Why is research so risk averse?

This post started life as a response to Ellen Woods’ well thought out Greenbook post on the paradox of risk, which you can read here. However, here is an extended version of my thoughts on the difference between the herd […]

Notes for a non-researcher conducting qualitative research

In November I am presenting a paper to the ESOMAR Conference on Qualitative Research, in Valencia in Spain. My paper suggests that one threat to qualitative research is the potential for damage caused by people with no training in qualitative […]

In market research, is agnosticism the new belief?

Traditionally the term agnostic has been applied to people who have not had the courage of their convictions to settle for belief or refutation. However, over the last few years the term agnostic has become increasingly used in the area […]

Unintentional Interlocking Quotas

This post has been written in response to a query I receive fairly often about sampling. The phenomenon it looks at relates to the very weird effects that can occur when a researcher uses non-interlocking quotas, effects that I am […]