by Qualitative research measures the “how much” is left to quantitative research. The driving forces behind both qualitative and quantitative research are business demands and capabilities afforded by technology. Technology is changing the nature of qualitative research in the areas of ease, speed and cost.
I recently had the opportunity to discuss more about this trend with Tammy Snow, Director, User Experience Research at Expedia and she shared that the reason for her talk on, “Ease, Speed and Cost – How is the Industry Shaping” at QUAL360 NORTH AMERICA 2019 is because, “Expedia is an environment where we truly optimize for speed. In 2018 we have made more than 1,100 product optimizations and run test and learns against those optimizations. A common question that I am asked by my colleagues within Expedia and in industry is how our research team is able to work effectively and provide quality insights in an environment that moves so quickly. It is a topic I feel passionate about.”
Tammy also added that the core message of her talk is how market researchers are using capabilities and methodologies to effectively deliver user insights in an environment that is highly agile. What she would like people to take away from the talk is that quality insights can be delivered in an agile environment when tools and methodologies are used effectively and in a way that is complimentary to scale analytics data.
Tammy is also hoping to learn more about how others in industry are focused on complimenting big data with qualitative insights at QUAL360 NORTH AMERICA 2019 in Washington, D.C. on March 20&21, 2019 as she feels that it is easy to see the value and importance of big, quantitative data that is collected via live site analytics and machine learning. What sometimes gets lost in the discussion is the importance of qualitative data in helping us to understand not only what people are doing but how they are doing it and why.
Moreover, Tammy believes qualitative research is more important now than it ever has been. She also believes that it is too easy for many in technology to lose site of the importance of balancing the “what” with the “why.” She believes QUAL360 NORTH AMERICA 2019 provides an opportunity for like-minded experts in qualitative research methodologies and strategies to learn how to best ensure technology industry remembers that we are solving human problems and the complexities of humans cannot be thoroughly understood through big data collection alone.
And lastly, Tammy feels that order to be successful in industry, market researchers have to find ways to leverage tools and methods in a way that allows for efficiencies and must do so without sacrificing quality of the insights delivered. This requires market researchers to understand how big data is being used and find ways to compliment big data with qualitative insights. And at QUAL360 NORTH AMERICA 2019, join our line-up of key speakers from Bank of America, Udemy, Hanes Brands, Turner, Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones and many more to deep dive into newer methods that are driving the future of qualitative research.
