding human behavior can help bring this type of research to the next level. The author focuses on the use of three frameworks that explain the “whys”—and this understanding is equally significant when consumers are interacting with technology as when they interact with other products and services. The author provides examples that have proven to be very useful in her experience exploring customer journeys within shopping apps and streaming platforms. […]

Business Matters

Improv Mindset: 4 Principles to Build Your Qualitative Skills

Qualitative research is a form of applied improvisation: even though moderators prepare extensively, almost anything can happen in an actual conversation, and we have to be able to react in the moment—all while putting on a show for our highly-engaged client “audience.” Actor Will Dennis describes how deliberately adopting an “improv mindset” can further bolster our qualitative skills, offering exercises to help us listen more attentively, make our respondents look good, and reconsider how spontaneous dialogue can turn into opportunities for more genuine and authentic conversations with participants. […]

QRCA 2022-23 President Michael Mermelstein
From the President

From The President – Winter 2022-23

QRCA is comprised of a broad community of market researchers who specialize in qualitative research. A strong sense of community is what has and continues to make QRCA such a great organization. The powerful sense of community that exists has always been a core strength. […]

From the Editor in Chief

From the Editor in Chief – Winter 2022-23

Did you know that your QRCA magazine is produced by an all-volunteer QRCA member committee, along with one QRCA staff liaison from Ewald Consulting, and our publisher, E&M Consulting, Inc.? Through member surveys, we know that our members see VIEWS as an important resource for leading-edge and applicable qualitative ideas and information. […]