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Written by Mary Kate Miller | June 1, 2021

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Market research is a cornerstone of all successful, strategic businesses. It can also be daunting for entrepreneurs looking to launch a startup or start a side hustle . What is market research, anyway? And how do you…do it?

We’ll walk you through absolutely everything you need to know about the market research process so that by the end of this guide, you’ll be an expert in market research too. And what’s more important: you’ll have actionable steps you can take to start collecting your own market research.

What Is Market Research?

Market research is the organized process of gathering information about your target customers and market. Market research can help you better understand customer behavior and competitor strengths and weaknesses, as well as provide insight for the best strategies in launching new businesses and products. There are different ways to approach market research, including primary and secondary research and qualitative and quantitative research. The strongest approaches will include a combination of all four.

“Virtually every business can benefit from conducting some market research,” says Niles Koenigsberg of Real FiG Advertising + Marketing . “Market research can help you piece together your [business’s] strengths and weaknesses, along with your prospective opportunities, so that you can understand where your unique differentiators may lie.” Well-honed market research will help your brand stand out from the competition and help you see what you need to do to lead the market. It can also do so much more.

The Purposes of Market Research

Why do market research? It can help you…

• Pinpoint your target market, create buyer personas, and develop a more holistic understanding of your customer base and market.
• Understand current market conditions to evaluate risks and anticipate how your product or service will perform.
• Validate a concept prior to launch.
• Identify gaps in the market that your competitors have created or overlooked.
• Solve problems that have been left unresolved by the existing product/brand offerings.
• Identify opportunities and solutions for new products or services.
• Develop killer marketing strategies .

What Are the Benefits of Market Research?

Strong market research can help your business in many ways. It can…

• Strengthen your market position.
• Help you identify your strengths and weaknesses.
• Help you identify your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.
• Minimize risk.
• Center your customers’ experience from the get-go.
• Help you create a dynamic strategy based on market conditions and customer needs/demands.

What Are the Basic Methods of Market Research?

The basic methods of market research include surveys, personal interviews, customer observation, and the review of secondary research. In addition to these basic methods, a forward-thinking market research approach incorporates data from the digital landscape like social media analysis, SEO research, gathering feedback via forums, and more. Throughout this guide, we will cover each of the methods commonly used in market research to give you a comprehensive overview.

Primary vs. Secondary Market Research

Primary and secondary are the two main types of market research you can do. The latter relies on research conducted by others. Primary research, on the other hand, refers to the fact-finding efforts you conduct on your own.

This approach is limited, however. It’s likely that the research objectives of these secondary data points differ from your own, and it can be difficult to confirm the veracity of their findings.

Primary Market Research

Primary research is more labor intensive, but it generally yields data that is exponentially more actionable. It can be conducted through interviews, surveys, online research, and your own data collection. Every new business should engage in primary market research prior to launch. It will help you validate that your idea has traction, and it will give you the information you need to help minimize financial risk.

You can hire an agency to conduct this research on your behalf. This brings the benefit of expertise, as you’ll likely work with a market research analyst. The downside is that hiring an agency can be expensive—too expensive for many burgeoning entrepreneurs. That brings us to the second approach. You can also do the market research yourself, which substantially reduces the financial burden of starting a new business .

Secondary Market Research

Secondary research includes resources like government databases and industry-specific data and publications. It can be beneficial to start your market research with secondary sources because it’s widely available and often free-to-access. This information will help you gain a broad overview of the market conditions for your new business.

Identify Your Goals and Your Audience

Before you begin conducting interviews or sending out surveys, you need to set your market research goals. At the end of your market research process, you want to have a clear idea of who your target market is—including demographic information like age, gender, and where they live—but you also want to start with a rough idea of who your audience might be and what you’re trying to achieve with market research.

You can pinpoint your objectives by asking yourself a series of guiding questions:

• What are you hoping to discover through your research?
• Who are you hoping to serve better because of your findings?
• What do you think your market is?
• Who are your competitors?
• Are you testing the reception of a new product category or do you want to see if your product or service solves the problem left by a current gap in the market?
• Are you just…testing the waters to get a sense of how people would react to a new brand?

Once you’ve narrowed down the “what” of your market research goals, you’re ready to move onto how you can best achieve them. Think of it like algebra. Many math problems start with “solve for x.” Once you know what you’re looking for, you can get to work trying to find it. It’s a heck of a lot easier to solve a problem when you know you’re looking for “x” than if you were to say “I’m gonna throw some numbers out there and see if I find a variable.”

How to Do Market Research

This guide outlines every component of a comprehensive market research effort. Take into consideration the goals you have established for your market research, as they will influence which of these elements you’ll want to include in your market research strategy.

Secondary Data

Secondary data allows you to utilize pre-existing data to garner a sense of market conditions and opportunities. You can rely on published market studies, white papers, and public competitive information to start your market research journey.

Secondary data, while useful, is limited and cannot substitute your own primary data. It’s best used for quantitative data that can provide background to your more specific inquiries.

Find Your Customers Online

Once you’ve identified your target market, you can use online gathering spaces and forums to gain insights and give yourself a competitive advantage. Rebecca McCusker of The Creative Content Shop recommends internet recon as a vital tool for gaining a sense of customer needs and sentiment. “Read their posts and comments on forums, YouTube video comments, Facebook group [comments], and even Amazon/Goodreads book comments to get in their heads and see what people are saying.”

If you’re interested in engaging with your target demographic online, there are some general rules you should follow. First, secure the consent of any group moderators to ensure that you are acting within the group guidelines. Failure to do so could result in your eviction from the group.

Not all comments have the same research value. “Focus on the comments and posts with the most comments and highest engagement,” says McCusker. These high-engagement posts can give you a sense of what is already connecting and gaining traction within the group.

Social media can also be a great avenue for finding interview subjects. “LinkedIn is very useful if your [target customer] has a very specific job or works in a very specific industry or sector. It’s amazing the amount of people that will be willing to help,” explains Miguel González, a marketing executive at Dealers League . “My advice here is BE BRAVE, go to LinkedIn, or even to people you know and ask them, do quick interviews and ask real people that belong to that market and segment and get your buyer persona information first hand.”

Market research interviews can provide direct feedback on your brand, product, or service and give you a better understanding of consumer pain points and interests.

When organizing your market research interviews, you want to pay special attention to the sample group you’re selecting, as it will directly impact the information you receive. According to Tanya Zhang, the co-founder of Nimble Made , you want to first determine whether you want to choose a representative sample—for example, interviewing people who match each of the buyer persona/customer profiles you’ve developed—or a random sample.

“A sampling of your usual persona styles, for example, can validate details that you’ve already established about your product, while a random sampling may [help you] discover a new way people may use your product,” Zhang says.

Market Surveys

Market surveys solicit customer inclinations regarding your potential product or service through a series of open-ended questions. This direct outreach to your target audience can provide information on your customers’ preferences, attitudes, buying potential, and more.

Every expert we asked voiced unanimous support for market surveys as a powerful tool for market research. With the advent of various survey tools with accessible pricing—or free use—it’s never been easier to assemble, disseminate, and gather market surveys. While it should also be noted that surveys shouldn’t replace customer interviews , they can be used to supplement customer interviews to give you feedback from a broader audience.

Who to Include in Market Surveys

• Current customers
• Past customers
• Your existing audience (such as social media/newsletter audiences)

Example Questions to Include in Market Surveys

While the exact questions will vary for each business, here are some common, helpful questions that you may want to consider for your market survey. Demographic Questions: the questions that help you understand, demographically, who your target customers are:

• “What is your age?”
• “Where do you live?”
• “What is your gender identity?”
• “What is your household income?”
• “What is your household size?”
• “What do you do for a living?”
• “What is your highest level of education?”

Product-Based Questions: Whether you’re seeking feedback for an existing brand or an entirely new one, these questions will help you get a sense of how people feel about your business, product, or service:

• “How well does/would our product/service meet your needs?”
• “How does our product/service compare to similar products/services that you use?”
• “How long have you been a customer?” or “What is the likelihood that you would be a customer of our brand?

Personal/Informative Questions: the deeper questions that help you understand how your audience thinks and what they care about.

• “What are your biggest challenges?”
• “What’s most important to you?”
• “What do you do for fun (hobbies, interests, activities)?”
• “Where do you seek new information when researching a new product?”
• “How do you like to make purchases?”
• “What is your preferred method for interacting with a brand?”

Survey Tools

Online survey tools make it easy to distribute surveys and collect responses. The best part is that there are many free tools available. If you’re making your own online survey, you may want to consider SurveyMonkey, Typeform, Google Forms, or Zoho Survey.

Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis is a breakdown of how your business stacks up against the competition. There are many different ways to conduct this analysis. One of the most popular methods is a SWOT analysis, which stands for “strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.” This type of analysis is helpful because it gives you a more robust understanding of why a customer might choose a competitor over your business. Seeing how you stack up against the competition can give you the direction you need to carve out your place as a market leader.

Social Media Analysis

Social media has fundamentally changed the market research landscape, making it easier than ever to engage with a wide swath of consumers. Follow your current or potential competitors on social media to see what they’re posting and how their audience is engaging with it. Social media can also give you a lower cost opportunity for testing different messaging and brand positioning.

SEO Analysis and Opportunities

SEO analysis can help you identify the digital competition for getting the word out about your brand, product, or service. You won’t want to overlook this valuable information. Search listening tools offer a novel approach to understanding the market and generating the content strategy that will drive business. Tools like Google Trends and Awario can streamline this process.

Ready to Kick Your Business Into High Gear?

Now that you’ve completed the guide to market research you know you’re ready to put on your researcher hat to give your business the best start. Still not sure how actually… launch the thing? Our free mini-course can run you through the essentials for starting your side hustle .

About Mary Kate Miller

Mary Kate Miller writes about small business, real estate, and finance. In addition to writing for Foundr, her work has been published by The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Bustle, and more. She lives in Chicago.

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More From Forbes

Six types of research that can unlock consumer insights.

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COO and co-founder at  Maven Road .

Nowadays, the word “insight” is used by many market researchers to describe the means by which companies and brands can understand their customers’ tastes, motivations and needs. These insights allow brands to develop more effective strategies for connecting their audience with their products or services.

Consumer insights interpret customers’ behavior, which is critical to building relationships and connecting, not just making transactions and selling. Insights can help identify the important gap between the consumers’ aspirations and what they perceive a brand is offering. That gap can always be turned into a business opportunity.

I’ve seen through my company — a global business intelligence firm focused on deciphering big data and creating actionable insights — that relevant, valuable intelligence about a target market is only obtained through a deep analysis of data. Below is a guide to the types of research you can consider leveraging to analyze the consumer, as they can help you to gain valuable insights to fuel your business strategy:

• Social listening:  This involves the constant monitoring and tracking of online conversations to determine what consumers are saying about your brands, competitors, market or other topics of interest on different social media channels.

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• Audience analysis:  This refers to the identification of demographic characteristics and psychographic information of the audience associated with your brand or company. Audience analysis can be applied to users who follow a brand’s handles or engage with its content across different social media channels.

• Netnographic research:  As an innovative, qualitative online research method, netnographic research adapts ethnographic methods — such as fieldwork, participant observation, interviews and field notes — to study your target audience. I’ve found this type of analysis allows for an immersive experience into online communities that helps you acquire an insider’s perspective and can lead to the development of an online persona for your target audience.

• Online communities:  Researching online communities means you analyze communities created across digital spaces that consist of members who share common interests related to your brand or company. Members, including active and potential consumers, often seek advice or share tips related to a specific interest. Analyzing the interactions and conversations among them can lead to actionable insights applicable to your brand or product. 

• Influencer identification:  This refers to an analysis of users discussing specific topics related to your brand or company on social media. Users who are more relevant to the conversation, either because they allow you to connect to different clusters of users or because they have high brokerage power, should then be selected. The results can help you identify potential influential voices for your brand or company to connect with.

• Trend tracking: “Trend tracking” involves identifying topics that could be of interest to your brand or company. This provides business intelligence to stakeholders about the latest events concerning your brand or company on a 24/7 basis, which can enable them to identify potential crises before they escalate. Trend tracking also monitors historical trends to track how consumer conversations evolve over time, thus leading to actionable insights.

Research can help you understand consumer behavior and brand perception. However, the key is identifying what learnings and insights are the most relevant for business opportunities. Before embarking upon the research process, you should ensure you have clear goals in mind for how the research will be used. Companies traveling through the black hole of data exploration will waste employee time and energy unless they set parameters concerning what they want to achieve. Therefore, always start by defining your business problem and objective before seeking out solutions.

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The Ultimate Guide to Market Research: Types, Benefits, and Real-World Examples

Team Fratzke

Today's consumers hold a lot of power when making purchase decisions. With a quick inquiry in a search engine or search bar within a social media platform, they can access genuine reviews from their peers without relying on sales reps.

Considering this shift in consumer behavior, adjusting your marketing strategy so it caters to the modern-day buying process is essential . To achieve this, you must thoroughly understand your target audience, the market you operate in, and the factors influencing their decision-making.

This is where market research can be leveraged so you stay current with your audience and industry. 

Article Overview

In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about how to conduct market research, including:

• Why market research is essential for understanding your target audience, the market you operate in, and factors influencing decision-making
• What are the different types of market research, such as primary and secondary market research
• How to collect information about your customers and target market to determine the success of a new or existing product, improve your brand, and communicate your company's value
• Real-world examples of companies leveraging market research

What is market research?

Market research is a necessary process that involves collecting and documenting information about your target market and customers. This helps you determine the success of a new product, improve an existing one, or understand how your brand is perceived. You can then turn this research into profits by  developing marketing strategies and campaigns to effectively communicate your company's value .

While market research can provide insights into various aspects of an industry, it is not a crystal ball that can predict everything about your customers. Market researchers typically explore multiple areas of the market, which can take several weeks or even months to get a complete picture of the business landscape.

Even by researching just one of those areas, you can gain better insights into who your buyers are and what unique value proposition you can offer them that no other business currently provides.

Of course, you can simply use your industry experience and existing customer insights to make sound judgment calls. However, it's important to note that market research provides additional benefits beyond these strategies. There are two things to consider:

• Your competitors also have experienced individuals in the industry and a customer base. Your immediate resources may equal those of your competition's immediate resources. Seeking a larger sample size for answers can provide a better edge.
• Your brand's customers do not represent the entire market's attitudes, only those who are attracted to your brand.

The market research services industry is experiencing rapid growth , indicating a strong interest in market research as we enter 2024. The market is expected to grow from approximately $75 billion in 2021 to $90.79 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 5%. 

Your competitors have highly skilled individuals within the industry, meaning your available personnel resources are likely similar to those of your competitors. So what are you going to do to get ahead?

You’re going to do thorough market research, which is why seeking answers from a larger sample size is essential. Remember that your customers represent only a portion of the market already attracted to your brand, and their attitudes may not necessarily reflect those of the entire market. You could be leaving money on the table by leaving out untapped customers .

Why do market research?

Market research helps you meet your buyers where they are. Understanding your buyer's problems, pain points, and desired outcomes is invaluable as our world becomes increasingly noisy and demanding. This knowledge will help you tailor your product or service to appeal to them naturally. 

What’s even better is when you're ready to grow your business, market research can also guide you in developing an effective market expansion strategy.

Market research provides valuable insights into factors that impact your profits and can help you to :

• Identify where your target audience and current customers are conducting their product or service research
• Determine which competitors your target audience looks to for information, options, or purchases
• Keep up with the latest trends in your industry and understand what your buyers are interested in
• Understand who makes up your market and what challenges they are facing
• Determine what influences purchases and conversions among your target audience
• Analyze consumer attitudes about a particular topic, pain, product, or brand
• Assess the demand for the business initiatives you're investing in
• Identify unaddressed or underserved customer needs that can be turned into selling opportunities
• Understand consumer attitudes about pricing for your product or service.

Market research provides valuable information from a larger sample size of your target audience, enabling you to obtain accurate consumer attitudes. By eliminating any bias or assumptions you have about your target audience, you can make better business decisions based on the bigger picture. 

As you delve deeper into your market research, you will come across two types of research: primary and secondary market research . Simply put, think of two umbrellas beneath market research - one for primary and one for secondary research. In the next section, we will discuss the difference between these two types of research. That way, if you work with a market who wants to use them, you’ll be ready with an understanding of how they can each benefit your business.

Primary vs. Secondary Research

Both primary and secondary research are conducted to collect actionable information on your product. That information can then be divided into two types: qualitative and quantitative research. Qualitative research focuses on public opinion and aims to determine how the market feels about the products currently available. On the other hand, quantitative research seeks to identify relevant trends in the data gathered from public records. 

Let's take a closer look at these two types.

Primary Research

Primary research involves gathering first-hand information about your market and its customers. It can be leveraged to segment your market and create focused buyer personas . Generally, primary market research can be categorized into exploratory and specific studies.

Exploratory Primary Research

This type of primary market research is not focused on measuring customer trends; instead, it is focused on identifying potential problems worth addressing as a team. It is usually conducted as an initial step before any specific research is done and may involve conducting open-ended interviews or surveys with a small group of people.

Specific Primary Research

After conducting exploratory research, businesses may conduct specific primary research to explore issues or opportunities they have identified as necessary. Specific research involves targeting a smaller or more precise audience segment and asking questions aimed at solving a suspected problem. Specific primary research reveals problems that are unique to your audience so you can then offer a unique (and valuable) solution.

Secondary Research

Secondary research refers to collecting and analyzing data that has already been published or made available in public records. This may include market statistics, trend reports, sales data, and industry content you already can access. Secondary research really shines when you go to your competitors . The most commonly used sources of secondary market research include:

• Public sources
• Commercial sources
• Internal sources

Public Sources

When conducting secondary market research, the first and most accessible sources of information are usually free . That’s right–these public sources are free and at your fingertips so there’s no reason for you to not be checking them out and leveraging them for your own gain.

One of the most common types of public sources is government statistics. According to Entrepreneur, two examples of public market data in the United States are the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor & Statistics. These sources offer helpful information about the state of various industries nationwide including:

Commercial Sources

Research agencies such as Pew, Fratzke, Gartner, or Forrester often provide market reports containing industry insights from their own in-depth studies . These reports usually come at a cost if you want to download and obtain the information, but these agencies are experts at what they do, so the research is most likely valuable.

Internal Sources

Internal sources of market data can include average revenue per sale, customer retention rates, and other data on the health of old and new accounts. They are often overlooked when it comes to conducting market research because of how specific the data is; however, these sources can be valuable as they provide information on the organization's historical data.

By analyzing this information, you can gain insights into what your customers want now . In addition to these broad categories, there are various ways to conduct market research. Let’s talk about them.  

Types of Market Research

• Interviews (in-person or remote)

Focus Groups

• Product/ Service Use Research

Observation-Based Research

Buyer persona research, market segmentation research, pricing research.

• Competitive Analysis Research

Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Research

Brand awareness research, campaign research.

Interviews can be conducted face-to-face or virtually, allowing for a natural conversation flow while observing the interviewee's body language. By asking questions about themselves, the interviewee can help you create buyer personas , which are made by using information about the ideal customer, such as:

• Family size 
• Challenges faced at work or in life 

And other aspects of their lifestyle. This buyer profile can shape your entire marketing strategy , from the features you add to your product to the content you publish on your website. Your target audience will feel that the marketing was made just for them and will be drawn to your product or service.

Focus groups are market research involving a few carefully selected individuals who can test your product, watch a demonstration, offer feedback, and answer specific questions. This research can inspire ideas for product differentiation or highlight the unique features of your product or brand that set it apart from others in the market.  This is a great market research option to gain specific feedback, which you can use to improve your services .

Product/Service Use Research

Product or service usage research provides valuable insights into how and why your target audience uses your product or service.  This research can help in various ways including:

•  Identifying specific features of your offering that appeal to your audience. 
• Allowing you to assess the usability of your product or service for your target audience. 

According to a report published in 2020, usability testing was rated the most effective method for discovering user insights, with a score of 8.7 out of 10. In comparison, digital analytics scored 7.7, and user surveys scored 6.4.

Observation-based research is a process that involves observing how your target audience members use your product or service. The way that you intended your product or service to be used may not be the actual way that it is used. Observation-based research helps you understand what works well in terms of customer experience (CX) and user experience (UX), what problems they face, and which aspects of your product or service can be improved to make it easier for them to use.

To better understand how your potential customers make purchasing decisions in your industry, it is essential to know who they are. This is where buyer persona research comes in handy. Buyer or marketing personas are fictional yet generalized representations of your ideal customers. They give you someone to whom you want your marketing efforts to empathize and move, even though they don’t really exist. 

Gathering survey data and additional research to correctly identify your buyer personas will help you to visualize your audience so you can streamline your communications and inform marketing strategy . Key characteristics to include in a buyer persona are:

• Job title(s)
• Family size
• Major challenges

Market segmentation research enables you to classify your target audience into various groups or segments based on specific and defining characteristics. This method allows you to understand their needs, pain points, expectations, and goals more effectively.

Pricing research can provide valuable insights about the prices of similar products or services in your market. It can help you understand what your target audience expects to pay for your offerings and what would be a reasonable price for you to set. Correct pricing is important because if you set it too high, consumers will go to your cheaper competitor; but if you set it too low, your consumers may become suspicious of your product or service and still end up with your competitor. This information allows you to develop a solid pricing strategy aligning with your business goals and objectives. 

Competitive Analysis

Competitive analyses are incredibly valuable as they provide a deep understanding of your market and industry competition. Through these analyses, you can gain insights like: 

• What works well in your industry 
• What your target audience is already interested in regarding products like yours
• Which competitors you should work to keep up with and surpass 
• How you can differentiate yourself from the competition

Understanding customer satisfaction and loyalty is crucial to encouraging repeat business and identifying what drives customers to return (such as loyalty programs, rewards, and exceptional customer service). Researching this area will help you determine the most effective methods to keep your customers coming back again and again. If you have a CRM system, consider further utilizing automated customer feedback surveys to improve your understanding of their needs and preferences.

Brand awareness research helps you understand the level of familiarity your target audience has with your brand. It provides insights into your audience members' perceptions and associations when they think about your business.This type of research reveals what they believe your brand represents. This information is valuable for developing effective marketing strategies, improving your brand's reputation, and increasing customer loyalty .

To improve your marketing campaigns, you need to research by analyzing the success of your past campaigns among your target audience and current customers. This requires experimentation and thoroughly examining the elements that resonate with your audience. By doing so, you can identify the aspects of your campaigns that matter most to your audience and use them as a guide for future campaigns. 

Now that you understand the different market research categories and types let's look at how to conduct your market research.  Using our expertise and experience, we’ve created a step-by-step guide to conducting market research.

How to Do Market Research (Detailed Roadmap)

• Define the problem or objective of the research. 
• Determine the type of data needed. 
• Identify the sources of data. 
• Collect the data. 
• Analyze the data. 
• Interpret the results. 
• Report the findings. 
• Take action based on the findings.

1. Define the problem or objective of the research

Defining the problem or objective of the research is the first step in conducting market research. This involves identifying the specific issue that the research is trying to address. It is essential to be clear and specific about the research problem or objective, as it will guide the entire research process.

2. Determine the type of data needed

After defining the research problem or objective, the next step is determining the data type needed to address the issue. This involves deciding whether to collect primary or secondary data. Primary data is collected directly from the source, while secondary data is collected from existing sources such as government reports or market research studies.

3. Identify the sources of data

Once the data type has been determined, the next step is identifying the data sources. This involves identifying potential sources of primary and secondary data that can be used to address the research problem or objective. Primary data sources can include surveys, focus groups, and interviews, while secondary data sources can include government reports, industry publications, and academic journals.

4. Collect the data

After identifying the data sources, the next step is to collect the data. This involves designing and implementing a data collection plan consistent with the research problem or objective. The data collection plan should specify the methods and procedures for collecting data, sample size, and sampling method.

5. Analyze the data

Once the data has been collected, the next step is to analyze the data. This involves organizing, summarizing, and interpreting the data to identify patterns, relationships, and trends. The research problem or objective should guide the data analysis process and be conducted using appropriate statistical methods and software.

6. Interpret the results

After analyzing the data, the next step is to interpret the results. This involves drawing conclusions from the data analysis and using the results to address the research problem or objective. It is essential to analyze the results objectively and to avoid making assumptions or drawing conclusions that are not supported by the data.

7. Report the findings

Try identifying common themes to create a story and action items.To make the process easier, use your favorite presentation software to create a report, as it will make it easy to add quotes, diagrams, or call clips.

Feel free to add your flair, but the following outline should help you craft a clear summary:

• Background: What are your goals, and why did you conduct this study?
• Participants: Who you talked to? A table works well to break groups down by persona and customer/prospect.
• Executive Summary: What were the most exciting things you learned? What do you plan to do about it?
• Key Findings: Identify the key findings using data visualizations and emphasize key points.
• Recommendations + Action Plan: Your analysis will uncover actionable insights to fuel strategies and campaigns you can run to get your brand in front of buyers earlier and more effectively. Provide your list of priorities, action items , a timeline, and its impact on your business.

8. Take action based on the findings

The final step in conducting market research is to take action based on the findings. This involves using the results to make informed decisions about the marketing strategy, product development, or other business decisions. It is important to use the findings to drive action and to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the action taken continuously.

How to Prepare for Market Research Projects

Identify a persona group to engage, prepare research questions for your market research participants, list your primary competitors.

The idea is to use your persona as a reference point for understanding and reaching out to your industry's audience members. Your business might cater to more than one persona, and that's completely acceptable! However, you must be mindful of each persona while strategizing and planning your content and campaigns. 

How to Identify the Right People to Engage for Market Research

When selecting a group on which to conduct market research , it is essential to consider individuals with the same characteristics as your target audience. 

If you need to research multiple target audiences, recruit separate groups for each one. Select people who have recently interacted with you by looking through social media for post interactions or seeing if they’ve made recent purchases from you.

If you are planning to conduct an evaluation, it is recommended that you focus on people who have completed it within the last six months. However, if you have a longer sales cycle or a specific market, you can extend the period up to a year. It is crucial to ask detailed questions during the evaluation, so the participants' experience must be fresh.

Gather a mix of participants

If you want to expand your customer base, you’re going to want to get viewpoints of your product or service from every angle. Consider getting this mix by recruiting individuals who have already purchased your product, those who have bought a competitor's product, and those who haven't purchased anything. While targeting your existing customers may be the easiest option, gathering information from non-customers can help you gain a more balanced market perspective .

We recommend taking the following steps to select a mix of participants:

• Create a list of customers who made a recent purchase . This is usually the most accessible group to recruit. If you have a CRM system with list segmentation capabilities, run a report of deals that closed within the past six months and filter it for the characteristics you're looking for. Otherwise, work with your sales team to get them a list of appropriate accounts.
• Create a list of customers who were in an active evaluation but didn't make a purchase. You should get a mix of buyers who either purchased from a competitor or decided not to purchase. Again, you can obtain this list from your CRM or your Sales team's system to track deals.
• Use social media to call for participants. Try reaching out to people who follow you on social media but decided not to buy from you. Some may be willing to talk to you and explain why they did not purchase your product.
• Leverage your network . Spread the word that you're conducting a study to your coworkers, former colleagues, and LinkedIn connections. Even if your direct connections don't qualify, some will likely have a coworker, friend, or family member who does.
• Choose an incentive to motivate participants to spend time on your study. If you're on a tight budget , you can reward participants for free by giving them exclusive access to content. 

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• Digital Marketing Strategy: Keep It Simple
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• Marketing Operations Framework - The Five Ps
• Biggest Marketing Challenges Leaders Face
• Digital Marketing Benchmarks & KPIs - How To Compare Your Performance

Preparation is key when conducting research in hopes of gaining productive and informative conversations. This involves creating a discussion guide, whether it is for a focus group, an online survey, or a phone interview. The guide should help you cover all the relevant topics and manage your time efficiently.

The discussion guide should be in an outline format, with an allocated time and open-ended questions for each section. All the questions must be open-ended, as asking closed questions may lead the interviewee to respond with a simple "yes" or "no" answer. You may need more detailed answers to make informed decisions, so be sure to ask follow-up questions as necessary.  Also leave out any leading questions as they may unintentionally influence the interviewee's response, skewing your research results.

It's essential to identify your competitors accurately and you may even have some hidden in plain sight.  There are some instances where your company's business division might compete with your main product or service, even though that company's brand might have a different focus. Take a look at Apple:  the company is known primarily for its laptops and mobile devices, but Apple Music competes with Spotify over its music streaming service.

From a content perspective, you might compete with a blog, YouTube channel, or similar publication for inbound website visitors — even though their products don't overlap with yours. An example of this is when a toothpaste company might compete with publications like Health.com or Prevention on specific blog topics related to health and hygiene, even though the magazines don't sell oral care products.

Here are a few ways to build your competitor list:

• Check your industry quadrant on G2 Crowd: This is a significant first step for secondary market research in some industries. G2 Crowd aggregates user ratings and social data to create "quadrants" that show companies as contenders, leaders, niche players, or high performers in their respective industries. G2 Crowd specializes in digital content, IT services, HR, e-commerce, and related business services.
• Download a market report: Companies like Forrester and Gartner offer free and gated market forecasts yearly on the vendors leading their industry. On Forrester's website, for example, you can select "Latest Research" from the navigation bar and browse Forrester's latest material using a variety of criteria to narrow your search. These reports are good assets to save on your computer.
• Use social media : Social networks can be excellent company directories if you use the search bar correctly. On LinkedIn, for example, select the search bar and enter the name of the industry you're pursuing. Then, under "More," select "Companies" to narrow your results to the businesses that include this or a similar industry term on their LinkedIn profile.

Identifying Content Competitors

Search engines can be beneficial when it comes to secondary market research . To identify the online publications competing with your business, start with the overarching industry term you identified earlier, and then come up with more specific industry terms that are related to your company . For example, if you run a catering business, you might consider yourself a "food service" company, as well as a vendor in "event catering," "cake catering," "baked goods," and so on.

Once you have this list, follow these steps:

• Google it: Running a search on Google for the industry terms that describe your company can be very beneficial. You may come across a mix of product developers, blogs, magazines, and other websites.
• Compare your search results against your buyer persona: Remember the persona you created during the primary research stage? You can use it to evaluate whether a publication you found through Google could steal website traffic from you. If the website's content aligns with what your buyer persona would want to see, it is a potential competitor and should be added to your list of competitors.

After a series of similar Google searches for the industry terms you identify with, look for repetition in the website domains that have come up.

When searching, examine the first two or three pages of results. These websites are considered reputable sources of content in your industry and should be monitored closely as you create your collection of videos, reports, web pages, and blog posts.

Market Research Examples

Mcdonald's focus on customer feedback and profiling.

McDonald's invests in developing a detailed consumer profile to attract and retain customers, including parents of young children who appreciate the family-friendly atmosphere and menus. The brand seeks feedback from customers through surveys and questionnaires in stores, social media, and its mobile app. It also monitors customer feedback on digital channels.

Nike's Extensive Research and Collaboration for Running Shoes Development

Nike invests heavily in creating running shoes that cater to the needs of its customers, which it determines through extensive market research and customer surveys. The brand goes to great lengths to understand its customers' preferences, such as the type of running surface, the distance they run, and their running style, to develop shoes that meet their specific needs.

In addition to customer surveys, Nike also collaborates with athletes to develop shoes that cater to their specific requirements. This research helps Nike improve its existing running shoe models and innovate new ones, ensuring that the brand stays ahead of the competition.

Disney employs focus groups that specifically cater to children to test out their new characters and ideas.

The Walt Disney Company invests millions of dollars in creating captivating stories tested for their effectiveness with children, the intended audience. Disney executives hold focus groups with preschoolers and kindergartners several times a year to gather their opinions and feedback on TV episodes, Disney characters, and more. 

This market research strategy is effective because children are the ultimate audience that Disney aims to please. The collected feedback helps the company improve existing content to meet the preferences of its audience and ensure continued success as a multi-billion dollar enterprise.

KFC tested its meatless product in specific markets before launching it nationwide.

In 2019, KFC began developing and testing a meatless version of its famous chicken. However, instead of immediately launching the product nationwide, they decided to test it in select stores in the Atlanta, Georgia area. 

This is an innovative and practical approach to market research, as it allows the company to determine the product's sales performance on a smaller scale before committing too many resources to it. If the meatless chicken fails to gain popularity in Georgia, KFC can make the necessary changes to the product before introducing it to the broader market.

Yamaha conducted a survey to determine whether to use knobs or sliding faders on the Montage keyboard.

Yamaha is a Japanese corporation that produces various products, from motorcycles to golf cars to musical instruments. When it began developing its new Montage keyboard, the team was unsure whether to use knobs or sliding faders on the product. 

To address this dilemma, Yamaha used Qualtrics to send a survey to their customers. Within just a few hours , they received 400 responses. By using survey feedback, Yamaha ensured that it was designing a product that would perfectly meet the preferences of its audiences.

The Body Shop used social listening to determine how to reposition brand campaigns based on customer feedback.

The Body Shop is a well-known brand that offers ethically sourced and natural products. They take pride in their core value of sustainability. The Body Shop team tracked conversations to understand the sustainability subtopics that were most important to their audiences. 

They found that their customers cared a lot about refills. Based on this information, the Body Shop team confidently relaunched their Refill Program across 400 stores globally in 2021, with plans to add another 400 in 2022. Market research confirmed that their refill concept was on the right track and also highlighted the need for increased efforts to demonstrate how much the Body Shop cares about its customers' values .

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The takeaway.

Fratzke Consulting offers a comprehensive suite of market research services to help brands gain valuable insights into their target market, competitors, and industry trends. Our expert team utilizes various primary and secondary research methods to gather accurate and unbiased data, including surveys, competitive research, and industry reports. With Fratzke Consulting, you'll have the tools to succeed in today's rapidly evolving business landscape.

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How to Do Market Research: The Complete Guide

Learn how to do market research with this step-by-step guide, complete with templates, tools and real-world examples.

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Market research is the systematic process of gathering, analyzing and interpreting information about a specific market or industry.

What are your customers’ needs? How does your product compare to the competition? What are the emerging trends and opportunities in your industry? If these questions keep you up at night, it’s time to conduct market research.

Market research plays a pivotal role in your ability to stay competitive and relevant, helping you anticipate shifts in consumer behavior and industry dynamics. It involves gathering these insights using a wide range of techniques, from surveys and interviews to data analysis and observational studies.

In this guide, we’ll explore why market research is crucial, the various types of market research, the methods used in data collection, and how to effectively conduct market research to drive informed decision-making and success.

What is market research?

The purpose of market research is to offer valuable insight into the preferences and behaviors of your target audience, and anticipate shifts in market trends and the competitive landscape. This information helps you make data-driven decisions, develop effective strategies for your business, and maximize your chances of long-term growth.

Why is market research important? 

By understanding the significance of market research, you can make sure you’re asking the right questions and using the process to your advantage. Some of the benefits of market research include:

• Informed decision-making: Market research provides you with the data and insights you need to make smart decisions for your business. It helps you identify opportunities, assess risks and tailor your strategies to meet the demands of the market. Without market research, decisions are often based on assumptions or guesswork, leading to costly mistakes.
• Customer-centric approach: A cornerstone of market research involves developing a deep understanding of customer needs and preferences. This gives you valuable insights into your target audience, helping you develop products, services and marketing campaigns that resonate with your customers.
• Competitive advantage: By conducting market research, you’ll gain a competitive edge. You’ll be able to identify gaps in the market, analyze competitor strengths and weaknesses, and position your business strategically. This enables you to create unique value propositions, differentiate yourself from competitors, and seize opportunities that others may overlook.
• Risk mitigation: Market research helps you anticipate market shifts and potential challenges. By identifying threats early, you can proactively adjust their strategies to mitigate risks and respond effectively to changing circumstances. This proactive approach is particularly valuable in volatile industries.
• Resource optimization: Conducting market research allows organizations to allocate their time, money and resources more efficiently. It ensures that investments are made in areas with the highest potential return on investment, reducing wasted resources and improving overall business performance.
• Adaptation to market trends: Markets evolve rapidly, driven by technological advancements, cultural shifts and changing consumer attitudes. Market research ensures that you stay ahead of these trends and adapt your offerings accordingly so you can avoid becoming obsolete. 

As you can see, market research empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions, cater to customer needs, outperform competitors, mitigate risks, optimize resources and stay agile in a dynamic marketplace. These benefits make it a huge industry; the global market research services market is expected to grow from $76.37 billion in 2021 to $108.57 billion in 2026 . Now, let’s dig into the different types of market research that can help you achieve these benefits.

Types of market research 

• Qualitative research
• Quantitative research
• Exploratory research
• Descriptive research
• Causal research
• Cross-sectional research
• Longitudinal research

Despite its advantages, 23% of organizations don’t have a clear market research strategy. Part of developing a strategy involves choosing the right type of market research for your business goals. The most commonly used approaches include:

1. Qualitative research

Qualitative research focuses on understanding the underlying motivations, attitudes and perceptions of individuals or groups. It is typically conducted through techniques like in-depth interviews, focus groups and content analysis — methods we’ll discuss further in the sections below. Qualitative research provides rich, nuanced insights that can inform product development, marketing strategies and brand positioning.

2. Quantitative research

Quantitative research, in contrast to qualitative research, involves the collection and analysis of numerical data, often through surveys, experiments and structured questionnaires. This approach allows for statistical analysis and the measurement of trends, making it suitable for large-scale market studies and hypothesis testing. While it’s worthwhile using a mix of qualitative and quantitative research, most businesses prioritize the latter because it is scientific, measurable and easily replicated across different experiments.

3. Exploratory research

Whether you’re conducting qualitative or quantitative research or a mix of both, exploratory research is often the first step. Its primary goal is to help you understand a market or problem so you can gain insights and identify potential issues or opportunities. This type of market research is less structured and is typically conducted through open-ended interviews, focus groups or secondary data analysis. Exploratory research is valuable when entering new markets or exploring new product ideas.

4. Descriptive research

As its name implies, descriptive research seeks to describe a market, population or phenomenon in detail. It involves collecting and summarizing data to answer questions about audience demographics and behaviors, market size, and current trends. Surveys, observational studies and content analysis are common methods used in descriptive research. 

5. Causal research

Causal research aims to establish cause-and-effect relationships between variables. It investigates whether changes in one variable result in changes in another. Experimental designs, A/B testing and regression analysis are common causal research methods. This sheds light on how specific marketing strategies or product changes impact consumer behavior.

6. Cross-sectional research

Cross-sectional market research involves collecting data from a sample of the population at a single point in time. It is used to analyze differences, relationships or trends among various groups within a population. Cross-sectional studies are helpful for market segmentation, identifying target audiences and assessing market trends at a specific moment.

7. Longitudinal research

Longitudinal research, in contrast to cross-sectional research, collects data from the same subjects over an extended period. This allows for the analysis of trends, changes and developments over time. Longitudinal studies are useful for tracking long-term developments in consumer preferences, brand loyalty and market dynamics.

Each type of market research has its strengths and weaknesses, and the method you choose depends on your specific research goals and the depth of understanding you’re aiming to achieve. In the following sections, we’ll delve into primary and secondary research approaches and specific research methods.

Primary vs. secondary market research

Market research of all types can be broadly categorized into two main approaches: primary research and secondary research. By understanding the differences between these approaches, you can better determine the most appropriate research method for your specific goals.

Primary market research 

Primary research involves the collection of original data straight from the source. Typically, this involves communicating directly with your target audience — through surveys, interviews, focus groups and more — to gather information. Here are some key attributes of primary market research:

• Customized data: Primary research provides data that is tailored to your research needs. You design a custom research study and gather information specific to your goals.
• Up-to-date insights: Because primary research involves communicating with customers, the data you collect reflects the most current market conditions and consumer behaviors.
• Time-consuming and resource-intensive: Despite its advantages, primary research can be labor-intensive and costly, especially when dealing with large sample sizes or complex study designs. Whether you hire a market research consultant, agency or use an in-house team, primary research studies consume a large amount of resources and time.

Secondary market research 

Secondary research, on the other hand, involves analyzing data that has already been compiled by third-party sources, such as online research tools, databases, news sites, industry reports and academic studies.

Here are the main characteristics of secondary market research:

• Cost-effective: Secondary research is generally more cost-effective than primary research since it doesn’t require building a research plan from scratch. You and your team can look at databases, websites and publications on an ongoing basis, without needing to design a custom experiment or hire a consultant. 
• Leverages multiple sources: Data tools and software extract data from multiple places across the web, and then consolidate that information within a single platform. This means you’ll get a greater amount of data and a wider scope from secondary research.
• Quick to access: You can access a wide range of information rapidly — often in seconds — if you’re using online research tools and databases. Because of this, you can act on insights sooner, rather than taking the time to develop an experiment. 

So, when should you use primary vs. secondary research? In practice, many market research projects incorporate both primary and secondary research to take advantage of the strengths of each approach.

One rule of thumb is to focus on secondary research to obtain background information, market trends or industry benchmarks. It is especially valuable for conducting preliminary research, competitor analysis, or when time and budget constraints are tight. Then, if you still have knowledge gaps or need to answer specific questions unique to your business model, use primary research to create a custom experiment. 

Market research methods

• Surveys and questionnaires
• Focus groups
• Observational research
• Online research tools
• Experiments
• Content analysis
• Ethnographic research

How do primary and secondary research approaches translate into specific research methods? Let’s take a look at the different ways you can gather data: 

1. Surveys and questionnaires

Surveys and questionnaires are popular methods for collecting structured data from a large number of respondents. They involve a set of predetermined questions that participants answer. Surveys can be conducted through various channels, including online tools, telephone interviews and in-person or online questionnaires. They are useful for gathering quantitative data and assessing customer demographics, opinions, preferences and needs. On average, customer surveys have a 33% response rate , so keep that in mind as you consider your sample size.

2. Interviews

Interviews are in-depth conversations with individuals or groups to gather qualitative insights. They can be structured (with predefined questions) or unstructured (with open-ended discussions). Interviews are valuable for exploring complex topics, uncovering motivations and obtaining detailed feedback. 

3. Focus groups

The most common primary research methods are in-depth webcam interviews and focus groups. Focus groups are a small gathering of participants who discuss a specific topic or product under the guidance of a moderator. These discussions are valuable for primary market research because they reveal insights into consumer attitudes, perceptions and emotions. Focus groups are especially useful for idea generation, concept testing and understanding group dynamics within your target audience.

4. Observational research

Observational research involves observing and recording participant behavior in a natural setting. This method is particularly valuable when studying consumer behavior in physical spaces, such as retail stores or public places. In some types of observational research, participants are aware you’re watching them; in other cases, you discreetly watch consumers without their knowledge, as they use your product. Either way, observational research provides firsthand insights into how people interact with products or environments.

5. Online research tools

You and your team can do your own secondary market research using online tools. These tools include data prospecting platforms and databases, as well as online surveys, social media listening, web analytics and sentiment analysis platforms. They help you gather data from online sources, monitor industry trends, track competitors, understand consumer preferences and keep tabs on online behavior. We’ll talk more about choosing the right market research tools in the sections that follow.

6. Experiments

Market research experiments are controlled tests of variables to determine causal relationships. While experiments are often associated with scientific research, they are also used in market research to assess the impact of specific marketing strategies, product features, or pricing and packaging changes.

7. Content analysis

Content analysis involves the systematic examination of textual, visual or audio content to identify patterns, themes and trends. It’s commonly applied to customer reviews, social media posts and other forms of online content to analyze consumer opinions and sentiments.

8. Ethnographic research

Ethnographic research immerses researchers into the daily lives of consumers to understand their behavior and culture. This method is particularly valuable when studying niche markets or exploring the cultural context of consumer choices.

How to do market research

• Set clear objectives
• Identify your target audience
• Choose your research methods
• Use the right market research tools
• Collect data
• Analyze data 
• Interpret your findings
• Identify opportunities and challenges
• Make informed business decisions
• Monitor and adapt

Now that you have gained insights into the various market research methods at your disposal, let’s delve into the practical aspects of how to conduct market research effectively. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview, from defining objectives to monitoring market shifts.

1. Set clear objectives

When you set clear and specific goals, you’re essentially creating a compass to guide your research questions and methodology. Start by precisely defining what you want to achieve. Are you launching a new product and want to understand its viability in the market? Are you evaluating customer satisfaction with a product redesign? 

Start by creating SMART goals — objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound. Not only will this clarify your research focus from the outset, but it will also help you track progress and benchmark your success throughout the process. 

You should also consult with key stakeholders and team members to ensure alignment on your research objectives before diving into data collecting. This will help you gain diverse perspectives and insights that will shape your research approach.

2. Identify your target audience

Next, you’ll need to pinpoint your target audience to determine who should be included in your research. Begin by creating detailed buyer personas or stakeholder profiles. Consider demographic factors like age, gender, income and location, but also delve into psychographics, such as interests, values and pain points.

The more specific your target audience, the more accurate and actionable your research will be. Additionally, segment your audience if your research objectives involve studying different groups, such as current customers and potential leads.

If you already have existing customers, you can also hold conversations with them to better understand your target market. From there, you can refine your buyer personas and tailor your research methods accordingly.

3. Choose your research methods

Selecting the right research methods is crucial for gathering high-quality data. Start by considering the nature of your research objectives. If you’re exploring consumer preferences, surveys and interviews can provide valuable insights. For in-depth understanding, focus groups or observational research might be suitable. Consider using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to gain a well-rounded perspective. 

You’ll also need to consider your budget. Think about what you can realistically achieve using the time and resources available to you. If you have a fairly generous budget, you may want to try a mix of primary and secondary research approaches. If you’re doing market research for a startup , on the other hand, chances are your budget is somewhat limited. If that’s the case, try addressing your goals with secondary research tools before investing time and effort in a primary research study. 

4. Use the right market research tools

Whether you’re conducting primary or secondary research, you’ll need to choose the right tools. These can help you do anything from sending surveys to customers to monitoring trends and analyzing data. Here are some examples of popular market research tools:

• Market research software: Crunchbase is a platform that provides best-in-class company data, making it valuable for market research on growing companies and industries. You can use Crunchbase to access trusted, first-party funding data, revenue data, news and firmographics, enabling you to monitor industry trends and understand customer needs.

• Survey and questionnaire tools: SurveyMonkey is a widely used online survey platform that allows you to create, distribute and analyze surveys. Google Forms is a free tool that lets you create surveys and collect responses through Google Drive.
• Data analysis software: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are useful for conducting statistical analyses. SPSS is a powerful statistical analysis software used for data processing, analysis and reporting.
• Social listening tools: Brandwatch is a social listening and analytics platform that helps you monitor social media conversations, track sentiment and analyze trends. Mention is a media monitoring tool that allows you to track mentions of your brand, competitors and keywords across various online sources.
• Data visualization platforms: Tableau is a data visualization tool that helps you create interactive and shareable dashboards and reports. Power BI by Microsoft is a business analytics tool for creating interactive visualizations and reports.

5. Collect data

There’s an infinite amount of data you could be collecting using these tools, so you’ll need to be intentional about going after the data that aligns with your research goals. Implement your chosen research methods, whether it’s distributing surveys, conducting interviews or pulling from secondary research platforms. Pay close attention to data quality and accuracy, and stick to a standardized process to streamline data capture and reduce errors. 

6. Analyze data

Once data is collected, you’ll need to analyze it systematically. Use statistical software or analysis tools to identify patterns, trends and correlations. For qualitative data, employ thematic analysis to extract common themes and insights. Visualize your findings with charts, graphs and tables to make complex data more understandable.

If you’re not proficient in data analysis, consider outsourcing or collaborating with a data analyst who can assist in processing and interpreting your data accurately.

7. Interpret your findings

Interpreting your market research findings involves understanding what the data means in the context of your objectives. Are there significant trends that uncover the answers to your initial research questions? Consider the implications of your findings on your business strategy. It’s essential to move beyond raw data and extract actionable insights that inform decision-making.

Hold a cross-functional meeting or workshop with relevant team members to collectively interpret the findings. Different perspectives can lead to more comprehensive insights and innovative solutions.

8. Identify opportunities and challenges

Use your research findings to identify potential growth opportunities and challenges within your market. What segments of your audience are underserved or overlooked? Are there emerging trends you can capitalize on? Conversely, what obstacles or competitors could hinder your progress?

Lay out this information in a clear and organized way by conducting a SWOT analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Jot down notes for each of these areas to provide a structured overview of gaps and hurdles in the market.

9. Make informed business decisions

Market research is only valuable if it leads to informed decisions for your company. Based on your insights, devise actionable strategies and initiatives that align with your research objectives. Whether it’s refining your product, targeting new customer segments or adjusting pricing, ensure your decisions are rooted in the data.

At this point, it’s also crucial to keep your team aligned and accountable. Create an action plan that outlines specific steps, responsibilities and timelines for implementing the recommendations derived from your research. 

10. Monitor and adapt

Market research isn’t a one-time activity; it’s an ongoing process. Continuously monitor market conditions, customer behaviors and industry trends. Set up mechanisms to collect real-time data and feedback. As you gather new information, be prepared to adapt your strategies and tactics accordingly. Regularly revisiting your research ensures your business remains agile and reflects changing market dynamics and consumer preferences.

Online market research sources

As you go through the steps above, you’ll want to turn to trusted, reputable sources to gather your data. Here’s a list to get you started:

• Crunchbase: As mentioned above, Crunchbase is an online platform with an extensive dataset, allowing you to access in-depth insights on market trends, consumer behavior and competitive analysis. You can also customize your search options to tailor your research to specific industries, geographic regions or customer personas.

• Academic databases: Academic databases, such as ProQuest and JSTOR , are treasure troves of scholarly research papers, studies and academic journals. They offer in-depth analyses of various subjects, including market trends, consumer preferences and industry-specific insights. Researchers can access a wealth of peer-reviewed publications to gain a deeper understanding of their research topics.
• Government and NGO databases: Government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and other institutions frequently maintain databases containing valuable economic, demographic and industry-related data. These sources offer credible statistics and reports on a wide range of topics, making them essential for market researchers. Examples include the U.S. Census Bureau , the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Pew Research Center .
• Industry reports: Industry reports and market studies are comprehensive documents prepared by research firms, industry associations and consulting companies. They provide in-depth insights into specific markets, including market size, trends, competitive analysis and consumer behavior. You can find this information by looking at relevant industry association databases; examples include the American Marketing Association and the National Retail Federation .
• Social media and online communities: Social media platforms like LinkedIn or Twitter (X) , forums such as Reddit and Quora , and review platforms such as G2 can provide real-time insights into consumer sentiment, opinions and trends. 

Market research examples

At this point, you have market research tools and data sources — but how do you act on the data you gather? Let’s go over some real-world examples that illustrate the practical application of market research across various industries. These examples showcase how market research can lead to smart decision-making and successful business decisions.

Example 1: Apple’s iPhone launch

Apple ’s iconic iPhone launch in 2007 serves as a prime example of market research driving product innovation in tech. Before the iPhone’s release, Apple conducted extensive market research to understand consumer preferences, pain points and unmet needs in the mobile phone industry. This research led to the development of a touchscreen smartphone with a user-friendly interface, addressing consumer demands for a more intuitive and versatile device. The result was a revolutionary product that disrupted the market and redefined the smartphone industry.

Example 2: McDonald’s global expansion

McDonald’s successful global expansion strategy demonstrates the importance of market research when expanding into new territories. Before entering a new market, McDonald’s conducts thorough research to understand local tastes, preferences and cultural nuances. This research informs menu customization, marketing strategies and store design. For instance, in India, McDonald’s offers a menu tailored to local preferences, including vegetarian options. This market-specific approach has enabled McDonald’s to adapt and thrive in diverse global markets.

Example 3: Organic and sustainable farming

The shift toward organic and sustainable farming practices in the food industry is driven by market research that indicates increased consumer demand for healthier and environmentally friendly food options. As a result, food producers and retailers invest in sustainable sourcing and organic product lines — such as with these sustainable seafood startups — to align with this shift in consumer values. 

The bottom line? Market research has multiple use cases and is a critical practice for any industry. Whether it’s launching groundbreaking products, entering new markets or responding to changing consumer preferences, you can use market research to shape successful strategies and outcomes.

Market research templates

You finally have a strong understanding of how to do market research and apply it in the real world. Before we wrap up, here are some market research templates that you can use as a starting point for your projects:

• Smartsheet competitive analysis templates : These spreadsheets can serve as a framework for gathering information about the competitive landscape and obtaining valuable lessons to apply to your business strategy.
• SurveyMonkey product survey template : Customize the questions on this survey based on what you want to learn from your target customers.
• HubSpot templates : HubSpot offers a wide range of free templates you can use for market research, business planning and more.
• SCORE templates : SCORE is a nonprofit organization that provides templates for business plans, market analysis and financial projections.
• SBA.gov : The U.S. Small Business Administration offers templates for every aspect of your business, including market research, and is particularly valuable for new startups. 

Strengthen your business with market research

When conducted effectively, market research is like a guiding star. Equipped with the right tools and techniques, you can uncover valuable insights, stay competitive, foster innovation and navigate the complexities of your industry.

Throughout this guide, we’ve discussed the definition of market research, different research methods, and how to conduct it effectively. We’ve also explored various types of market research and shared practical insights and templates for getting started. 

Now, it’s time to start the research process. Trust in data, listen to the market and make informed decisions that guide your company toward lasting success.

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How to do market research in 4 steps: a lean approach to marketing research

From pinpointing your target audience and assessing your competitive advantage, to ongoing product development and customer satisfaction efforts, market research is a practice your business can only benefit from.

Learn how to conduct quick and effective market research using a lean approach in this article full of strategies and practical examples. 

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A comprehensive (and successful) business strategy is not complete without some form of market research—you can’t make informed and profitable business decisions without truly understanding your customer base and the current market trends that drive your business.

In this article, you’ll learn how to conduct quick, effective market research  using an approach called 'lean market research'. It’s easier than you might think, and it can be done at any stage in a product’s lifecycle.

How to conduct lean market research in 4 steps

What is market research, why is market research so valuable, advantages of lean market research, 4 common market research methods, 5 common market research questions, market research faqs.

We’ll jump right into our 4-step approach to lean market research. To show you how it’s done in the real world, each step includes a practical example from Smallpdf , a Swiss company that used lean market research to reduce their tool’s error rate by 75% and boost their Net Promoter Score® (NPS) by 1%.

Research your market the lean way...

From on-page surveys to user interviews, Hotjar has the tools to help you scope out your market and get to know your customers—without breaking the bank.

The following four steps and practical examples will give you a solid market research plan for understanding who your users are and what they want from a company like yours.

1. Create simple user personas

A user persona is a semi-fictional character based on psychographic and demographic data from people who use websites and products similar to your own. Start by defining broad user categories, then elaborate on them later to further segment your customer base and determine your ideal customer profile .

How to get the data: use on-page or emailed surveys and interviews to understand your users and what drives them to your business.

How to do it right: whatever survey or interview questions you ask, they should answer the following questions about the customer:

Who are they?

What is their main goal?

What is their main barrier to achieving this goal?

Pitfalls to avoid:

Don’t ask too many questions! Keep it to five or less, otherwise you’ll inundate them and they’ll stop answering thoughtfully.

Don’t worry too much about typical demographic questions like age or background. Instead, focus on the role these people play (as it relates to your product) and their goals.

How Smallpdf did it: Smallpdf ran an on-page survey for a couple of weeks and received 1,000 replies. They learned that many of their users were administrative assistants, students, and teachers.

Next, they used the survey results to create simple user personas like this one for admins:

Who are they? Administrative Assistants.

What is their main goal? Creating Word documents from a scanned, hard-copy document or a PDF where the source file was lost.

What is their main barrier to achieving it? Converting a scanned PDF doc to a Word file.

💡Pro tip: Smallpdf used Hotjar Surveys to run their user persona survey. Our survey tool helped them avoid the pitfalls of guesswork and find out who their users really are, in their own words. 

You can design a survey and start running it in minutes with our easy-to-use drag and drop builder. Customize your survey to fit your needs, from a sleek one-question pop-up survey to a fully branded questionnaire sent via email. 

We've also created 40+ free survey templates that you can start collecting data with, including a user persona survey like the one Smallpdf used.

2. Conduct observational research

Observational research involves taking notes while watching someone use your product (or a similar product).

Overt vs. covert observation

Overt observation involves asking customers if they’ll let you watch them use your product. This method is often used for user testing and it provides a great opportunity for collecting live product or customer feedback .

Covert observation means studying users ‘in the wild’ without them knowing. This method works well if you sell a type of product that people use regularly, and it offers the purest observational data because people often behave differently when they know they’re being watched. 

Tips to do it right:

Record an entry in your field notes, along with a timestamp, each time an action or event occurs.

Make note of the users' workflow, capturing the ‘what,’ ‘why,’ and ‘for whom’ of each action.

Don’t record identifiable video or audio data without consent. If recording people using your product is helpful for achieving your research goal, make sure all participants are informed and agree to the terms.

Don’t forget to explain why you’d like to observe them (for overt observation). People are more likely to cooperate if you tell them you want to improve the product.

💡Pro tip: while conducting field research out in the wild can wield rewarding results, you can also conduct observational research remotely. Hotjar Recordings is a tool that lets you capture anonymized user sessions of real people interacting with your website. 

Observe how customers navigate your pages and products to gain an inside look into their user behavior . This method is great for conducting exploratory research with the purpose of identifying more specific issues to investigate further, like pain points along the customer journey and opportunities for optimizing conversion .

With Hotjar Recordings you can observe real people using your site without capturing their sensitive information

How Smallpdf did it: here’s how Smallpdf observed two different user personas both covertly and overtly.

Observing students (covert): Kristina Wagner, Principle Product Manager at Smallpdf, went to cafes and libraries at two local universities and waited until she saw students doing PDF-related activities. Then she watched and took notes from a distance. One thing that struck her was the difference between how students self-reported their activities vs. how they behaved (i.e, the self-reporting bias). Students, she found, spent hours talking, listening to music, or simply staring at a blank screen rather than working. When she did find students who were working, she recorded the task they were performing and the software they were using (if she recognized it).

Observing administrative assistants (overt): Kristina sent emails to admins explaining that she’d like to observe them at work, and she asked those who agreed to try to batch their PDF work for her observation day. While watching admins work, she learned that they frequently needed to scan documents into PDF-format and then convert those PDFs into Word docs. By observing the challenges admins faced, Smallpdf knew which products to target for improvement.

“Data is really good for discovery and validation, but there is a bit in the middle where you have to go and find the human.”

3. Conduct individual interviews

Interviews are one-on-one conversations with members of your target market. They allow you to dig deep and explore their concerns, which can lead to all sorts of revelations.

Listen more, talk less. Be curious.

Act like a journalist, not a salesperson. Rather than trying to talk your company up, ask people about their lives, their needs, their frustrations, and how a product like yours could help.

Ask "why?" so you can dig deeper. Get into the specifics and learn about their past behavior.

Record the conversation. Focus on the conversation and avoid relying solely on notes by recording the interview. There are plenty of services that will transcribe recorded conversations for a good price (including Hotjar!).

Avoid asking leading questions , which reveal bias on your part and pushes respondents to answer in a certain direction (e.g. “Have you taken advantage of the amazing new features we just released?).

Don't ask loaded questions , which sneak in an assumption which, if untrue, would make it impossible to answer honestly. For example, we can’t ask you, “What did you find most useful about this article?” without asking whether you found the article useful in the first place.

Be cautious when asking opinions about the future (or predictions of future behavior). Studies suggest that people aren’t very good at predicting their future behavior. This is due to several cognitive biases, from the misguided exceptionalism bias (we’re good at guessing what others will do, but we somehow think we’re different), to the optimism bias (which makes us see things with rose-colored glasses), to the ‘illusion of control’ (which makes us forget the role of randomness in future events).

How Smallpdf did it: Kristina explored her teacher user persona by speaking with university professors at a local graduate school. She learned that the school was mostly paperless and rarely used PDFs, so for the sake of time, she moved on to the admins.

A bit of a letdown? Sure. But this story highlights an important lesson: sometimes you follow a lead and come up short, so you have to make adjustments on the fly. Lean market research is about getting solid, actionable insights quickly so you can tweak things and see what works.

💡Pro tip: to save even more time, conduct remote interviews using an online user research service like Hotjar Engage , which automates the entire interview process, from recruitment and scheduling to hosting and recording.

You can interview your own customers or connect with people from our diverse pool of 200,000+ participants from 130+ countries and 25 industries. And no need to fret about taking meticulous notes—Engage will automatically transcribe the interview for you.

4. Analyze the data (without drowning in it)

The following techniques will help you wrap your head around the market data you collect without losing yourself in it. Remember, the point of lean market research is to find quick, actionable insights.

A flow model is a diagram that tracks the flow of information within a system. By creating a simple visual representation of how users interact with your product and each other, you can better assess their needs.

You’ll notice that admins are at the center of Smallpdf’s flow model, which represents the flow of PDF-related documents throughout a school. This flow model shows the challenges that admins face as they work to satisfy their own internal and external customers.

Affinity diagram

An affinity diagram is a way of sorting large amounts of data into groups to better understand the big picture. For example, if you ask your users about their profession, you’ll notice some general themes start to form, even though the individual responses differ. Depending on your needs, you could group them by profession, or more generally by industry.

We wrote a guide about how to analyze open-ended questions to help you sort through and categorize large volumes of response data. You can also do this by hand by clipping up survey responses or interview notes and grouping them (which is what Kristina does).

“For an interview, you will have somewhere between 30 and 60 notes, and those notes are usually direct phrases. And when you literally cut them up into separate pieces of paper and group them, they should make sense by themselves.”

Pro tip: if you’re conducting an online survey with Hotjar, keep your team in the loop by sharing survey responses automatically via our Slack and Microsoft Team integrations. Reading answers as they come in lets you digest the data in pieces and can help prepare you for identifying common themes when it comes time for analysis.

Hotjar lets you easily share survey responses with your team

Customer journey map

A customer journey map is a diagram that shows the way a typical prospect becomes a paying customer. It outlines their first interaction with your brand and every step in the sales cycle, from awareness to repurchase (and hopefully advocacy).

The above  customer journey map , created by our team at Hotjar, shows many ways a customer might engage with our tool. Your map will be based on your own data and business model.

📚 Read more: if you’re new to customer journey maps, we wrote this step-by-step guide to creating your first customer journey map in 2 and 1/2 days with free templates you can download and start using immediately.

Next steps: from research to results

So, how do you turn market research insights into tangible business results? Let’s look at the actions Smallpdf took after conducting their lean market research: first they implemented changes, then measured the impact.

Implement changes

Based on what Smallpdf learned about the challenges that one key user segment (admins) face when trying to convert PDFs into Word files, they improved their ‘PDF to Word’ conversion tool.

We won’t go into the details here because it involves a lot of technical jargon, but they made the entire process simpler and more straightforward for users. Plus, they made it so that their system recognized when you drop a PDF file into their ‘Word to PDF’ converter instead of the ‘PDF to Word’ converter, so users wouldn’t have to redo the task when they made that mistake. 

In other words: simple market segmentation for admins showed a business need that had to be accounted for, and customers are happier overall after Smallpdf implemented an informed change to their product.

Measure results

According to the Lean UX model, product and UX changes aren’t retained unless they achieve results.

Smallpdf’s changes produced:

A 75% reduction in error rate for the ‘PDF to Word’ converter

A 1% increase in NPS

Greater confidence in the team’s marketing efforts

"With all the changes said and done, we've cut our original error rate in four, which is huge. We increased our NPS by +1%, which isn't huge, but it means that of the users who received a file, they were still slightly happier than before, even if they didn't notice that anything special happened at all.”

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Market research (or marketing research) is any set of techniques used to gather information and better understand a company’s target market. This might include primary research on brand awareness and customer satisfaction or secondary market research on market size and competitive analysis. Businesses use this information to design better products, improve user experience, and craft a marketing strategy that attracts quality leads and improves conversion rates.

David Darmanin, one of Hotjar’s founders, launched two startups before Hotjar took off—but both companies crashed and burned. Each time, he and his team spent months trying to design an amazing new product and user experience, but they failed because they didn’t have a clear understanding of what the market demanded.

With Hotjar, they did things differently . Long story short, they conducted market research in the early stages to figure out what consumers really wanted, and the team made (and continues to make) constant improvements based on market and user research.

Without market research, it’s impossible to understand your users. Sure, you might have a general idea of who they are and what they need, but you have to dig deep if you want to win their loyalty.

Here’s why research matters:

Obsessing over your users is the only way to win. If you don’t care deeply about them, you’ll lose potential customers to someone who does.

Analytics gives you the ‘what’, while research gives you the ‘why’. Big data, user analytics , and dashboards can tell you what people do at scale, but only research can tell you what they’re thinking and why they do what they do. For example, analytics can tell you that customers leave when they reach your pricing page, but only research can explain why.

Research beats assumptions, trends, and so-called best practices. Have you ever watched your colleagues rally behind a terrible decision? Bad ideas are often the result of guesswork, emotional reasoning, death by best practices , and defaulting to the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion (HiPPO). By listening to your users and focusing on their customer experience , you’re less likely to get pulled in the wrong direction.

Research keeps you from planning in a vacuum. Your team might be amazing, but you and your colleagues simply can’t experience your product the way your customers do. Customers might use your product in a way that surprises you, and product features that seem obvious to you might confuse them. Over-planning and refusing to test your assumptions is a waste of time, money, and effort because you’ll likely need to make changes once your untested business plan gets put into practice.

Lean User Experience (UX) design is a model for continuous improvement that relies on quick, efficient research to understand customer needs and test new product features.

Lean market research can help you become more...

Efficient: it gets you closer to your customers, faster.

Cost-effective: no need to hire an expensive marketing firm to get things started.

Competitive: quick, powerful insights can place your products on the cutting edge.

As a small business or sole proprietor, conducting lean market research is an attractive option when investing in a full-blown research project might seem out of scope or budget.

There are lots of different ways you could conduct market research and collect customer data, but you don’t have to limit yourself to just one research method. Four common types of market research techniques include surveys, interviews, focus groups, and customer observation.

Which method you use may vary based on your business type: ecommerce business owners have different goals from SaaS businesses, so it’s typically prudent to mix and match these methods based on your particular goals and what you need to know.

1. Surveys: the most commonly used

Surveys are a form of qualitative research that ask respondents a short series of open- or closed-ended questions, which can be delivered as an on-screen questionnaire or via email. When we asked 2,000 Customer Experience (CX) professionals about their company’s approach to research , surveys proved to be the most commonly used market research technique.

What makes online surveys so popular?  

They’re easy and inexpensive to conduct, and you can do a lot of data collection quickly. Plus, the data is pretty straightforward to analyze, even when you have to analyze open-ended questions whose answers might initially appear difficult to categorize.

We've built a number of survey templates ready and waiting for you. Grab a template and share with your customers in just a few clicks.

💡 Pro tip: you can also get started with Hotjar AI for Surveys to create a survey in mere seconds . Just enter your market research goal and watch as the AI generates a survey and populates it with relevant questions. 

Once you’re ready for data analysis, the AI will prepare an automated research report that succinctly summarizes key findings, quotes, and suggested next steps.

An example research report generated by Hotjar AI for Surveys

2. Interviews: the most insightful

Interviews are one-on-one conversations with members of your target market. Nothing beats a face-to-face interview for diving deep (and reading non-verbal cues), but if an in-person meeting isn’t possible, video conferencing is a solid second choice.

Regardless of how you conduct it, any type of in-depth interview will produce big benefits in understanding your target customers.

What makes interviews so insightful?

By speaking directly with an ideal customer, you’ll gain greater empathy for their experience , and you can follow insightful threads that can produce plenty of 'Aha!' moments.

3. Focus groups: the most unreliable

Focus groups bring together a carefully selected group of people who fit a company’s target market. A trained moderator leads a conversation surrounding the product, user experience, or marketing message to gain deeper insights.

What makes focus groups so unreliable?

If you’re new to market research, we wouldn’t recommend starting with focus groups. Doing it right is expensive , and if you cut corners, your research could fall victim to all kinds of errors. Dominance bias (when a forceful participant influences the group) and moderator style bias (when different moderator personalities bring about different results in the same study) are two of the many ways your focus group data could get skewed.

4. Observation: the most powerful

During a customer observation session, someone from the company takes notes while they watch an ideal user engage with their product (or a similar product from a competitor).

What makes observation so clever and powerful?

‘Fly-on-the-wall’ observation is a great alternative to focus groups. It’s not only less expensive, but you’ll see people interact with your product in a natural setting without influencing each other. The only downside is that you can’t get inside their heads, so observation still isn't a recommended replacement for customer surveys and interviews.

The following questions will help you get to know your users on a deeper level when you interview them. They’re general questions, of course, so don’t be afraid to make them your own.

1. Who are you and what do you do?

How you ask this question, and what you want to know, will vary depending on your business model (e.g. business-to-business marketing is usually more focused on someone’s profession than business-to-consumer marketing).

It’s a great question to start with, and it’ll help you understand what’s relevant about your user demographics (age, race, gender, profession, education, etc.), but it’s not the be-all-end-all of market research. The more specific questions come later.

2. What does your day look like?

This question helps you understand your users’ day-to-day life and the challenges they face. It will help you gain empathy for them, and you may stumble across something relevant to their buying habits.

3. Do you ever purchase [product/service type]?

This is a ‘yes or no’ question. A ‘yes’ will lead you to the next question.

4. What problem were you trying to solve or what goal were you trying to achieve?

This question strikes to the core of what someone’s trying to accomplish and why they might be willing to pay for your solution.

5. Take me back to the day when you first decided you needed to solve this kind of problem or achieve this goal.

This is the golden question, and it comes from Adele Revella, Founder and CEO of Buyer Persona Institute . It helps you get in the heads of your users and figure out what they were thinking the day they decided to spend money to solve a problem.

If you take your time with this question, digging deeper where it makes sense, you should be able to answer all the relevant information you need to understand their perspective.

“The only scripted question I want you to ask them is this one: take me back to the day when you first decided that you needed to solve this kind of problem or achieve this kind of a goal. Not to buy my product, that’s not the day. We want to go back to the day that when you thought it was urgent and compelling to go spend money to solve a particular problem or achieve a goal. Just tell me what happened.”

— Adele Revella , Founder/CEO at Buyer Persona Institute

Bonus question: is there anything else you’d like to tell me?

This question isn’t just a nice way to wrap it up—it might just give participants the opportunity they need to tell you something you really need to know.

That’s why Sarah Doody, author of UX Notebook , adds it to the end of her written surveys.

“I always have a last question, which is just open-ended: “Is there anything else you would like to tell me?” And sometimes, that’s where you get four paragraphs of amazing content that you would never have gotten if it was just a Net Promoter Score [survey] or something like that.”

What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research?

Qualitative research asks questions that can’t be reduced to a number, such as, “What is your job title?” or “What did you like most about your customer service experience?” 

Quantitative research asks questions that can be answered with a numeric value, such as, “What is your annual salary?” or “How was your customer service experience on a scale of 1-5?”

 → Read more about the differences between qualitative and quantitative user research .

How do I do my own market research?

You can do your own quick and effective market research by 

Surveying your customers

Building user personas

Studying your users through interviews and observation

Wrapping your head around your data with tools like flow models, affinity diagrams, and customer journey maps

What is the difference between market research and user research?

Market research takes a broad look at potential customers—what problems they’re trying to solve, their buying experience, and overall demand. User research, on the other hand, is more narrowly focused on the use (and usability ) of specific products.

What are the main criticisms of market research?

Many marketing professionals are critical of market research because it can be expensive and time-consuming. It’s often easier to convince your CEO or CMO to let you do lean market research rather than something more extensive because you can do it yourself. It also gives you quick answers so you can stay ahead of the competition.

Do I need a market research firm to get reliable data?

Absolutely not! In fact, we recommend that you start small and do it yourself in the beginning. By following a lean market research strategy, you can uncover some solid insights about your clients. Then you can make changes, test them out, and see whether the results are positive. This is an excellent strategy for making quick changes and remaining competitive.

Net Promoter, Net Promoter System, Net Promoter Score, NPS, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Fred Reichheld, and Satmetrix Systems, Inc.

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2023 Guide to Market Research: Key Strategies and Best Practices

When Steve Sasson—a Kodak engineer—invented the first digital camera in 1975, a breakthrough in photography was born. However, Kodak wasn’t interested—it was a film company, and Sasson’s digital camera threatened to disrupt its core business. Despite an extensive market research effort confirming the imminent shift from film to digital, Kodak continued to double down on its film business until it filed for bankruptcy in 2012.

The moral of the story is that strategic decisions need to be based on accurate market research in order to avoid costly mistakes, especially when they entail reinvention. Kodak is just one example—another common scenario in which a company might need to reinvent itself is when it’s looking to expand into new markets . Be it a new or adapted product or service, a new target audience, or new business models—changing tack to cater to a new market can be a make-or-break moment for businesses.

That’s why, if you’re looking to take your product global, conducting market research should be a key part of your strategy. Venturing into unfamiliar markets armed with solid market intelligence can help you make the most of opportunities and avoid pitfalls. In this article, we will discuss best practices for market research as a key component of a global expansion , and how you can make the most of it.

What is market research?

Market research is the process of collecting and analyzing data about a target market to understand consumer preferences and purchasing decisions. Companies can use this information to better inform their business strategies, such as what products or services to develop, how to adapt them to different market conditions, or what factors can affect demand.

When a company operates globally or is trying to enter new markets, market research becomes even more important. This is because culture and geography can have a big impact on consumer behavior. To be successful, you need to understand the nuances of each market and tailor your products and marketing strategies accordingly.

Market research vs marketing research

It’s common to see the terms “market research” and “marketing research” used interchangeably, but they actually refer to two different things.

Market research is a broad category that includes all types of data collection and analysis related to a target market. The aim is to understand the market, including the needs of consumers and the dynamics of competition.

Marketing research, on the other hand, is more specific and refers to the process of collecting and analyzing data to assess and identify the changing elements of the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion).

For example, if you want to launch a new product in the Spanish market, you would first conduct market research to assess whether there is a demand for it, what the market size, what market trends are, and what the competition looks like.

Once you have this information, you can then move on to marketing research for concept testing and to determine how to market the product , what channels to use for distribution, and what kind of marketing campaigns will be most effective.

Both activities do share some similarities, though: They may use the same data sources and methods, and the line between them can sometimes be blurry. Ultimately, the goal of both is to generate insights that can be used to make better business decisions.

Why is market research important?

There are many reasons why market research is important, but perhaps the most important is that it helps you reduce risk. When you have a clear understanding of your target market and what they want, you are much less likely to make costly mistakes.

In the context of globalization , market research can help you assess the potential of new markets and make informed decisions about where to allocate resources. It can also help you develop strategies for entering new markets, such as identifying the most effective channels for marketing and distribution.

When you’re expanding your business into new markets informed by market research, you’re much more likely to:

• Develop successful products and services: By understanding your customers’ needs , you can develop products and services that they will actually want to buy.
• Increase sales: By understanding your target market’s buying habits, pain points, and motivators, you can develop marketing campaigns that are more likely to resonate and result in sales.
• Improve customer satisfaction: If you know what your customers want, you can deliver it to them, resulting in happier customers who are more likely to continue doing business with you.
• Reduce costs by avoiding duplicate effort: Market intelligence allows you to allocate resources strategically and get it right the first time. For example, you can avoid spending money on conventional translation for marketing campaigns that require more creative adaptation to be effective in a new market.
• Get localization right: A good localization strategy is a key to success in any new market. But without market intelligence, it can be difficult to know how to adapt your products and marketing materials for a new culture. For example, you might not realize that certain colors have different connotations in different cultures, or that video content gives you a higher return on investment in one market but not another.

Arming yourself with nothing but assumptions can lead to less-than-optimal results—and this is especially true when expanding into new markets. When legal systems, consumer preferences, and business practices differ from country to country, the risks are even greater, and so should your commitment to market research.

Market analytics vs market research

A common misconception is that market research and analytics mean the same. In reality, they’re two distinct ways of doing consumer investigation, and they serve different purposes.

Market analytics is the process of collecting and analyzing data to unveil patterns and trends. This data can come from a variety of sources, including surveys, social media, transactional data, and web analytics. For example, you might use market analytics to track how often certain foreign-language keywords are being searched for on Google or to understand which demographics are most likely to purchase your product outside your home market.

Market research, on the other hand, captures data to answer specific questions. For example, a company might want to know what factors influence its customers’ purchase decisions in a particular market, or what the barriers to entry are for a new product.

Market analytics can help generate hypotheses that you can then test through market research. You can think of analytics as the inward-looking “what” (What happens? What are the trends?) and market research as the outward-looking “why” (Why does it happen? Why do people want this?).

When you leverage market analytics and market research together, you can get a well-rounded view of your target market and what they want. This, in turn, helps you make better business decisions and avoid costly mistakes.

What types of market research are there?

There are several types of market research depending on the questions you want to answer, the type of data you need, the resources that you have available, and the timeline that you are working with.

Primary market research vs secondary market research

Primary research is the first-hand research that you conduct yourself. This could involve surveys, interviews, focus groups, or any other type of research method where you directly interact with consumers.

Secondary research is the intelligence that someone else has already gathered and published. This includes data from government reports, trade associations, industry journals, commercial data providers, and other published sources.

Quantitative market research vs qualitative market research

Quantitative research focuses on numbers and statistics. For example, if you want what percentage of people in a certain age group prefer your product over a competitor’s, you would use quantitative research. Polls, surveys, desk research, web statistics, and consumer panels are all quantitative research methods.

Qualitative research, on the other hand, focuses on understanding people’s opinions, motivations, and behaviors. Multilingual sentiment analysis, ethnography, and in-depth interviews are all qualitative research methods.

Exploratory market research vs conclusive market research

You use exploratory research to generate hypotheses and identify key variables. This type of research is frequent at the beginning of a project to get a better understanding of the problem. For example, if you want to know why customers are leaving your website in a foreign market, you might use exploratory research to generate hypotheses that you can then test through further market research.

Conclusive research is used to test hypotheses and measure relationships. This type of research usually comes after exploratory research. For example, if your exploratory research suggests that customers are leaving your website because the current user experience isn’t considering their cultural preferences—think things like imagery or payment methods—you could use conclusive research to measure the impact of a new user interface that takes these cultural preferences into account.

Branding research

Branding research helps you create, manage, and measure the success of your brand. This type of research can help you understand how customers perceive your brand, what associations they have with it, and how well your brand is positioned in the market.

When expanding globally, branding research can help you strike the right balance between global brand consistency and local brand relevance. It can also help you understand how to adapt your brand messaging and identity to different cultures.

Product development research

Product development research helps you establish if there is a market for your product or service and what features or benefits customers are looking for. This type of research can help you understand the viability of your product, optimize its characteristics, and ensure it performs well before taking it to market.

Most global companies adapt their product offering to local markets. Product development research can help you understand what features or benefits are most important to customers in different countries so you can out-compete local companies.

Customer research

Customer research is a type of market research that can serve different purposes, from segmenting your customer base to measuring customer satisfaction. In the context of international operations, customer research can help you understand how to appeal to different customer segments in different countries.

For example, when you know that 64% of Asian-Pacific customers are willing to share personal data for a tailored online experience, you can use this information to improve your website design and user experience in the region.

The main types of customer research are:

• Customer satisfaction research: Also known as customer experience research, this type of research helps you understand how customers feel about your product or service. This includes understanding what they like and don’t like, their unmet needs, and how likely they are to recommend your product or service to others.
• Customer segmentation research: Segmentation research helps you understand how to divide your customer base into smaller groups with shared characteristics. This type of research can help you better target your marketing efforts and create more personalized experiences for your customers.
• Consumer insights: Consumer insights are actionable, research-based observations about your customers. They go beyond demographic information to include things like customer values, preferences, and behaviors. For example, if you want to understand why customers in a certain market are choosing your competitor’s product over yours, consumer insights research could help you uncover the reasons.

Competitive market research

Competitive market research helps you understand what your competitors are doing. This can include things like their marketing strategies, product offerings, pricing, and distribution channels. Understanding your competitor’s strengths and weaknesses can help you make informed decisions about how to position your own product or service in the market.

How to do market research?

Like every complex process, you can break market research down into smaller, more manageable steps. Here’s a high-level overview of how to do market research:

Identify your target audience

The first step in any market research project is to identify your target audience. This will help you focus your research efforts and ensure that you’re gathering information that’s relevant to your business. For example, if you’re planning an expansion to the Brazilian market, an example of a target audience you might identify would be “Brazilian upper-middle-class women ages 25-40.”

Define your research objectives

Identify an issue, problem, or opportunity that you want to understand better. For example: “I want to understand what payment methods Brazilian upper-middle-class women ages 25-40 prefer when shopping online so we can optimize our checkout process.”

Select your research methods

Once you’ve identified your target audience and objectives, you’ll need to select the research methods that will help you gather the data you need. There are many different market research methods, some of which are quantitative and some of which are qualitative. In the case above, to find out the preferred payment methods of Brazilian shoppers, you might conduct a survey.

Develop your research plan

Once you’ve selected your methods, you move on to developing your research plan. This should include a detailed description of how you’ll execute your project, including timelines, budgets, and any risks or challenges you anticipate. For example, if you’re planning to conduct interviews in Brazil, you’ll need to consider things like language barriers and cultural differences.

Collect and analyze your data

Once you’ve executed your research plan, it’s time to collect and analyze your data. This can be a complex process, depending on the methods you’ve used and the type of data you’ve gathered. In the case of a survey, you might use statistical software to analyze your results.

Present your findings

After you’ve analyzed your data, you’ll need to present your findings in a way that’s easy for others to understand. The stakeholders in your business will use these findings to make decisions about things like product development, marketing, and expansion plans. How you present your findings will depend on the type of data you’ve collected and the objectives of your research. For example, if you’re presenting the results of a survey, you might create a report or presentation that includes charts and graphs.

The above steps are a high-level overview of the market research process. In practice, each project will be unique, and you’ll need to tailor your approach to fit the specific needs of your business.

What are some key market research methods? 

We’ve briefly touched on some of the most common market research methods, but let’s take a closer look at each one:

Surveys involve collecting data from a target audience through questions administered either in person, by phone, or online. They can be used to gather data about a wide range of topics, including consumer behavior, preferences, and opinions.

• Surveys are relatively easy and inexpensive to administer.
• They can provide a great deal of immediate information.
• Their extensive reach gives you insights about a large number of people.
• Analyzing survey data is typically straightforward.
• Surveys can be time-consuming to administer and analyze.
• It can be difficult to find people who are willing to participate.
• Survey results can be skewed by the way you word questions or by the order in which you ask them .

How to do it right:

• Avoid asking too many questions so as not to overwhelm respondents
• Make sure your questions are clear and concise
• Try to ask neutral questions that don’t lead respondents to a particular answer
• Include open-ended questions to encourage respondents to give more detailed answers.

Interviews are a type of market research that involve conducting in-depth conversations with individuals from a target audience. They can be used to gather data about a wide range of topics, including attitudes, beliefs, and motivations.

• Interviews can provide a great deal of rich, detailed information about a small number of people.
• You can conduct them online if needed.
• They allow you to build empathy with your audience.
• The resources required to administer interviews (e.g., time, money, personnel) can be significant.
• It can be challenging to find people who are willing to participate (incentives might be necessary to encourage participation).
• They don’t reach an audience as extensive as surveys do.
• Choose the most appropriate format for your interview—e.g., in-person, phone, video chat, etc.
• Make sure to explain to the respondent what the interview will entail and how you will use their responses.
• Build rapport by repeating back what the respondent says and showing empathy
• Leave time for follow-up questions.

Focus groups

Many companies choose to bring together a group of potential customers to discuss a product or service before it’s launched. This type of market research is called a focus group, and it can be used to gather data about things like reactions, perceptions, and opinions.

• Focus groups can provide rich, detailed information about a small number of people.
• They can provide insights into the purchase decision-making process.
• You can easily measure customer reactions to a product’s design, packaging, price and message.
• They aren’t as in-depth as interviews.
• They can be expensive to conduct.
• They can be biased by the moderator’s questions or the group dynamics—like a dominant personality in the group who steers everyone’s opinions.
• People might not give honest feedback if you’re paying them to participate.
• Ensure the recruiting process is well-designed so you end up with a diverse and representative group of participants.
• Use skilled and experienced moderators who know how to keep the discussion on track.
• Pay attention to the nonverbal cues of participants—e.g., body language.
• Establish ground rules at the beginning of the session.
• Consider and pre-empty potential intercultural communication issues.

Observational research

When you observe people, you’re looking at their behavior in a natural setting. This type of market research can be used to gather data about a wide range of topics, including shopping habits, use of public spaces, and interactions with technology. There’s both overt and covert observational research, depending on whether or not participants are aware that they’re being watched.

• Observational research is relatively easy and inexpensive to conduct.
• Natural surroundings can provide insights that would be difficult or impossible to glean from other types of market research.
• The researcher’s own biases can skew the data.
• It can be time-consuming to observe people for extended periods of time.
• People might not behave naturally if they’re aware that someone’s watching them.
• When conducting covert observational research, be sure to follow all ethical guidelines.
• When conducting overt observational research, make sure to get the consent of participants.
• Always capture context.
• Try to avoid bias by maintaining a detached and objective attitude.
• Be sure to take detailed notes or record videos of the behavior you’re observing.
• Complete debriefing notes as soon as possible after the observation so the data is fresh in your mind.

What are some best practices for market research?

For any market research project, it’s important to keep the following best practices in mind:

Define your scope and objectives clearly

Unless you know what you’re trying to learn, it will be difficult to design an effective market research project. Based on your product offering, target market, and expansion goals, you should be able to define the scope and objectives of your project. These will help guide the rest of your decisions.

Get input from stakeholders early on

People whom the results of the market research will affect—e.g., marketing, sales, leadership—should be involved from the outset to help shape the project. Their input will ensure that the objectives of the market research are aligned with the company’s goals, and it will help ensure buy-in for the project from key stakeholders.

Consider cultural differences

If you’re expanding into new markets, it’s important to be aware of cultural differences that could affect your market research. For example, some cultures might consider it impolite to ask certain types of questions, or the interpretation of body language might be different. Working with local market research partners can help you navigate these differences.

Choose the right method

While it’s tempting to assume that any research method will eventually get you the information you need, that’s often not the case. For example, if you’re trying to learn about the associations that your content is getting in a foreign market to spot and fix any cultural missteps, a multiple-choice survey with predefined answers might not be the most optimal method.

Pilot-test your methods

Before you launch a full-scale market research project, it’s important to pilot-test your methods to make sure they’re effective. This will help you identify any potential problems so that you can fix them before they impact your data.

Analyze your results carefully

All the data in the world won’t be of any use if you don’t take the time to analyze it carefully. When reviewing your results, look for both quantitative and qualitative trends, and try to identify any potential sources of bias. Moreover, if you’ve conducted the research in a language other than your own, it’s a good idea to enlist the help of professional localizers who can help you interpret the results—they’ll be familiar with the nuances of the language and culture that you might not be.

Communicate your findings effectively

Communication can be a challenge when dealing with market research since you’re often dealing with complex data sets. However, presenting your findings in a way that’s clear and actionable for stakeholders is crucial if you want your research to have an impact.

Follow up with respondents

If you’ve collected data from respondents, it’s important to follow up with them after the fact. This shows that you value their input. Moreover, if you’ve acted on any of their feedback, be sure to let them know the results—e.g., a feature they suggested was added to the product, their feedback helped shape a new marketing campaign, etc. This can make a big impression and solidify your relationship with respondents.

Effective market research must be systematic

When done right, market research is a powerful tool that can help companies make informed decisions about their expansion strategies. However, a lack of planning and foresight can lead to wasted effort and resources.

By following a systematic process and keeping best practices in mind, you can ensure that your market research is effective and informative. The result is a stronger market expansion strategy and a better chance of success in new markets.

Last updated on August 11, 2023.

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Market research definition

Market research – in-house or outsourced, market research in the age of data, when to use market research.

• Types of market research 

Different types of primary research

How to do market research (primary data), how to do secondary market research, communicating your market research findings, choose the right platform for your market research, try qualtrics for free, the ultimate guide to market research: how to conduct it like a pro.

27 min read Wondering how to do market research? Or even where to start learning about it? Use our ultimate guide to understand the basics and discover how you can use market research to help your business.

Market research is the practice of gathering information about the needs and preferences of your target audience – potential consumers of your product.

When you understand how your target consumer feels and behaves, you can then take steps to meet their needs and mitigate the risk of an experience gap – where there is a shortfall between what a consumer expects you to deliver and what you actually deliver. Market research can also help you keep abreast of what your competitors are offering, which in turn will affect what your customers expect from you.

Market research connects with every aspect of a business – including brand , product , customer service , marketing and sales.

Market research generally focuses on understanding:

• The consumer (current customers, past customers, non-customers, influencers))
• The company (product or service design, promotion, pricing, placement, service, sales)
• The competitors (and how their market offerings interact in the market environment)
• The industry overall (whether it’s growing or moving in a certain direction)

Free eBook: 2024 market research trends report

Why is market research important?

A successful business relies on understanding what like, what they dislike, what they need and what messaging they will respond to. Businesses also need to understand their competition to identify opportunities to differentiate their products and services from other companies.

Today’s business leaders face an endless stream of decisions around target markets, pricing, promotion, distribution channels, and product features and benefits . They must account for all the factors involved, and there are market research studies and methodologies strategically designed to capture meaningful data to inform every choice. It can be a daunting task.

Market research allows companies to make data-driven decisions to drive growth and innovation.

What happens when you don’t do market research?

Without market research, business decisions are based at best on past consumer behavior, economic indicators, or at worst, on gut feel. Decisions are made in a bubble without thought to what the competition is doing. An important aim of market research is to remove subjective opinions when making business decisions. As a brand you are there to serve your customers, not personal preferences within the company. You are far more likely to be successful if you know the difference, and market research will help make sure your decisions are insight-driven.

Traditionally there have been specialist market researchers who are very good at what they do, and businesses have been reliant on their ability to do it. Market research specialists will always be an important part of the industry, as most brands are limited by their internal capacity, expertise and budgets and need to outsource at least some aspects of the work.

However, the market research external agency model has meant that brands struggled to keep up with the pace of change. Their customers would suffer because their needs were not being wholly met with point-in-time market research.

Businesses looking to conduct market research have to tackle many questions –

• Who are my consumers, and how should I segment and prioritize them?
• What are they looking for within my category?
• How much are they buying, and what are their purchase triggers, barriers, and buying habits?
• Will my marketing and communications efforts resonate?
• Is my brand healthy ?
• What product features matter most?
• Is my product or service ready for launch?
• Are my pricing and packaging plans optimized?

They all need to be answered, but many businesses have found the process of data collection daunting, time-consuming and expensive. The hardest battle is often knowing where to begin and short-term demands have often taken priority over longer-term projects that require patience to offer return on investment.

Today however, the industry is making huge strides, driven by quickening product cycles, tighter competition and business imperatives around more data-driven decision making. With the emergence of simple, easy to use tools , some degree of in-house market research is now seen as essential, with fewer excuses not to use data to inform your decisions. With greater accessibility to such software, everyone can be an expert regardless of level or experience.

How is this possible?

The art of research hasn’t gone away. It is still a complex job and the volume of data that needs to be analyzed is huge. However with the right tools and support, sophisticated research can look very simple – allowing you to focus on taking action on what matters.

If you’re not yet using technology to augment your in-house market research, now is the time to start.

The most successful brands rely on multiple sources of data to inform their strategy and decision making, from their marketing segmentation to the product features they develop to comments on social media. In fact, there’s tools out there that use machine learning and AI to automate the tracking of what’s people are saying about your brand across all sites.

The emergence of newer and more sophisticated tools and platforms gives brands access to more data sources than ever and how the data is analyzed and used to make decisions. This also increases the speed at which they operate, with minimal lead time allowing brands to be responsive to business conditions and take an agile approach to improvements and opportunities.

Expert partners have an important role in getting the best data, particularly giving access to additional market research know-how, helping you find respondents , fielding surveys and reporting on results.

How do you measure success?

Business activities are usually measured on how well they deliver return on investment (ROI). Since market research doesn’t generate any revenue directly, its success has to be measured by looking at the positive outcomes it drives – happier customers, a healthier brand, and so on.

When changes to your products or your marketing strategy are made as a result of your market research findings, you can compare on a before-and-after basis to see if the knowledge you acted on has delivered value.

Regardless of the function you work within, understanding the consumer is the goal of any market research. To do this, we have to understand what their needs are in order to effectively meet them. If we do that, we are more likely to drive customer satisfaction , and in turn, increase customer retention .

Several metrics and KPIs are used to gauge the success of decisions made from market research results, including

• Brand awareness within the target market
• Share of wallet
• CSAT (customer satisfaction)
• NPS (Net Promoter Score)

You can use market research for almost anything related to your current customers, potential customer base or target market. If you want to find something out from your target audience, it’s likely market research is the answer.

Here are a few of the most common uses:

Buyer segmentation and profiling

Segmentation is a popular technique that separates your target market according to key characteristics, such as behavior, demographic information and social attitudes. Segmentation allows you to create relevant content for your different segments, ideally helping you to better connect with all of them.

Buyer personas are profiles of fictional customers – with real attributes. Buyer personas help you develop products and communications that are right for your different audiences, and can also guide your decision-making process. Buyer personas capture the key characteristics of your customer segments, along with meaningful insights about what they want or need from you. They provide a powerful reminder of consumer attitudes when developing a product or service, a marketing campaign or a new brand direction.

By understanding your buyers and potential customers, including their motivations, needs, and pain points, you can optimize everything from your marketing communications to your products to make sure the right people get the relevant content, at the right time, and via the right channel .

Attitudes and Usage surveys

Attitude & Usage research helps you to grow your brand by providing a detailed understanding of consumers. It helps you understand how consumers use certain products and why, what their needs are, what their preferences are, and what their pain points are. It helps you to find gaps in the market, anticipate future category needs, identify barriers to entry and build accurate go-to-market strategies and business plans.

Marketing strategy

Effective market research is a crucial tool for developing an effective marketing strategy – a company’s plan for how they will promote their products.

It helps marketers look like rock stars by helping them understand the target market to avoid mistakes, stay on message, and predict customer needs . It’s marketing’s job to leverage relevant data to reach the best possible solution  based on the research available. Then, they can implement the solution, modify the solution, and successfully deliver that solution to the market.

Product development

You can conduct market research into how a select group of consumers use and perceive your product – from how they use it through to what they like and dislike about it. Evaluating your strengths and weaknesses early on allows you to focus resources on ideas with the most potential and to gear your product or service design to a specific market.

Chobani’s yogurt pouches are a product optimized through great market research . Using product concept testing – a form of market research – Chobani identified that packaging could negatively impact consumer purchase decisions. The brand made a subtle change, ensuring the item satisfied the needs of consumers. This ability to constantly refine its products for customer needs and preferences has helped Chobani become Australia’s #1 yogurt brand and increase market share.

Pricing decisions

Market research provides businesses with insights to guide pricing decisions too. One of the most powerful tools available to market researchers is conjoint analysis, a form of market research study that uses choice modeling to help brands identify the perfect set of features and price for customers. Another useful tool is the Gabor-Granger method, which helps you identify the highest price consumers are willing to pay for a given product or service.

Brand tracking studies

A company’s brand is one of its most important assets. But unlike other metrics like product sales, it’s not a tangible measure you can simply pull from your system. Regular market research that tracks consumer perceptions of your brand allows you to monitor and optimize your brand strategy in real time, then respond to consumer feedback to help maintain or build your brand with your target customers.

Advertising and communications testing

Advertising campaigns can be expensive, and without pre-testing, they carry risk of falling flat with your target audience. By testing your campaigns, whether it’s the message or the creative, you can understand how consumers respond to your communications before you deploy them so you can make changes in response to consumer feedback before you go live.

Finder, which is one of the world’s fastest-growing online comparison websites, is an example of a brand using market research to inject some analytical rigor into the business. Fueled by great market research, the business lifted brand awareness by 23 percent, boosted NPS by 8 points, and scored record profits – all within 10 weeks.

Competitive analysis

Another key part of developing the right product and communications is understanding your main competitors and how consumers perceive them. You may have looked at their websites and tried out their product or service, but unless you know how consumers perceive them, you won’t have an accurate view of where you stack up in comparison. Understanding their position in the market allows you to identify the strengths you can exploit, as well as any weaknesses you can address to help you compete better.

Customer Story

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Types of market research

Although there are many types market research, all methods can be sorted into one of two categories: primary and secondary.

Primary research

Primary research is market research data that you collect yourself. This is raw data collected through a range of different means – surveys , focus groups,  , observation and interviews being among the most popular.

Primary information is fresh, unused data, giving you a perspective that is current or perhaps extra confidence when confirming hypotheses you already had. It can also be very targeted to your exact needs. Primary information can be extremely valuable. Tools for collecting primary information are increasingly sophisticated and the market is growing rapidly.

Historically, conducting market research in-house has been a daunting concept for brands because they don’t quite know where to begin, or how to handle vast volumes of data. Now, the emergence of technology has meant that brands have access to simple, easy to use tools to help with exactly that problem. As a result, brands are more confident about their own projects and data with the added benefit of seeing the insights emerge in real-time.

Secondary research

Secondary research is the use of data that has already been collected, analyzed and published – typically it’s data you don’t own and that hasn’t been conducted with your business specifically in mind, although there are forms of internal secondary data like old reports or figures from past financial years that come from within your business. Secondary research can be used to support the use of primary research.

Secondary research can be beneficial to small businesses because it is sometimes easier to obtain, often through research companies. Although the rise of primary research tools are challenging this trend by allowing businesses to conduct their own market research more cheaply, secondary research is often a cheaper alternative for businesses who need to spend money carefully. Some forms of secondary research have been described as ‘lean market research’ because they are fast and pragmatic, building on what’s already there.

Because it’s not specific to your business, secondary research may be less relevant, and you’ll need to be careful to make sure it applies to your exact research question. It may also not be owned, which means your competitors and other parties also have access to it.

Primary or secondary research – which to choose?

Both primary and secondary research have their advantages, but they are often best used when paired together, giving you the confidence to act knowing that the hypothesis you have is robust.

Secondary research is sometimes preferred because there is a misunderstanding of the feasibility of primary research. Thanks to advances in technology, brands have far greater accessibility to primary research, but this isn’t always known.

If you’ve decided to gather your own primary information, there are many different data collection methods that you may consider. For example:

• Customer surveys
• Focus groups
• Observation

Think carefully about what you’re trying to accomplish before picking the data collection method(s) you’re going to use. Each one has its pros and cons. Asking someone a simple, multiple-choice survey question will generate a different type of data than you might obtain with an in-depth interview. Determine if your primary research is exploratory or specific, and if you’ll need qualitative research, quantitative research, or both.

Qualitative vs quantitative

Another way of categorizing different types of market research is according to whether they are qualitative or quantitative.

Qualitative research

Qualitative research is the collection of data that is non-numerical in nature. It summarizes and infers, rather than pin-points an exact truth. It is exploratory and can lead to the generation of a hypothesis.

Market research techniques that would gather qualitative data include:

• Interviews (face to face / telephone)
• Open-ended survey questions

Researchers use these types of market research technique because they can add more depth to the data. So for example, in focus groups or interviews, rather than being limited to ‘yes’ or ‘no’ for a certain question, you can start to understand why someone might feel a certain way.

Quantitative research

Quantitative research is the collection of data that is numerical in nature. It is much more black and white in comparison to qualitative data, although you need to make sure there is a representative sample if you want the results to be reflective of reality.

Quantitative researchers often start with a hypothesis and then collect data which can be used to determine whether empirical evidence to support that hypothesis exists.

Quantitative research methods include:

• Questionnaires
• Review scores

Exploratory and specific research

Exploratory research is the approach to take if you don’t know what you don’t know. It can give you broad insights about your customers, product, brand, and market. If you want to answer a specific question, then you’ll be conducting specific research.

• Exploratory . This research is general and open-ended, and typically involves lengthy interviews with an individual or small focus group.
• Specific . This research is often used to solve a problem identified in exploratory research. It involves more structured, formal interviews.

Exploratory primary research is generally conducted by collecting qualitative data. Specific research usually finds its insights through quantitative data.

Primary research can be qualitative or quantitative, large-scale or focused and specific. You’ll carry it out using methods like surveys – which can be used for both qualitative and quantitative studies – focus groups, observation of consumer behavior, interviews, or online tools.

Step 1: Identify your research topic

Research topics could include:

• Product features
• Product or service launch
• Understanding a new target audience (or updating an existing audience)
• Brand identity
• Marketing campaign concepts
• Customer experience

Step 2: Draft a research hypothesis

A hypothesis is the assumption you’re starting out with. Since you can disprove a negative much more easily than prove a positive, a hypothesis is a negative statement such as ‘price has no effect on brand perception’.

Step 3: Determine which research methods are most effective

Your choice of methods depends on budget, time constraints, and the type of question you’re trying to answer. You could combine surveys, interviews and focus groups to get a mix of qualitative and quantitative data.

Step 4: Determine how you will collect and analyze your data.

Primary research can generate a huge amount of data, and when the goal is to uncover actionable insight, it can be difficult to know where to begin or what to pay attention to.

The rise in brands taking their market research and data analysis in-house has coincided with the rise of technology simplifying the process. These tools pull through large volumes of data and outline significant information that will help you make the most important decisions.

Step 5: Conduct your research!

This is how you can run your research using Qualtrics CoreXM

• Pre-launch – Here you want to ensure that the survey/ other research methods conform to the project specifications (what you want to achieve/research)
• Soft launch – Collect a small fraction of the total data before you fully launch. This means you can check that everything is working as it should and you can correct any data quality issues.
• Full launch – You’ve done the hard work to get to this point. If you’re using a tool, you can sit back and relax, or if you get curious you can check on the data in your account.
• Review – review your data for any issues or low-quality responses. You may need to remove this in order not to impact the analysis of the data.

A helping hand

If you are missing the skills, capacity or inclination to manage your research internally, Qualtrics Research Services can help. From design, to writing the survey based on your needs, to help with survey programming, to handling the reporting, Research Services acts as an extension of the team and can help wherever necessary.

Secondary market research can be taken from a variety of places. Some data is completely free to access – other information could end up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are three broad categories of secondary research sources:

• Public sources – these sources are accessible to anyone who asks for them. They include census data, market statistics, library catalogs, university libraries and more. Other organizations may also put out free data from time to time with the goal of advancing a cause, or catching people’s attention.
• Internal sources – sometimes the most valuable sources of data already exist somewhere within your organization. Internal sources can be preferable for secondary research on account of their price (free) and unique findings. Since internal sources are not accessible by competitors, using them can provide a distinct competitive advantage.
• Commercial sources – if you have money for it, the easiest way to acquire secondary market research is to simply buy it from private companies. Many organizations exist for the sole purpose of doing market research and can provide reliable, in-depth, industry-specific reports.

No matter where your research is coming from, it is important to ensure that the source is reputable and reliable so you can be confident in the conclusions you draw from it.

How do you know if a source is reliable?

Use established and well-known research publishers, such as the XM Institute , Forrester and McKinsey . Government websites also publish research and this is free of charge. By taking the information directly from the source (rather than a third party) you are minimizing the risk of the data being misinterpreted and the message or insights being acted on out of context.

How to apply secondary research

The purpose and application of secondary research will vary depending on your circumstances. Often, secondary research is used to support primary research and therefore give you greater confidence in your conclusions. However, there may be circumstances that prevent this – such as the timeframe and budget of the project.

Keep an open mind when collecting all the relevant research so that there isn’t any collection bias. Then begin analyzing the conclusions formed to see if any trends start to appear. This will help you to draw a consensus from the secondary research overall.

Market research success is defined by the impact it has on your business’s success. Make sure it’s not discarded or ignored by communicating your findings effectively. Here are some tips on how to do it.

• Less is more – Preface your market research report with executive summaries that highlight your key discoveries and their implications
• Lead with the basic information – Share the top 4-5 recommendations in bullet-point form, rather than requiring your readers to go through pages of analysis and data
• Model the impact – Provide examples and model the impact of any changes you put in place based on your findings
• Show, don’t tell – Add illustrative examples that relate directly to the research findings and emphasize specific points
• Speed is of the essence – Make data available in real-time so it can be rapidly incorporated into strategies and acted upon to maximize value
• Work with experts – Make sure you’ve access to a dedicated team of experts ready to help you design and launch successful projects

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How to write a research plan: Step-by-step guide

Last updated

30 January 2024

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Today’s businesses and institutions rely on data and analytics to inform their product and service decisions. These metrics influence how organizations stay competitive and inspire innovation. However, gathering data and insights requires carefully constructed research, and every research project needs a roadmap. This is where a research plan comes into play.

Read this step-by-step guide for writing a detailed research plan that can apply to any project, whether it’s scientific, educational, or business-related.

• What is a research plan?

A research plan is a documented overview of a project in its entirety, from end to end. It details the research efforts, participants, and methods needed, along with any anticipated results. It also outlines the project’s goals and mission, creating layers of steps to achieve those goals within a specified timeline.

Without a research plan, you and your team are flying blind, potentially wasting time and resources to pursue research without structured guidance.

The principal investigator, or PI, is responsible for facilitating the research oversight. They will create the research plan and inform team members and stakeholders of every detail relating to the project. The PI will also use the research plan to inform decision-making throughout the project.

• Why do you need a research plan?

Create a research plan before starting any official research to maximize every effort in pursuing and collecting the research data. Crucially, the plan will model the activities needed at each phase of the research project .

Like any roadmap, a research plan serves as a valuable tool providing direction for those involved in the project—both internally and externally. It will keep you and your immediate team organized and task-focused while also providing necessary definitions and timelines so you can execute your project initiatives with full understanding and transparency.

External stakeholders appreciate a working research plan because it’s a great communication tool, documenting progress and changing dynamics as they arise. Any participants of your planned research sessions will be informed about the purpose of your study, while the exercises will be based on the key messaging outlined in the official plan.

Here are some of the benefits of creating a research plan document for every project:

Project organization and structure

Well-informed participants

All stakeholders and teams align in support of the project

Clearly defined project definitions and purposes

Distractions are eliminated, prioritizing task focus

Timely management of individual task schedules and roles

Costly reworks are avoided

• What should a research plan include?

The different aspects of your research plan will depend on the nature of the project. However, most official research plan documents will include the core elements below. Each aims to define the problem statement , devising an official plan for seeking a solution.

Specific project goals and individual objectives

Ideal strategies or methods for reaching those goals

Required resources

Descriptions of the target audience, sample sizes , demographics, and scopes

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Project background

Research and testing support

Preliminary studies and progress reporting mechanisms

Cost estimates and change order processes

Depending on the research project’s size and scope, your research plan could be brief—perhaps only a few pages of documented plans. Alternatively, it could be a fully comprehensive report. Either way, it’s an essential first step in dictating your project’s facilitation in the most efficient and effective way.

• How to write a research plan for your project

When you start writing your research plan, aim to be detailed about each step, requirement, and idea. The more time you spend curating your research plan, the more precise your research execution efforts will be.

Account for every potential scenario, and be sure to address each and every aspect of the research.

Consider following this flow to develop a great research plan for your project:

Define your project’s purpose

Start by defining your project’s purpose. Identify what your project aims to accomplish and what you are researching. Remember to use clear language.

Thinking about the project’s purpose will help you set realistic goals and inform how you divide tasks and assign responsibilities. These individual tasks will be your stepping stones to reach your overarching goal.

Additionally, you’ll want to identify the specific problem, the usability metrics needed, and the intended solutions.

Know the following three things about your project’s purpose before you outline anything else:

What you’re doing

Why you’re doing it

What you expect from it

Identify individual objectives

With your overarching project objectives in place, you can identify any individual goals or steps needed to reach those objectives. Break them down into phases or steps. You can work backward from the project goal and identify every process required to facilitate it.

Be mindful to identify each unique task so that you can assign responsibilities to various team members. At this point in your research plan development, you’ll also want to assign priority to those smaller, more manageable steps and phases that require more immediate or dedicated attention.

Select research methods

Once you have outlined your goals, objectives, steps, and tasks, it’s time to drill down on selecting research methods . You’ll want to leverage specific research strategies and processes. When you know what methods will help you reach your goals, you and your teams will have direction to perform and execute your assigned tasks.

Research methods might include any of the following:

User interviews : this is a qualitative research method where researchers engage with participants in one-on-one or group conversations. The aim is to gather insights into their experiences, preferences, and opinions to uncover patterns, trends, and data.

Field studies : this approach allows for a contextual understanding of behaviors, interactions, and processes in real-world settings. It involves the researcher immersing themselves in the field, conducting observations, interviews, or experiments to gather in-depth insights.

Card sorting : participants categorize information by sorting content cards into groups based on their perceived similarities. You might use this process to gain insights into participants’ mental models and preferences when navigating or organizing information on websites, apps, or other systems.

Focus groups : use organized discussions among select groups of participants to provide relevant views and experiences about a particular topic.

Diary studies : ask participants to record their experiences, thoughts, and activities in a diary over a specified period. This method provides a deeper understanding of user experiences, uncovers patterns, and identifies areas for improvement.

Five-second testing: participants are shown a design, such as a web page or interface, for just five seconds. They then answer questions about their initial impressions and recall, allowing you to evaluate the design’s effectiveness.

Surveys : get feedback from participant groups with structured surveys. You can use online forms, telephone interviews, or paper questionnaires to reveal trends, patterns, and correlations.

Tree testing : tree testing involves researching web assets through the lens of findability and navigability. Participants are given a textual representation of the site’s hierarchy (the “tree”) and asked to locate specific information or complete tasks by selecting paths.

Usability testing : ask participants to interact with a product, website, or application to evaluate its ease of use. This method enables you to uncover areas for improvement in digital key feature functionality by observing participants using the product.

Live website testing: research and collect analytics that outlines the design, usability, and performance efficiencies of a website in real time.

There are no limits to the number of research methods you could use within your project. Just make sure your research methods help you determine the following:

What do you plan to do with the research findings?

What decisions will this research inform? How can your stakeholders leverage the research data and results?

Recruit participants and allocate tasks

Next, identify the participants needed to complete the research and the resources required to complete the tasks. Different people will be proficient at different tasks, and having a task allocation plan will allow everything to run smoothly.

Prepare a thorough project summary

Every well-designed research plan will feature a project summary. This official summary will guide your research alongside its communications or messaging. You’ll use the summary while recruiting participants and during stakeholder meetings. It can also be useful when conducting field studies.

Ensure this summary includes all the elements of your research project . Separate the steps into an easily explainable piece of text that includes the following:

An introduction: the message you’ll deliver to participants about the interview, pre-planned questioning, and testing tasks.

Interview questions: prepare questions you intend to ask participants as part of your research study, guiding the sessions from start to finish.

An exit message: draft messaging your teams will use to conclude testing or survey sessions. These should include the next steps and express gratitude for the participant’s time.

Create a realistic timeline

While your project might already have a deadline or a results timeline in place, you’ll need to consider the time needed to execute it effectively.

Realistically outline the time needed to properly execute each supporting phase of research and implementation. And, as you evaluate the necessary schedules, be sure to include additional time for achieving each milestone in case any changes or unexpected delays arise.

For this part of your research plan, you might find it helpful to create visuals to ensure your research team and stakeholders fully understand the information.

Determine how to present your results

A research plan must also describe how you intend to present your results. Depending on the nature of your project and its goals, you might dedicate one team member (the PI) or assume responsibility for communicating the findings yourself.

In this part of the research plan, you’ll articulate how you’ll share the results. Detail any materials you’ll use, such as:

Presentations and slides

A project report booklet

A project findings pamphlet

Documents with key takeaways and statistics

Graphic visuals to support your findings

• Format your research plan

As you create your research plan, you can enjoy a little creative freedom. A plan can assume many forms, so format it how you see fit. Determine the best layout based on your specific project, intended communications, and the preferences of your teams and stakeholders.

Find format inspiration among the following layouts:

Written outlines

Narrative storytelling

Visual mapping

Graphic timelines

Remember, the research plan format you choose will be subject to change and adaptation as your research and findings unfold. However, your final format should ideally outline questions, problems, opportunities, and expectations.

• Research plan example

Imagine you’ve been tasked with finding out how to get more customers to order takeout from an online food delivery platform. The goal is to improve satisfaction and retain existing customers. You set out to discover why more people aren’t ordering and what it is they do want to order or experience. 

You identify the need for a research project that helps you understand what drives customer loyalty . But before you jump in and start calling past customers, you need to develop a research plan—the roadmap that provides focus, clarity, and realistic details to the project.

Here’s an example outline of a research plan you might put together:

Project title

Project members involved in the research plan

Purpose of the project (provide a summary of the research plan’s intent)

Objective 1 (provide a short description for each objective)

Objective 2

Objective 3

Proposed timeline

Audience (detail the group you want to research, such as customers or non-customers)

Budget (how much you think it might cost to do the research)

Risk factors/contingencies (any potential risk factors that may impact the project’s success)

Remember, your research plan doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel—it just needs to fit your project’s unique needs and aims.

Customizing a research plan template

Some companies offer research plan templates to help get you started. However, it may make more sense to develop your own customized plan template. Be sure to include the core elements of a great research plan with your template layout, including the following:

Introductions to participants and stakeholders

Background problems and needs statement

Significance, ethics, and purpose

Research methods, questions, and designs

Preliminary beliefs and expectations

Implications and intended outcomes

Realistic timelines for each phase

Conclusion and presentations

How many pages should a research plan be?

Generally, a research plan can vary in length between 500 to 1,500 words. This is roughly three pages of content. More substantial projects will be 2,000 to 3,500 words, taking up four to seven pages of planning documents.

What is the difference between a research plan and a research proposal?

A research plan is a roadmap to success for research teams. A research proposal, on the other hand, is a dissertation aimed at convincing or earning the support of others. Both are relevant in creating a guide to follow to complete a project goal.

What are the seven steps to developing a research plan?

While each research project is different, it’s best to follow these seven general steps to create your research plan:

Defining the problem

Identifying goals

Choosing research methods

Recruiting participants

Preparing the brief or summary

Establishing task timelines

Defining how you will present the findings

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Ten simple rules for innovative dissemination of research

Tony ross-hellauer.

1 Open and Reproducible Research Group, Institute of Interactive Systems and Data Science, Graz University of Technology and Know-Center GmbH, Graz, Austria

Jonathan P. Tennant

2 Center for Research and Interdisciplinarity, University of Paris, Paris, France

Viltė Banelytė

3 Freelance Researcher, Vilnius, Lithuania

Edit Gorogh

4 University and National Library, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary

Daniela Luzi

5 Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies, National Research Council, Rome, Italy

Peter Kraker

6 Open Knowledge Maps, Vienna, Austria

Lucio Pisacane

Roberta ruggieri, electra sifacaki.

7 National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

Michela Vignoli

8 Center for Digital Safety and Security, AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Vienna, Austria

Author summary

How we communicate research is changing because of new (especially digital) possibilities. This article sets out 10 easy steps researchers can take to disseminate their work in novel and engaging ways, and hence increase the impact of their research on science and society.

Introduction

As with virtually all areas of life, research dissemination has been disrupted by the internet and digitally networked technologies. The last two decades have seen the majority of scholarly journals move online, and scholarly books are increasingly found online as well as in print. However, these traditional communication vehicles have largely retained similar functions and formats during this transition. But digital dissemination can happen in a variety of ways beyond the traditional modes: social media have become more widely used among researchers [ 1 , 2 , 3 ], and the use of blogs and wikis as a specific form of ‘open notebook science’ has been popular for more than a decade [ 4 ].

Professional academic social networks such as ResearchGate and Academia.edu boast millions of users. New online formats for interaction with the wider public, such as TED talks broadcast via YouTube, often receive millions of views. Some researchers have even decided to make all of their research findings public in real time by keeping open notebooks [ 5 , 6 ]. In particular, digital technologies invoke new ways of reaching and involving audiences beyond their usual primary dissemination targets (i.e., other scholars) to actively involve peers or citizens who would otherwise remain out of reach for traditional methods of communication [ 7 ]. Adoption of these outlets and methods can also lead to new cross-disciplinary collaborations, helping to create new research, publication, and funding opportunities [ 8 ].

Beyond the increase in the use of web-based and computational technologies, other trends in research cultures have had a profound effect on dissemination. The push towards greater public understanding of science and research since the 1980s, and an emphasis on engagement and participation of non-research audiences have brought about new forms of dissemination [ 9 ]. These approaches include popular science magazines and science shows on television and the radio. In recent years, new types of events have emerged that aim at involving the general public within the research process itself, including science slams and open lab days. With science cafés and hackerspaces, novel, participatory spaces for research production and dissemination are emerging—both online and offline. Powerful trends towards responsible research and innovation, the increasing globalisation of research, and the emergence and inclusion of new or previously excluded stakeholders or communities are also reshaping the purposes of dissemination as well as the scope and nature of its audiences.

Many now view wider dissemination and public engagement with science to be a fundamental element of open science [ 10 ]. However, there is a paradox at play here, for while there have never been more avenues for the widespread dissemination of research, researchers tend nonetheless to value and focus upon just a few traditional outputs: journal articles, books, and conference presentations [ 11 ].

Following Wilson and colleagues [ 12 ], we here define research dissemination as a planned process that involves consideration of target audiences, consideration of the settings in which research findings are to be received, and communicating and interacting with wider audiences in ways that will facilitate research uptake and understanding. Innovative dissemination, then, means dissemination that goes beyond traditional academic publishing (e.g., academic journals, books, or monographs) and meetings (conferences and workshops) to achieve more widespread research uptake and understanding. Hence, a citizen science project, which involves citizens in data collection but does not otherwise educate them about the research, is not here considered innovative dissemination.

We here present 10 steps researchers can take to embrace innovative dissemination practices in their research, either as individuals or groups ( Fig 1 ). They represent the synthesis of multidimensional research activities undertaken within the OpenUP project ( https://www.openuphub.eu/ ). This European Coordination and Support Action grant award addressed key aspects and challenges of the currently transforming science landscape and proposed recommendations and solutions addressing the needs of researchers, innovators, the public, and funding bodies. The goal is to provide stakeholders (primarily researchers but also intermediaries) with an entry point to innovative dissemination, so that they can choose methods and tools based on their audience, their skills, and their requirements. The advice is directed towards both individual researchers and research teams or projects. It is similar to other entries in the Ten Simple Rules series (e.g., [ 13 , 14 ]). Ultimately, the benefit here for researchers is increased recognition and social impact of their work.

Rule 1: Get the basics right

Despite changes in communication technologies and models, there are some basic organisational aspects of dissemination that remain important: to define objectives, map potential target audience(s), target messages, define mode of communication/engagement, and create a dissemination plan. These might seem a bit obvious or laborious but are critical first steps towards strategically planning a project.

Define objectives

The motivation to disseminate research can come in many forms. You might want to share your findings with wider nonacademic audiences to raise awareness of particular issues or invite audience engagement, participation, and feedback. Start by asking yourself what you want to achieve with your dissemination. This first strategic step will make all other subsequent steps much simpler, as well as guide how you define the success of your activities.

Map your audience

Specify who exactly you want your research results to reach, for which purposes, and what their general characteristics might be (e.g., policy makers, patient groups, non-governmental organisations). Individuals are not just ‘empty vessels’ to be filled with new knowledge, and having a deeper contextual understanding of your audience can make a real difference to the success of your engagement practices. Who is most affected by your research? Who might find it most valuable? What is it that you want them to take away? Get to know your target audiences, their needs and expectations of the research outcomes, as well as their preferred communication channels to develop a detailed understanding of their interests and align your messages and media with their needs and priorities. Keep in mind, too, that intermediaries such as journalists or science communication organisations can support or mediate the dissemination process.

Target/frame your messages

Target and frame the key messages that you want to communicate to specific groups. Think first from the perspective of what they might want or need to hear from you, rather than what you want to tell them. Choosing media and format of your communication strongly depends on your communication objectives, i.e., what you want to achieve. There are many ways to communicate your research; for example, direct messages, blog/vlog posts, tweeting about it, or putting your research on Instagram. Form and content go hand in hand. Engage intermediaries and leverage any relevant existing networks to help amplify messages.

Create a dissemination plan

Many funded research projects require a dissemination plan. However, even if not, the formal exercise of creating a plan at the outset that organises dissemination around distinct milestones in the research life cycle will help you to assign roles, structure activities, as well as plan funds to be allocated in your dissemination. This will ultimately save you time and make future work easier. If working in groups, distribute tasks and effort to ensure regular updates of content targeted to different communities. Engage those with special specific skills in the use and/or development of appropriate communication tools, to help you in using the right language and support you in finding the suitable occasions to reach your identified audience. Research is not linear, however, and so you might find it best to treat the plan as a living document to be flexibly adapted as the direction of research changes.

Rule 2: Keep the right profile

Whether communicating as an individual researcher, a research project, or a research organisation, establishing a prominent and unique identity online and offline is essential for communicating. Use personal websites, social media accounts, researcher identifiers, and academic social networks to help make you and your research visible. When doing this, try to avoid any explicit self-promotion—your personal profile naturally will develop based on your ability to be an effective and impactful communicator.

Academia is a prestige economy, where individual researchers are often evaluated based on their perceived esteem or standing within their communities [ 15 ]. Remaining visible is an essential part of accumulating esteem. An online presence maintained via personal websites, social media accounts (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), researcher identifiers (e.g., ORCID), and academic social networks (e.g., ResearchGate, institutional researcher profiles) can be a personal calling card, where you can highlight experience and demonstrate your expertise in certain topics. Being active on important mailing lists, forums, and social media is not only a good chance to disseminate your findings to those communities but also offers you the chance to engage with your community and potentially spark new ideas and collaborations.

Using researcher identifiers like ORCID when disseminating outputs will ensure that those outputs will be unambiguously linked back to the individual researcher (and even automatically updated to their ORCID profile). The OpenUP survey showed that nearly half of the respondents (41%) use academic social networks as a medium to disseminate their research, and a quarter of respondents (26%) said that these networks informed their professional work [ 16 ].

Create a brand by giving your project a unique name, ideally with some intuitive relation to the issue you are investigating. Create a striking visual identity, with a compelling logo, core colours, and a project slogan. Create a website that leverages this visual identity and is as simple and intuitive as possible, both in its layout and in the way content is formulated (limit insider jargon). Create associated appropriate social media accounts (e.g., Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, SlideShare, YouTube) and link to this from the project website. Aim for a sustained presence with new and engaging content to reinforce project messaging, and this can help to establish a core following group or user base within different platforms. Include links to other project online presences such as social media accounts, or a rolling feed of updates if possible. Consider including a blog to disseminate core findings or give important project updates. A periodical newsletter could be released in order to provide project updates and other news, to keep the community informed and activated regarding project issues. Depending on the size of your project and budget, you might want to produce hard copy material such as leaflets or fact sheets, as well as branded giveaways to increase awareness of your project. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, try not to come across as a ‘scientific robot’, and make sure to communicate the more human personality side of research.

Rule 3: Encourage participation

In the age of open research, don’t just broadcast. Invite and engage others to foster participation and collaboration with research audiences. Scholarship is a collective endeavour, and so we should not expect its dissemination to be unidirectional, especially not in the digital age. Dissemination is increasingly done at earlier stages of the research life cycle, and such wider and more interactive engagement is becoming an integral part of the whole research workflow.

Such participative activities can be as creative as you wish; for example, through games, such as Foldit for protein folding ( https://fold.it/portal/ ). You might even find it useful to actively engage ‘citizen scientists’ in research projects; for example, to collect data or analyse findings. Initiatives such as Zooniverse ( https://www.zooniverse.org/ ) serve as great examples of allowing anyone to freely participate in cutting-edge ‘people-powered research’.

Disseminating early and often showcases the progress of your work and demonstrates productivity and engagement as part of an agile development workflow. People like to see progress and react positively to narrative, so give regular updates to followers on social media, for example, blogging or tweeting early research findings for early feedback. Alternatively, involving businesses early on can align research to industry requirements and expectations, thus potentially increasing commercial impact. In any case, active involvement of citizens and other target audiences beyond academia can help increase the societal impact of your research [ 17 ].

Rule 4: Open science for impact

Open science is ‘transparent and accessible knowledge that is shared and developed through collaborative networks’, as defined by one systematic review [ 18 ]. It encompasses a variety of practices covering a range of research processes and outputs, including areas like open access (OA) to publications, open research data, open source software/tools, open workflows, citizen science, open educational resources, and alternative methods for research evaluation including open peer review [ 19 ]. Open science is rooted in principles of equitable participation and transparency, enabling others to collaborate in, contribute to, scrutinise and reuse research, and spread knowledge as widely as possible [ 20 ]. As such, innovative dissemination is a core element of open science.

Embracing open science principles can boost the impact of research. Firstly, OA publications seem to accrue more citations than their closed counterparts, as well as having a variety of possible wider economic and societal benefits [ 21 ]. There are a number of ways to make research papers OA, including at the journal site itself, or self-archiving an accepted manuscript in a repository or personal website.

Disseminating publications as preprints in advance of or parallel to journal submission can increase impact, as measured by relative citation counts [ 22 ]. Very often, traditional publishing takes a long time, with the waiting time between submission and acceptance of a paper being in excess of 100 days [ 23 ]. Preprinting speeds up dissemination, meaning that findings are available sooner for sharing and reuse. Potential platforms for disseminating preprints include the Open Science Framework, biorXiv, or arXiv.

Dissemination of other open science outputs that would usually remain hidden also not only helps to ensure the transparency and increased reproducibility of research [ 24 ], but also means that more research elements are released that can potentially impact upon others by creating network effects through reuse. Making FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) research data and code available enables reuse and remixing of core research outputs, which can also lead to further citations for projects [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Published research proposals, protocols, and open notebooks act as advertisements for ongoing research and enable others to reuse methods, exposing the continuous and collaborative nature of scholarship.

To enable reuse, embrace open licenses. When it comes to innovative dissemination, the goal is usually that the materials are accessible to as large an audience as possible. If appropriate open licenses are not used, while materials may be free to access, they cannot be widely used, modified, or shared. The best in this case is the widely adopted Creative Commons licenses, CC BY or CC 0. Variations of these licenses are less permissive and can constrain reuse for commercial or derivative purposes. This limitation, however, prevents the use of materials in many forms of (open) educational resources and other open projects, including Wikipedia. Careful consideration should be given to licensing of materials, depending on what your intended outcomes from the project are (see Rule 1). Research institutes and funding bodies typically have a variety of policies and guidance about the use and licensing of such materials, and should be consulted prior to releasing any materials.

Rule 5: Remix traditional outputs

Traditional research outputs like research articles and books can be complemented with innovative dissemination to boost impact; for example, by preparing accompanying nonspecialist summaries, press releases, blog posts, and visual/video abstracts to better reach your target audiences. Free media coverage can be an easy way to get results out to as many people as possible. There are countless media outlets interested in science-related stories. Most universities and large research organisations have an office for public affairs or communication: liaise with these experts to disseminate research findings widely through public media. Consider writing a press release for manuscripts that have been accepted for publication in journals or books and use sample forms and tools available online to assist you in the process. Some journals also have dedicated press teams that might be able to help you with this.

Another useful tool to disseminate traditional research outputs is to release a research summary document. This one- or two-page document clearly and concisely summarises the key conclusions from a research initiative. It can combine several studies by the same investigator or by a research group and should integrate two main components: key findings and fact sheets (preferably with graphical images to illustrate your point). This can be published on your institutional website as well as on research blogs, thematic hubs, or simply posted on your social media profiles. Other platforms such as ScienceOpen and Kudos allow authors to attach nonspecialist summaries to each of their research papers.

To maximise the impact of your conference presentations or posters, there are several steps that can be taken. For instance, you can upload your slides to a general-purpose repository such as Figshare or Zenodo and add a digital object identifier (DOI) to your presentation. This also makes it easier to integrate such outputs with other services like ORCID. You can also schedule tweets before and during any conferences, and use the conference hashtag to publicise your talk or poster. Finally, you can also add information about your contributions to email signatures or out-of-office messages [ 28 ].

Rule 6: Go live

In-person dissemination does not just have to be at stuffy conferences. With research moving beyond the walls of universities, there are several types of places for more participatory events. Next to classic scientific conferences, different types of events addressing wider audiences have emerged. It is possible to hit the road and take part in science festivals, science slams, TEDx talks, or road shows.

Science slams are short talks in which researchers explain a scientific topic to a typically nonexpert audience. Similar to other short talk formats like TED talks, they lend themselves to being spread over YouTube and other video channels. A prominent example from the German-speaking area is Giulia Enders, who won the first prize in a science slam that took place in 2012 in Berlin. The YouTube video of her fascinating talk about the gut has received over 1 million views. After this success, she got an offer to write a book about the gut and the digestive system, which has since been published and translated into many languages. You never know how these small steps might end up having a wider impact on your research and career.

Another example is Science Shops, small entities which provide independent, participatory research support to civil society. While they are usually linked to universities, hacker and maker spaces tend to be community-run locations, where people with an interest in science, engineering, and art meet and collaborate on projects. Science festivals are community-based showcases of science and technology that take place over large areas for several days or weeks and directly involve researchers and practitioners in public outreach. Less formally, Science Cafés or similar events like Pint of Science are public engagement events in casual settings like pubs and coffeehouses.

Alternatively, for a more personal approach, consider reaching out to key stakeholders who might be affected by your research and requesting a meeting, or participating in relevant calls for policy consultations. Such an approach can be especially powerful in getting the message across to decision-makers and thought-leaders, although the resources required to schedule and potentially travel to such meetings means you should target such activities very carefully. And don’t forget the value of serendipity—who knows who you’ll meet in the course of your everyday meetings and travels. Always be prepared with a 30 second ‘elevator pitch’ that sums up your project in a confident and concise manner—such encounters may be the gateways to greater engagement or opportunities.

Rule 7: Think visual

Dissemination of research is still largely ruled by the written or spoken word. However, there are many ways to introduce visual elements that can act as attractive means to help your audience understand and interpret your research. Disseminate findings through art or multimedia interpretations. Let your artistic side loose or use new visualisation techniques to produce intuitive, attractive data displays. Of course, not everyone is a trained artist, and this will be dependent on your personal skills.

Most obviously, this could take the form of data visualisation. Graphic representation of quantitative information reaches back to ‘earliest map-making and visual depiction’ [ 29 ]. As technologies have advanced, so have our means of visually representing data.

If your data visualisations could be considered too technical and not easily understandable by a nonexpert reader, consider creating an ad hoc image for this document; sometimes this can also take the form of a graphical abstract or infographic. Use online tools to upload a sample of your data and develop smart graphs and infographics (e.g., Infogr.am, Datawrapper, Easel.ly, or Venngage).

Science comics can be used, in the words of McDermott, Partridge, and Bromberg [ 30 ], to ‘communicate difficult ideas efficiently, illuminate obscure concepts, and create a metaphor that can be much more memorable than a straightforward description of the concept itself’. McDermott and colleagues continue that comics can be used to punctuate or introduce papers or presentations and to capture and share the content of conference talks, and that some journals even have a ‘cartoon’ publication category. They advise that such content has a high chance of being ‘virally’ spread via social media.

As previously discussed, you may also consider creating a video abstract for a paper or project. However, as with all possible methods, it is worth considering the relative costs versus benefits of such an approach. Creating a high-quality video might have more impact than, say, a blog post but could be more costly to produce.

Projects have even successfully disseminated scientific findings through art. For example, The Civilians—a New York–based investigative theatre company—received a three-year grant to develop The Great Immensity , a play addressing the complexity of climate change. AstroDance tells the story of the search for gravitational waves through a combination of dance, multimedia, sound, and computer simulations. The annual Dance Your PhD contest, which began in 2007 and is sponsored by Science magazine, even asks scientists to interpret their PhD research as dance. This initiative receives approximately 50 submissions a year, demonstrating the popularity of novel forms of research dissemination.

Rule 8: Respect diversity

The academic discourse on diversity has always included discussions on gender, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, digital literacy, and epistemic, ideological, or economic diversity. An approach that is often taken is to include as many diverse groups into research teams as possible; for example, more women, underrepresented minorities, or persons from developing countries. In terms of scientific communication, however, not only raising awareness about diversity issues but also increasing visibility of underrepresented minorities in research or including more women in science communication teams should be considered, and embedded in projects from the outset. Another important aspect is assessing how the communication messages are framed, and if the chosen format and content is appropriate to address and respect all audiences. Research should reach all who might be affected by it. Respect inclusion in scientific dissemination by creating messages that reflect and respect diversity regarding factors like gender, demography, and ability. Overcoming geographic barriers is also important, as well as the consideration of differences in time zones and the other commitments that participants might have. As part of this, it is a key responsibility to create a healthy and welcoming environment for participation. Having things such as a code of conduct, diversity statement, and contributing guidelines can really help provide this for projects.

The 2017 Progression Framework benchmarking report of the Scientific Council made several recommendations on how to make progress on diversity and inclusion in science: (1) A strategy and action plan for diversity should developed that requires action from all members included and (2) diversity should be included in a wide range of scientific activities, such as building diversity into prizes, awards, or creating guidance on building diversity and inclusion across a range of demographics groups into communications, and building diversity and inclusion into education and training.

Rule 9: Find the right tools

Innovative dissemination practices often require different resources and skills than traditional dissemination methods. As a result of different skills and tools needed, there may be higher costs associated with some aspects of innovative dissemination. You can find tools via a more-complete range of sources, including the OpenUP Hub. The Hub lists a catalogue of innovative dissemination services, organised according to the following categories, with some suggested tools:

• Visualising data: tools to help create innovative visual representations of data (e.g., Nodegoat, DataHero, Plot.ly)
• Sharing notebooks, protocols, and workflows: ways to share outputs that document and share research processes, including notebooks, protocols, and workflows (e.g., HiveBench, Protocols.io, Open Notebook Science Network)
• Crowdsourcing and collaboration: platforms that help researchers and those outside academia to come together to perform research and share ideas (e.g., Thinklab, Linknovate, Just One Giant Lab)
• Profiles and networking: platforms to raise academic profile and find collaboration and funding opportunities with new partners (e.g., Humanities Commons, ORCID, ImpactStory)
• Organiding events: tools to help plan, facilitate, and publicise academic events (e.g., Open Conference Systems, Sched, ConfTool)
• Outreach to wider public: channels to help broadcast your research to audiences beyond academia, including policy makers, young people, industry, and broader society (e.g., Famelab, Kudos, Pint of Science)
• Publishing: platforms, tools, and services to help you publish your research (e.g., Open Science Framework, dokieli, ScienceMatters)
• Archive and share: preprint servers and repositories to help you archive and share your texts, data, software, posters, and more (e.g., BitBucket, GitHub, RunMyCode)

The Hub here represents just one attempt to create a registry of resources related to scholarly communication. A similar project is the 101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication project, which contains different tools and services for all parts of a generalised research workflow, including dissemination and outreach. This can be broadly broken down into services for communication through social media (e.g., Twitter), as well as those designed for sharing of scholarly outputs, including posters and presentations (e.g., Zenodo or Figshare). The Open Science MOOC has also curated a list of resources for its module on Public Engagement with Science, and includes key research articles, organisations, and services to help with wider scientific engagement.

Rule 10: Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate

Assess your dissemination activities. Are they having the right impact? If not, why not? Evaluation of dissemination efforts is an essential part of the process. In order to know what worked and which strategies did not generate the desired outcomes, all the research activities should be rigorously assessed. Such evaluation should be measured via the use of a combination of quantitative and qualitative indicators (which should be already foreseen in the planning stage of dissemination; see Rule 1). Questionnaires, interviews, observations, and assessments could also be used to measure the impact. Assessing and identifying the most successful practices will give you the evidence for the most effective strategies to reach your audience. In addition, the evaluation can help you plan your further budget and minimise the spending and dedicating efforts on ineffective dissemination methods.

Some examples of quantitative indicators include the following:

• Citations of publications;
• alternative metrics related to websites and social media platforms (updates, visits, interactions, likes, and reposts);
• numbers of events held for specific audiences;
• numbers of participants in those events;
• production and circulation of printed materials;
• media coverage (articles in specialised press newsletters, press releases, interviews, etc.); and
• how much time and effort were spent on activities.

Some examples of qualitative indicators include the following:

• Visibility in the social media and attractiveness of website;
• newly established contacts with networks and partners and the outcomes of these contacts;
• feedback from the target groups; and
• share feedback within your group on what dissemination strategies seemed to be the most effective in conveying your messages and reaching your target audiences.

We recognise that researchers are usually already very busy, and we do not seek to pressurise them further by increasing their burdens. Our recommendations, however, come at a time when there are shifting norms in how researchers are expected to engage with society through new technologies. Researchers are now often partially evaluated based on such, or expected to include dissemination plans in grant applications. We also do not want to encourage the further fragmentation of scholarship across different platforms and ‘silos’, and therefore we strongly encourage researchers to be highly strategic in how they engage with different methods of innovative dissemination. We hope that these simple rules provide guidance for researchers and their future projects, especially as the tools and services available evolve through time. Some of these suggestions or platforms might not work across all project types, and it is important for researchers to find which methods work best for them.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to everyone who engaged with the workshops we conducted as part of this grant award.

Funding Statement

This work was partly funded by the OpenUP project, which received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 710722. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Research impact: what it is, why it matters, and how you can increase impact potential

Every drop of funding now seems to come with requirements around achieving and demonstrating broader impacts. Not many of us disagree with that in principle, but what does it mean in practice? How is impact actually achieved? How can you measure it? What can you actually do to accelerate it? Here’s what our co-founder Charlie Rapple had to say in a recent webinar .

This post is 10 minute read. Here is your 1 minute summary:

• Research impact is real change in the real world.
• There are many different kinds of impact including attitudinal, awareness, economic, social, policy, cultural and health.
• It takes hard work and persistence to create impact from research.
• Impact is achieved through several steps that include helping relevant audiences to discover, connect with, understand, apply and advocate for research.
• Impact is best achieved through stakeholder engagement throughout the lifecycle of a project.
• National assessment programmes and funding agencies are placing increased emphasis on dissemination and impact evaluation, particularly outside of academia.
• Evidencing and measuring impact are controversial and fast developing areas – likely to comprise a mix of quantitative indicators and qualitative reviews.
• Researchers will need to develop new skills and capabilities to demonstrate ability to create impact, which could become central to career progression and institutional reputation.
• Find out more about our new platform to help you plan and manage communications to maximize the impact potential of your research .

1. What is research impact?

• US National Institutes of Health : The likelihood for the project to exert a sustained, powerful influence on the research field(s) involved.
• Research England : An effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life beyond academia.
• US National Science Foundation : The potential [for your research] to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of desired society outcomes.
• Australian Research Council : The contribution that research makes to the economy, society, environment or culture, beyond the contribution to academic research.

While there are some subtle differences, they broadly agree that “impact” means demonstrable and beneficial change in behaviours, beliefs and practices. At Kudos, we like the simplicity of this definition from Julie Bayley , Director of Research Impact at the University of Lincoln:

“Provable change [benefit] of research in the ‘real world’.”

The real world part is key. Traditionally, assessment of impact has focused too much on academic impact – whereas, in reality, impact is measured by indicators of change outside universities and research institutions, in the real world.

Having defined impact at this high level, it’s then possible to define a number of types of impact. Professor Mark Reed , Director of Engagement & Impact at Newcastle University, has analyzed impact case studies from around the world, and proposes ten types of impact:

• Understanding and awareness – meaning your research helped people understand an issue better than they had before
• Attitudinal – your research helped lead to a change in attitudes
• Economic – your research contributed to cost savings, or costs avoided; or increases in revenue, profits or funding
• Environmental – benefits arising from your research aid genetic diversity, habitat conservation and ecosystems
• Health and well-being – your research led to better outcomes for individuals or groups
• Policy – your research contributed to new or amended guidelines or laws
• Other forms of decision-making and behavioural impacts
• Cultural – changes in prevailing values, attitudes and beliefs
• Other social impacts –such as access to education or improvement in human rights
• Capacity or preparedness – research that helps individuals and groups better cope with changes that might otherwise have a negative impact.

Professor Reed’s book, The Research Impact Handbook , is highly recommended – even required reading – if you’d like to learn more about each of these areas, and how to understand the potential outcomes of your research in each area.

2. Why does impact matter?

A focus on impact, then, helps us ensure the best possible return from the investments that we – as a society– are making in research.

At a more everyday level, research impact matters to individual researchers because it matters to funders! The organizations that control research funding are under pressure to audit and evaluate their spending. For example, government policy makers want to know that they can rely on government-funded research to be high quality and highly relevant. Charitable funders need to be able to show donors how outcomes are being improved as a result of their donations. Institutions such as universities want to prove that they are the best, to attract more students, more researchers and more donations.

3. How is impact achieved?

Because of the role that past and potential impact plays in funding decisions, this is literally a billion dollar question. There is no single, simple answer. But the question of what kinds of steps help to achieve impact has been widely considered.

• Reach : communication of knowledge is key to impact. You need to reach the audiences that can best build on or benefit from your work. Why? Your findings will not be able to deliver any kind of change if no-one knows about them.
• Engage : you need to interact with those audiences – whether they are policy makers, industry, educators, healthcare practitioners, the media, or the public – to understand their needs and existing level of expertise, and to be able to address their feedback as your work evolves. Why? Your findings will not be able to deliver any kind of change if they are not relevant to potential stakeholders or beneficiaries, or if they cannot understand them.
• Change: you need to be thinking from early in the research process about the kind of change you want to create – whether that is changing behaviours, attitudes, awareness, processes, policy, product specifications (see Mark Reed’s ten types of impact, above). Why? As above – impact must be more than an academic concept for it to be truly valued by the real world, and thus by research funders and institutions.
• Amplify: you need to think about how any change you can bring about will scale such that its effect is as significant, widespread and lasting as possible. For example, how can a benefit to the local community be translated to national or even international impact? Why? To maximize the impact potential of your work, and the return on the investment that you and your institution or funder have made.

An important point to remember in this context is that routes to impact are not, in themselves, impact. Running a workshop, producing a report, meeting a company are all activities that can help you progress through this process. But in themselves they don’t represent provable change in the real world. It may be easier to track and measure those pathways than it is to identify the downstream outcomes that result from them.

This is one of the problems we’re working on at Kudos, helping researchers to capture the breadcrumb trail to link impact back to these activities. You can read more about our platform for this here .

4. How is impact measured?

• Advocacy – helping gain support from the public, funders, government etc
• Accountability – showing what you are achieving with your work
• Analysis – finding out which approaches to research are most effective
• Allocation – considering where it is most appropriate to invest research funding.

Measuring impact is notoriously difficult (hence many funders and systems still resort to using publication-based proxies such as the Impact Factor or citation counts – which really reflect routes to impact rather than impact themselves, and even then, only within academic audiences). A more nuanced way of assessing impact is through narrative-based case studies, or by looking at tangible outcomes – impact evidence – that can be recorded and reported on via impact trackers or impact modules within university systems. Trish Greenhalgh writes and speaks eloquently on this subject. In her view, there is a trade-off between breadth and depth. If you want to measure the impact of every bit of research that everyone in a university has ever done, you have to use something that is easy to measure and probably automated. But if it is more important to get a rich and authentic picture of a sample of research programmes, this needs to be looked at in a lot more detail – balancing measures with narrative. The Metric Tide report (produced by the Higher Education Funding Council in the UK) also concluded that quantitative measures can’t yet replace qualitative assessments of quality and impact.

There is a lot more work to be done here! What is perhaps more measurable are the various steps from access to impact that we explored above; efforts to maximize reach, engage audiences, achieve and amplify change are all increasingly measurable. Over time, as those measures can be linked with ultimate outcomes, we will learn more about not only how to measure impact, but what to do to achieve it, too.

Charlie Rapple is one of the founders of Kudos, which has recently launched a new platform to help plan and manage communications to maximize impact potential of research . Charlie previously spent 20 years as a marketing and communications specialist in the academic sector, helping publishers and universities to communicate research.

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10 Reasons Why Research is Important

No matter what career field you’re in or how high up you are, there’s always more to learn . The same applies to your personal life. No matter how many experiences you have or how diverse your social circle, there are things you don’t know. Research unlocks the unknowns, lets you explore the world from different perspectives, and fuels a deeper understanding. In some areas, research is an essential part of success. In others, it may not be absolutely necessary, but it has many benefits. Here are ten reasons why research is important:

#1. Research expands your knowledge base

The most obvious reason to do research is that you’ll learn more. There’s always more to learn about a topic, even if you are already well-versed in it. If you aren’t, research allows you to build on any personal experience you have with the subject. The process of research opens up new opportunities for learning and growth.

#2. Research gives you the latest information

Research encourages you to find the most recent information available . In certain fields, especially scientific ones, there’s always new information and discoveries being made. Staying updated prevents you from falling behind and giving info that’s inaccurate or doesn’t paint the whole picture. With the latest info, you’ll be better equipped to talk about a subject and build on ideas.

#3. Research helps you know what you’re up against

In business, you’ll have competition. Researching your competitors and what they’re up to helps you formulate your plans and strategies. You can figure out what sets you apart. In other types of research, like medicine, your research might identify diseases, classify symptoms, and come up with ways to tackle them. Even if your “enemy” isn’t an actual person or competitor, there’s always some kind of antagonist force or problem that research can help you deal with.

#4. Research builds your credibility

People will take what you have to say more seriously when they can tell you’re informed. Doing research gives you a solid foundation on which you can build your ideas and opinions. You can speak with confidence about what you know is accurate. When you’ve done the research, it’s much harder for someone to poke holes in what you’re saying. Your research should be focused on the best sources. If your “research” consists of opinions from non-experts, you won’t be very credible. When your research is good, though, people are more likely to pay attention.

#5. Research helps you narrow your scope

When you’re circling a topic for the first time, you might not be exactly sure where to start. Most of the time, the amount of work ahead of you is overwhelming. Whether you’re writing a paper or formulating a business plan, it’s important to narrow the scope at some point. Research helps you identify the most unique and/or important themes. You can choose the themes that fit best with the project and its goals.

#6. Research teaches you better discernment

Doing a lot of research helps you sift through low-quality and high-quality information. The more research you do on a topic, the better you’ll get at discerning what’s accurate and what’s not. You’ll also get better at discerning the gray areas where information may be technically correct but used to draw questionable conclusions.

#7. Research introduces you to new ideas

You may already have opinions and ideas about a topic when you start researching. The more you research, the more viewpoints you’ll come across. This encourages you to entertain new ideas and perhaps take a closer look at yours. You might change your mind about something or, at least, figure out how to position your ideas as the best ones.

#8. Research helps with problem-solving

Whether it’s a personal or professional problem, it helps to look outside yourself for help. Depending on what the issue is, your research can focus on what others have done before. You might just need more information, so you can make an informed plan of attack and an informed decision. When you know you’ve collected good information, you’ll feel much more confident in your solution.

#9. Research helps you reach people

Research is used to help raise awareness of issues like climate change , racial discrimination, gender inequality , and more. Without hard facts, it’s very difficult to prove that climate change is getting worse or that gender inequality isn’t progressing as quickly as it should. The public needs to know what the facts are, so they have a clear idea of what “getting worse” or “not progressing” actually means. Research also entails going beyond the raw data and sharing real-life stories that have a more personal impact on people.

#10. Research encourages curiosity

Having curiosity and a love of learning take you far in life. Research opens you up to different opinions and new ideas. It also builds discerning and analytical skills. The research process rewards curiosity. When you’re committed to learning, you’re always in a place of growth. Curiosity is also good for your health. Studies show curiosity is associated with higher levels of positivity, better satisfaction with life, and lower anxiety.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty. "10 Reasons Why Research is Important." The Important Site, 2020-04-18, available at: https://theimportantsite.com/10-reasons-why-research-is-important/ .

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Don’t Shut Down Your Anger. Channel It.

We’re often told to focus on the positive. But new research shows a healthy dose of anger can be motivating.

By Christina Caron

There is an upside to feeling angry.

According to research published this week in the “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,” anger is more helpful at motivating people to overcome obstacles and meet their goals than a neutral emotional state.

In a series of seven experiments, researchers recruited undergraduate students at Texas A&M University and, in some cases, elicited anger by showing the students images that insulted their school, like people in Aggie shirts wearing diapers and carrying baby bottles.

“It worked well,” said Heather C. Lench, the lead author of the study and a professor in the psychological and brain sciences department at Texas A&M.

The researchers found that anger helped the students solve more puzzles. When they were asked to play a challenging computer game and it was rigged to be nearly impossible to win, this angered the students. But in those moments, they moved faster and their reaction time decreased. The other experiments also showed that anger could be beneficial.

“For a long time, there was this idea that being positive all the time was a life well lived, and that’s what we should strive for,” Dr. Lench said. “But there’s more and more evidence that it’s actually a life that’s balanced by a mix of emotions that seems to be more satisfying and positive long-term.”

Embrace your anger.

Many of us have been taught to push away our so-called negative emotions and focus on the positive. But experts say that being relentlessly positive and leaning on happy platitudes, also known as “toxic positivity,” can harm us.

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Research at Home: How to Approach a Scientist Virtually

In this time of social distancing, many scientists have found ways to transition their research home, just like students with science research projects.   Since much of their work is now taking place virtually, this is the perfect opportunity to find a scientist anywhere in the country who may be able to help you with your project.

How a Scientist Could Help with Your Research

A professional scientist could be helpful to your science research projects in a number of ways, including:

• Explaining scientific concepts that are involved in a specific area of research
• Pointing out potential project topics in their subject area
• Giving feedback on your research question and procedure
• Identifying variables that must be controlled in your experiment
• Reviewing your background research to ensure you have not missed key findings
• Recommending what materials and equipment would be best to use for a project and facilitating access to those resources
• Introducing you to other scientists who could also help mentor you

Before you reach out to a scientist for help, we recommend reviewing the tips below.

Obtaining parent/guardian permission.

If you are under 18, you should obtain parent/guardian permission before you begin searching for and reaching out to potential mentors.  Ask your parent or guardian if they would like to be copied on email communication or be included on phone calls and keep them informed on all your interactions.

Identifying Potential Scientists

Finding a scientist to reach out to is the first important step to connecting with someone who can help you to learn and grow. Find out more about how to identify the right scientist .

Contacting a Scientist

If you hope that a scientist will take your request for help seriously, you’ll want to ensure that your request appears professional. Learn about the proper way to go about reaching out .

Preparing for the Conversation

Receiving a positive response from a scientist is exciting, but preparing for the conversation is equally important. Here are some tips:

• Rather than asking, “What should my research topic be?” it would be better to have at least 2-3 project ideas ready to share. Then you can ask if they have other recommendations.
• Review their biography and research again so that you do not ask questions that are answered online.
• Could I call you again in the future if I have any questions?
• Might you be willing to look over my procedure once I have fully developed it?
• Do you have any graduate or undergraduate students in your lab that might be willing to speak to me about their experiences in research?
• Find a quiet place for your call, where you will not be interrupted. Make sure you have allotted an hour in your schedule, even though you should expect the call to last about 10-20 minutes. If a scientist wants to talk longer, it is courteous to have that time available
• Have paper nearby or a document open where you can take notes.

Following up with a Thank You Message

If you do connect with a scientist, even for a brief email exchange or phone call, it is important to follow up as soon as possible with a thank you message.  It is a good idea to send this message as soon as your interaction has taken place, so that you do not forget and the conversation is fresh in your mind.

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As you begin your search for NIH research funding, it’s important to understand the structure of NIH and to figure out which NIH institutes, centers, and offices (ICOs) are most likely to support your project. 

 Our new online resource, Find a Fit for Your Research: NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs) can help. It includes newly compiled ICO funding profiles that provide links for each ICO’s funding opportunities, strategies, general information and special initiatives, as well as guidance on using Matchmaker to find a home for your research.  

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Finding and Reading Journal Articles

• Journal Articles: Why You Use Them

Why are articles so important to research?

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Journal articles are the academic's stock in trade, t he basic means of communicating research findings to an audience of one’s peers. That holds true across the disciplinary spectrum, so no matter where you land as a concentrator, you can expect to rely on them heavily. 

Regardless of the discipline, moreover,  journal articles perform an important knowledge-updating function .

Textbooks and handbooks and manuals will have a secondary function for chemists and physicists and biologists, of course. But in the sciences, articles are the standard and  preferred publication form. 

In the social sciences and humanities , where knowledge develops a little less rapidly or is driven less by issues of time-sensitivity , journal articles and books are more often used together.

Not all important and influential ideas warrant book-length studies, and some inquiry is just better suited to the size and scope and concentrated discussion that the article format offers.

Journal articles sometimes just present the most  appropriate  solution for communicating findings or making a convincing argument.  A 20-page article may perfectly fit a researcher's needs.  Sustaining that argument for 200 pages might be unnecessary -- or impossible.

The quality of a research article and the legitimacy of its findings are verified by other scholars, prior to publication, through a rigorous evaluation method called peer-review . This seal of approval by other scholars doesn't mean that an article is the best, or truest, or last word on a topic. If that were the case, research on lots of things would cease. Peer review simply means other experts believe the methods, the evidence, the conclusions of an article have met important standards of legitimacy, reliability, and intellectual honesty.

Searching the journal literature is part of being a responsible researcher at any level: professor, grad student, concentrator, first-year. Knowing why academic articles matter will help you make good decisions about what you find -- and what you choose to rely on in your work.

Think of journal articles as the way you tap into the ongoing scholarly conversation , as a way of testing the currency of  a finding, analysis, or argumentative position, and a way of bolstering the authority (or plausibility) of explanations you'll offer in the papers and projects you'll complete at Harvard. 

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Social media can in fact be made better: Research shows it is possible to reward users for sharing accurate information instead of misinformation

Ph.D. Student in Social Psychology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Management, Yale University

Provost Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Business, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and University of Southern California provide funding as members of The Conversation US.

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Is social media designed to reward people for acting badly ?

The answer is clearly yes, given that the reward structure on social media platforms relies on popularity, as indicated by the number of responses – likes and comments – a post receives from other users. Black-box algorithms then further amplify the spread of posts that have attracted attention.

Sharing widely read content, by itself, isn’t a problem. But it becomes a problem when attention-getting, controversial content is prioritized by design. Given the design of social media sites, users form habits to automatically share the most engaging information regardless of its accuracy and potential harm. Offensive statements , attacks on out groups and false news are amplified, and misinformation often spreads further and faster than the truth .

We are two social psychologists and a marketing scholar . Our research , presented at the 2023 Nobel Prize Summit , shows that social media actually has the ability to create user habits to share high-quality content. After a few tweaks to the reward structure of social media platforms, users begin to share information that is accurate and fact-based.

The problem with habit-driven misinformation-sharing is significant. Facebook’s own research shows that being able to share already shared content with a single click drives misinformation. Thirty-eight percent of views of text misinformation and 65% of views of photographic misinformation come from content that has been reshared twice, meaning a share of a share of a share of an original post. The biggest sources of misinformation, such as Steve Bannon’s War Room , exploit social media’s popularity optimization to promote controversy and misinformation beyond their immediate audience.

Re-targeting rewards

To investigate the effect of a new reward structure, we gave financial rewards to some users for sharing accurate content and not sharing misinformation. These financial rewards simulated the positive social feedback, such as likes, that users typically receive when they share content on platforms. In essence, we created a new reward structure based on accuracy instead of attention.

As on popular social media platforms, participants in our research learned what got rewarded by sharing information and observing the outcome, without being explicitly informed of the rewards beforehand. This means that the intervention did not change the users’ goals, just their online experiences. After the change in reward structure, participants shared significantly more content that was accurate. More remarkably, users continued to share accurate content even after we removed rewards for accuracy in a subsequent round of testing. These results show that users can be given incentives to share accurate information as a matter of habit.

A different group of users received rewards for sharing misinformation and for not sharing accurate content. Surprisingly, their sharing most resembled that of users who shared news as they normally would, without any financial reward. The striking similarity between these groups reveals that social media platforms encourage users to share attention-getting content that engages others at the expense of accuracy and safety.

Engagement and the bottom line

Maintaining high levels of user engagement is crucial for the financial model of social media platforms. Attention-getting content keeps users active on the platforms . This activity provides social media companies with valuable user data for their primary revenue source: targeted advertising.

In practice, social media companies might be concerned that changing user habits could reduce users’ engagement with their platforms . However, our experiments demonstrate that modifying users’ rewards does not reduce overall sharing. Thus, social media companies can build habits to share accurate content without compromising their user base.

Platforms that give incentives for spreading accurate content can foster trust and maintain or potentially increase engagement with social media. In our studies, users expressed concerns about the prevalence of fake content, leading some to reduce their sharing on social platforms. An accuracy-based reward structure could help restore waning user confidence .

Doing right and doing well

Our approach, using the existing rewards on social media to create incentives for accuracy, tackles misinformation spread without significantly disrupting the sites’ business model. This has the additional advantage of altering rewards instead of introducing content restrictions , which are often controversial and costly in financial and human terms .

Implementing our proposed reward system for news sharing carries minimal costs and can be easily integrated into existing platforms. The key idea is to provide users with rewards in the form of social recognition when they share accurate news content. This can be achieved by introducing response buttons to indicate trust and accuracy. By incorporating social recognition for accurate content, algorithms that amplify popular content can leverage crowdsourcing to identify and amplify truthful information.

Both sides of the political aisle now agree that social media has challenges, and our data pinpoints the root of the problem: the design of social media platforms.

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• Online misinformation

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Social Security Matters

How to transition your social security account to login.gov.

July 30, 2024 • By Dawn Bystry, Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications

Last Updated: July 30, 2024

For step-by-step instructions on how to make the transition, watch this video .

Beginning June 1, 2024, people who sign in to their personal my Social Security account with their username are given the option to transition to Login.gov. This blog provides additional information and guidance to help you with any problems you may encounter. We’re also going to provide answers to some of the questions we’ve heard.

Who does this affect?

If you created your free and secure my Social Security account on or after September 18, 2021, no action is necessary because you already have the right setup. If you are among the 46 million people who created an account before September 18, 2021 and use your username and password to access Social Security online services today, you will need to create or use an existing account with one of our two Credential Service Providers (CSP) – Login.gov or ID.me.

Is there a deadline? 

While you can still use a username and password to sign in to your personal my Social Security account right now, this option is going away later this year. At that time, you will be required to have a Login.gov or ID.me account if you want to continue to access your personal my Social Security and our many other convenient online services.

A personal my Social Security account provides tools for everyone, whether you receive benefits or not. You can use your account to request a replacement Social Security card, check the status of an application, estimate future benefits, and manage the benefits you already receive. To learn more, visit What is an Account?

Why are you making this change?

This change will simplify your sign-in experience and better align with federal authentication standards while providing safe and secure access to our online services.

What do I need to do?

To avoid any disruptions in accessing our online services we encourage you to transition your account now by signing in to your account with your username and password. Our online instructions will guide you through the process of creating or signing in to an existing Login.gov account.

Information about Login.gov and ID.me

Login.gov is your one government account for simple, secure, and private access to participating government agencies. You can use your Login.gov account to access your Social Security benefit information, services, and other information. And you can use that same Login.gov account to manage other government benefits and services. For support, visit the Login.gov Help Center .

ID.me is a single sign-on provider that also meets the U.S. government’s online identity proofing and authentication requirements. You can use one ID.me account to access government and private services. For support – Go to the ID.me Help Center .

For more information, visit our Create an Account page.

Please share this information with friends and family, clients and colleagues, and others who may need it.

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Tags: General Information , my Social Security , my Social Security account

About the Author

Dawn Bystry, Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications

Deputy Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications

Related Articles

Changes are coming to how you access social security’s online services, access your earnings history with my social security, my social security: it’s not just for retirees, my social security: what to know about signing up or signing in.

August 4, 2024 3:22PM

The instructions are not clear – Nor does the site work. I am having the same issues with transitioning my existing account and getting the same error messages as ALL of the above. The site is stating my email is associated with another account – well yes, and this is an issue with your site – if you are forcing me to set up a new Login.gov sign on. Unbelievable- did anyone test this site before rolling out??????

August 4, 2024 3:04PM

Stupid system. Does not work.

August 4, 2024 2:26PM

HA!!! I’ve been having troubles as well. Even called the help line and they tried assisting several times and I COULD NOT get past the password screen and they couldn’t figure out why, either. After seeing all these comments I’m guessing it’s on their end tho I’m the one that had to reboot all my stuff and it STILL doesn’t work. I’m calling them back and ask them to check their end. I am totally with you all on the frustration of all this. I’m close to crying. I hate technology.

August 4, 2024 2:00PM

I have tried to do this many timed and never get a code to enter so I cannot even start. Very discurging

August 4, 2024 1:35PM

After reading the comments from other persons trying to set up their new account through Login.gov., I have decided to wait until I get a heads up that the actual system is up and running from an email letter telling me that all is good and secure. Thank you!

August 4, 2024 1:06PM

Just tried to update log on to new system. No luck. The instructions are not intuitive nor clear. Looking forward to an email update with better guidance.

August 4, 2024 12:35PM

I signed up for new ID and never got my codes so I can’t sign in the want one of the 10 codes that I never received where did they go

August 4, 2024 10:59AM

terrible directions for linking Login.Gov and social security, it seems like an endless loop.

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Dangerous ozempic scams on the rise — how you can become very sick, lose money.

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You want to lose weight — but you could lose money or end up in the hospital with one of these risky Ozempic scams.

New research warns of illegal online pharmacies peddling faux or substandard Ozempic , or in some cases, taking money for nothing in return.

“It’s hard to say how widespread these scams are,” Tim Mackey , a professor in the Global Health Program at the University of California, San Diego, told The Post in an email. “It changes based on availability of raw materials, and there are different levels of counterfeiters (some that produce product with no active ingredient, wrong ingredient, some ingredient, and online scams that don’t deliver anything).”

Last summer, Mackey and his colleagues searched for websites advertising semaglutide without a prescription. Semaglutide is the active ingredient in the diabetes drug Ozempic and the weight loss drug Wegovy . Both require prescriptions.

The team purchased six products for quality control testing but only received three.

“Three vendors selling Ozempic injections engaged in nondelivery scams requesting extra payments (range, US $650-$1200) to purportedly clear customs, confirmed as fraudulent by customs agencies,” the researchers wrote in their findings, published Friday in JAMA Network Open .

The study authors reported that semaglutide was present in the three samples sent to them but the purity varied (7% to 14% versus the advertised 99%) and the amount of semaglutide exceeded what was on the label by 29% to 39%.

Semaglutide overdoses have become commonplace. US poison centers fielded nearly 3,000 semaglutide calls from January to November 2023 — 15 times the amount in 2019 .

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert last week about semaglutide overdoses.

Most reports stemmed from patients drawing up more than the prescribed dose — sometimes five to 20 times more — from a multi-dose vial for injection.

Some of the patients had to be hospitalized, with symptoms ranging from nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain to fainting, headache, migraine, dehydration, to acute pancreatitis and gallstones.

Illnesses will likely become more widespread as the counterfeit market expands along with Ozempic’s growing popularity .

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Mackey pointed out there are about 30,000 to 40,000 active illegal online pharmacies, which could get in on the action. People who try to buy unauthorized Ozempic online risk getting a product without semaglutide, the wrong amount of semaglutide, a dangerous ingredient instead, a contaminated product or no product at all.

“Consumers really need to partner with their health care provider to ensure that semaglutide is even appropriate for them in the first place, and then only source it from a legitimate licensed pharmacy in order to ensure their treatment is not compromised,” Mackey told The Post.

Replication Crisis

The importance of research to the practice of counseling, why is research literacy important for mental health counseling.

Posted July 30, 2024 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

• The replication crisis challenges reliability—many landmark studies fail to replicate.
• Publication bias distorts findings—positive results are more likely to be published than null ones.
• Careerism impacts quality—the pressure to publish frequently can prioritize quantity over quality.

In the field of social science, particularly within psychology and counseling, several critical issues have emerged that undermine the scientific rigor of research and practice. One of the most significant challenges is the replication crisis , where many studies, including landmark research, fail to reproduce consistent results when tested in subsequent experiments. And we're not talking about little-known, oddball studies. This problem covers the whole gamut of social science research, from the seminal studies that change the field, to lesser-known research. This crisis casts doubt on the reliability of established findings and calls into question the foundations upon which many clinical practices are built.

Another pervasive issue is publication bias , where studies with significant or positive results are more likely to be published than those with null or negative findings. This skews the body of available literature, leading to an overestimation of the effectiveness of certain interventions and underrepresentation of alternative or null outcomes. Closely related is the phenomenon of idea laundering , where weak or untested theories are presented as established facts through a cycle of citations and publications, further muddying the waters of scientific clarity.

Careerism or "publish or perish" also poses a significant obstacle, as the pressure to publish frequently and in high-impact journals can lead researchers to prioritize quantity over quality. This environment can foster a focus on novel, eye-catching results rather than thorough, rigorous investigations. Moreover, inadequate graduate training in research methodology and critical thinking exacerbates these issues, leaving emerging counselors ill-prepared to both conduct and critically assess research.

These challenges collectively diminish the quality and credibility of research in social science, which is particularly concerning given the direct impact these studies have on clinical practice. For counselors, a deep understanding of research methods and critical evaluation is essential. It not only equips them to produce meaningful, replicable studies but also empowers them to discern the reliability of existing research, ensuring they base their clinical decisions on solid evidence. However, if counselors in training are not aware of the importance of research, how to conduct research, how to read research, how to integrate the findings of research, AND how to digest research critically given the problems present in research mentioned above, then it will directly affect clinical work, client outcomes and welfare. This is simply not okay since counselors have an ethical duty to provide best practices and safeguard client welfare. But, if you need some convincing, below are some of the reasons I see literacy in research as essential for competent clinical practice.

Research Guides Practice and Limits of Intuition

As clinicians, we often rely on our training, experience, and intuition to make decisions. However, it's essential to recognize that our perceptions are inherently limited and can be biased. Human reasoning, while valuable, is not infallible and can lead us astray. For instance, confirmation bias , the tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms our preconceptions, can significantly impact clinical judgments. Therefore, it's crucial to complement our intuition with empirical evidence from social science research. This reliance on research helps to ground our decisions in verified data, ensuring that our interventions are based on more than just subjective judgment.

The Counterintuitive Nature of Research

One of the most valuable aspects of research is its ability to challenge our assumptions. What may seem obvious or intuitive to a seasoned counselor might not hold true for every client. For example, while it may seem intuitive that talking about suicidal thoughts could increase the likelihood of a client acting on them, research indicates that discussing these thoughts in a supportive environment can actually reduce the risk. This highlights the importance of adhering to evidence-based practices, which often provide insights that run counter to common beliefs or intuitive thinking.

Universals and Particulars in Counseling

In the realm of clinical practice, it is crucial to distinguish between universal principles and individual variations. Research can provide us with general trends and effective interventions for broad populations, but every client is unique. What works broadly might not be effective for a specific individual due to various factors such as cultural background, personal history, and psychological makeup. For example, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is widely recognized as an effective treatment for depression , but its applicability may vary based on a client's readiness, cultural context, and specific needs. Thus, while research provides a foundation, clinicians must remain flexible and responsive to the particulars of each client's situation.

Harm Prevention and Ethical Responsibility

Ethical practice in counseling involves a commitment to "do no harm." This principle necessitates that we have a reasonable expectation of the outcomes of our interventions before implementing them. Without a solid research foundation, we risk applying treatments that may be ineffective or even harmful. For example, some outdated or unsupported therapeutic practices, such as "conversion therapy" for sexual orientation , have been shown to cause significant harm. Therefore, staying informed about current research is not only a best practice but an ethical obligation to ensure we are providing safe and effective care.

Harm Detection and Differentiating Counseling Models

Not all therapeutic models are equally beneficial, and some may even be detrimental if applied inappropriately. It's vital for clinicians to discern which models are supported by robust evidence and which are not. For instance, while mindfulness -based therapies have proven effective in managing anxiety and depression, they may not be suitable for individuals with certain types of trauma -related disorders, where grounding techniques might be more appropriate. Understanding these nuances allows clinicians to tailor their approaches to better meet the needs of their clients, thereby optimizing the therapeutic outcomes.

In conclusion, the integration of research into clinical practice serves as a critical tool for enhancing the quality of care provided to clients. By recognizing the limitations of intuition, valuing counterintuitive insights from research, distinguishing between universal principles and individual differences, and adhering to ethical standards of harm prevention, clinicians can ensure that their practice is both scientifically grounded and ethically sound. This commitment to evidence-based practice ultimately fosters a more effective and compassionate therapeutic environment, better serving the diverse needs of clients.

Dan Bates is a clinical mental health counselor, licensed in the state of Washington and certified nationally.

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Health | Your diet may control your risk for…

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Health | tropical storm debby forecast to rapidly intensify into hurricane before florida landfall, health | your diet may control your risk for alzheimer’s. here’s how to keep the disease at bay..

Strieter’s mother had Alzheimer’s, and now that Strieter has entered her 70s, she wants to keep her own risk as low as possible.

“My doctor told me I should eat healthy, so that’s what I am doing,” she said.

A study released Wednesday shows that Strieter is on the right track in monitoring what she eats. Research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia shows that eating a couple of servings per week of processed red meat, such as bologna, hot dogs, or bacon, raises the risk of dementia. More specifically, researchers found that consuming about two servings per week of processed red meat raises the risk of dementia by 14% compared to those who eat less than three servings a month.

The newest research looks at how what we eat affects the aging brain’s ability to think and remember. As many as 580,000 Floridians ages 65 and older are living with the disease and more than 6.7 million Americans.  The increasing prevalence has triggered more research on the factors that raise risk.

The study followed more than 130,000 people for up to 43 years and discovered that each additional daily serving of processed red meat was linked to an extra 1.6 years of brain aging. Yuhan Li, the study’s lead author, said processed meat may affect the brain because it contains high levels of harmful substances such as nitrites (preservatives) and sodium.

“The Alzheimer’s Association has long encouraged eating a healthier diet — including foods that are less processed — because they’ve been associated with lower the risk of cognitive decline,” Heather M. Snyder, Alzheimer’s Association vice president of medical and scientific relations, said in a prepared statement.

Studying processed meats adds to earlier research on food and brain health, linking diet to disease risk. The results have led experts to recommend seniors eat whole, fresh foods as much as possible.

“It’s important for people to know that there is not a single food or ingredient that causes dementia or Alzheimer’s,” said Dr. Christian Camargo , associate professor of neurology and a memory specialist with the University of Miami Health System. “There also is not a single food that will cure it.”

Here are other findings on diet and Alzheimer’s risk:

Pre-packaged and highly processed foods increase risk

In 2022 , UK researchers found that for every 10% increase in daily intake of highly processed foods, the risk of dementia increased by 25%.  Examples of highly processed foods include packaged bread, crackers, soft drinks, breakfast cereals, sweetened yogurts, snack bars, ice cream, and chips. Researchers studied 72,083 men and women who were 55 or older. The participants kept detailed logs of what they ate and drank.

Researchers concluded: “Increasing unprocessed or minimally processed foods by only 50 grams a day, which is equivalent to half an apple, a serving of corn, or a bowl of bran cereal, and simultaneously decreasing ultra-processed foods by 50 grams a day, equivalent to a chocolate bar or a serving of fish sticks, is associated with 3 percent decreased risk of dementia.”

A high-sugar diet can increase risk 

Studies have linked high sugar consumption to insulin resistance in the brain and increased risk of dementia. In particular, some researchers have examined the overconsumption of sugar-sweetened drinks like sodas and fruit juices. The findings indicate it may be possible to keep brain cells healthy by reducing sugar intake.

“Just about anything with added sugar is not going to be great for you,” said Julia Sheffler , assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine at the Florida State University College of Medicine. “Whether you have sugar in your drinks or food, it spikes your insulin and over time that can lead to your body becoming insulin resistant. That increases your risk for type 2 diabetes, but it also has negative impacts on the brain.”

Foods like fish, nuts, seeds and berries can lower risk

Previous research has found that diets rich in green leafy vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and fish are associated with fewer signs of Alzheimer’s disease. These diets also tend to include olive oil, whole grains,  small amounts of wine, and limited red meat.  This type of diet aims to increase the nutrients that protect the brain and inhibit beta-amyloid deposits found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.

“There’s really robust evidence that a Mediterranean diet, in particular, has benefits for brain health and heart health and that it can actually slow the rate of cognitive decline and reduce the risk for Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” Sheffler said.

At FSU, Sheffler is looking at how to help seniors adopt those diets and overcome reluctance or obstacles.

“If you can’t stick with it, you just kind of occasionally eat the right foods here and there, it’s not going to be as effective as if you’re really consistently following the Mediterranean or a Mediterranean-ketogenic diet,” she said.

Olive oil lowers risk

People who incorporate olive oil into their everyday diet may decrease their risk of dementia-related death, according to a  Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study .

The Harvard study analyzed the diets and health outcomes of 92,383 American adults. It found that regardless of genetic predisposition or diet, participants who consumed at least 7 grams of olive oil per day had a 28% lower risk of dementia-related death compared to participants who never or rarely consumed olive oil.

“Foods like olive oil that have heart benefits also have brain benefits,” Camargo said.

Supplements may not lower risk

Advertisements often tout the benefits of supplements such as Lion’s Mane, Vitamin D, and Ginkgo biloba for lowering your risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

But Florida Alzheimer’s experts are skeptical.

Camargo points out supplements are unregulated in the United States.

“They are not well studied because they are not pharmaceuticals,” he said. “You don’t know what you are getting and they were not studied for the purpose of learning whether they reduce Alzheimer’s risk.”

He said all the new research on diet helps people understand that there are ways to reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s. “The point is we have some control.”

Sheffler advises gaining that control regardless of age. “The earlier the better, but it’s never too late. You are still going to see benefits.”

Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at [email protected].

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• Many Parkinson’s clinical trials fail to reach Phase 3, report says

Number of active trials remains stable, annual report shows

by Lindsey Shapiro, PhD | August 1, 2024

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The number of active Parkinson’s disease clinical trials has remained relatively stable since 2019, but many investigational therapies — especially disease-modifying treatments intended to slow or stop disease progression — are failing to move forward from Phase 2 to Phase 3 trials, according to a report.

A wide variety of therapy types are being investigated, with a notable recent increase in treatments that target inflammation and the disease’s nonmotor symptoms , the annual report said.

The effort, now in its fifth year, is a collaboration among Cure Parkinson’s , The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research , and other research advocates. Its aim is to present an overview of the current Parkinson’s clinical trial landscape.

Simon Stott, PhD, director of research for Cure Parkinson’s, said the stability of clinical trial numbers over the last five years is “truly remarkable” given that the COVID-19 pandemic occurred during that period. “It is a testament to the participants and the researchers involved that activities were not more disrupted,” Stott said in a press release. “And Cure Parkinson’s is proud of the role we play behind the scenes.”

The report, “ Parkinson’s Disease Drug Therapies in the Clinical Trial Pipeline: 2024 Update ,” was published in the Journal of Parkinson’s disease .

$6M grant aids work into calcium channel blocker to protect neurons

Progress on biomarker research, diversity.

“Recent progress to improve and accelerate the Parkinson’s disease … drug development pipeline has been significant,” the study’s authors wrote. “In 2023, we saw considerable advances in the development of biomarkers” for Parkinson’s, they said.

The year also “saw great strides in expanding diversity” in Parkinson’s research, they said, citing “the discovery of a genetic risk factor in the GBA1 gene specific to people of African ancestry.”

To generate the data, the scientists analyzed information from ClinicalTrials.gov, an online clinical trial registry. They looked at all studies that were active as of Jan. 31, 2024.

The number of clinical trials for Parkinson’s remained relatively stable in 2023. There were 136 trials taking place during the year, compared with 139 active trials in the prior year.

Therapies were also grouped based on whether they were disease-modifying (DMTs), which intend to change the course of disease (i.e. slowing or stopping its progression) or symptomatic, which work to make certain symptoms less bothersome but don’t change the underlying disease course.

The proportion of trials testing DMTs has generally increased over the five years the report has been tracking data, though it didn’t change much from 2022-2023 (44% vs. 45%). The remaining 56% of trials in 2023 were for symptomatic therapies.

For both disease-modifying and symptomatic treatments, the study’s authors found a wide range of therapeutic mechanisms being tested, some new and others repurposed.

The number of investigational therapies targeting inflammation about doubled from 2022 to 2023, likely because of increased understanding that inflammation is a major driver of Parkinson’s disease, the report said. The researchers said that’s “a trend which may continue in subsequent years.”

While dyskinesia , or involuntary muscle movements, were the most targeted symptom, there also appeared to be an increase in trials targeting nonmotor Parkinson’s symptoms such as cognition, depression, or psychosis, the report found.

GBA1 mutation linked to higher Parkinson’s risk among Africans

Barriers to phase 3 advancement.

Also relevant when looking at therapy development is its stage. Phase 1 trials look mostly at safety, often in healthy volunteers, while Phase 2 studies offer safety and short-term proof-of-concept efficacy in patients. Phase 3 trials, which mainly support regulatory approvals, look at long-term safety and efficacy in larger groups of patients.

More than half of the active trials in 2023 were Phase 2 (58%), 30% were Phase 1, and 12% were Phase 3. There were only three Phase 3 clinical trials for DMTs active in 2023, down from six in 2022.

The “limited transition of DMTs from Phase 2 to the crucial Phase 3 stage,” the study’s authors said, “may be due to the limited understanding of [Parkinson’s] biology.”

Cure Parkinson’s said it’s working to improve those numbers, with initiatives such as the ACT-PD project , a multi-arm clinical trial platform designed to help accelerate DMT trials for Parkinson’s in the U.K. This would involve the assessment of multiple investigational therapies at one time with a shared placebo group, and frequent interim analyses to determine which treatments were working and warrant transition from Phase 2 to Phase 3 testing.

“It is hoped that such initiatives will not only allow more rapid testing of novel therapies, but also provide patients with more opportunity to engage with the research,” the scientists wrote in the report. “The contribution of the [Parkinson’s] community is essential, and we acknowledge the value of their commitment and involvement.”

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For LGBTQ+ people facing food insecurity, stigma and other barriers can make it hard to get help

Max Tardiff lives outside of Keene, where he’s trying to get back on his feet with his kid, after a recent divorce. But it’s been hard, and money is tight. Tardiff makes too much money to qualify for food stamps, and he’s also struggling to find an apartment closer to his job that he can afford.

He’s been using food pantries since the early 2000s, when his eldest kid was born. He says having to ask for help, period, carries a lot of shame and vulnerability. But it’s even harder, he says, as someone who is visibly queer.

Tardiff wears rainbow pins and badges that say he’s gay, and he says his unique style can make him stand out. He doesn’t always know how people at different food pantries will respond, or if the volunteers will protect his personal information.

“I work for an agency that I have to keep people's information private. There's not that same level of privacy,” Tardiff said. “So everybody's business can be all over the place. It's another thing that will keep people from going and asking for help.”

Research from the University of New Hampshire suggests Tardiff’s experience is familiar to many LGBTQ+ people throughout the state — and New England overall.

A study published last year found that LGBTQ+ people in the region face higher levels of food insecurity than the population at large. Researchers asked whether people experienced food insecurity within the last week, and found that was the case for 13% of lesbian, gay and bisexual New Englanders which is nearly twice as high as New Englanders who don’t identify as LGBTQ+. The disparity was even more pronounced for transgender people and, in particular, trans people of color: One in three Black transgender New Englanders reported that they did not have enough food to eat within the past seven days, according to the study .

The researchers also noted that, for many, stigma can stand in the way of getting help from food pantries or other organizations offering assistance.

“There is a common perception New England is more progressive, more hospitable to trans and queer people,” said Isaac Leslie, who was part of the research team. “But this study should serve as a rude awakening to us in New England that that is a misconception and we are failing to feed trans and queer and POC New Englanders.”

Anxieties can supersede getting help

Last year’s study was significant, Leslie said, because it was the first time where multiple studies were able to be conducted in order to deeper look at food insecurity among LGBTQ+ people in New England. That’s in part because of policies that allowed more robust demographic data to be captured. Leslie and his team pulled from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey — which added measures of gender identity and sexuality for the first time in 2021.

What they found is that many LGBTQ+ people are feeling the effects of discrimination in housing, jobs and medical care. When compounded, it can impact their earning potential and financial stability, which of course affects their ability to afford food.

Leslie also noted that people can face barriers to getting help. For example, a lot of food pantries are run out of churches, which haven’t always been welcoming to LGBTQ+ people, and that can make it harder for people in those communities to feel safe asking for help. One person, who did not want to be named, noted that one local church that operates a food pantry has also posted messages on social media criticizing LGBTQ+ people as recently as 2023.

“A lot of the anxiety of approaching these places supersedes the relief of the resource you’re trying to get to begin with."

In Manchester, Nova Scruggs helps to run a mutual aid fund serving trans and queer people who are facing housing insecurity or in need of emergency cash. She hears from a lot of people who struggle to afford food, and it’s something she also experiences firsthand.

Scruggs said she makes a point of not seeking help from the fund, to avoid any conflicts of interest. But when she’s sought help from Manchester area food pantries in the past she says she’s had some people scoff, be outright rude or question things about her identity as a transwoman.

“A lot of the anxiety of approaching these places supersedes the relief of the resource you’re trying to get to begin with,” Scruggs said.

For example, Scruggs said it can be stressful if a food pantry asks for things like a photo ID, which can be a problem for people whose license no longer matches their name and gender. Some food pantries don’t ask people what pronouns they use and might assume the wrong one, or, Scruggs said, they might continue to use the wrong pronouns even after being corrected. Scruggs said she also often wonders how protected certain personal information is by the volunteers working at local pantries.

Reducing stressors

Those working to address food insecurity in New Hampshire say they’re trying to make sure people know what help is available. And some service providers are taking steps to make the experience of approaching a food pantry less daunting.

Laura Milliken, with New Hampshire Hunger Solutions, said she was concerned by reports that some LGBTQ+ Granite Staters feel unwelcome or uncomfortable seeking help. She said her organization is always looking for ways to improve food equity.

“That is really too bad to hear,” Milliken said. “We would be very interested in partnering with direct service providers to think about best practices and how we use inclusive language.”

New Hampshire Hunger Solutions has been working to address broader gaps in the state’s food security efforts. For example, she noted that roughly one-third of those who are eligible for the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP or food stamps, are enrolled. She said this could be partially due to lack of awareness, since the state didn’t have a SNAP benefit outreach program until 2022.

Milliken’s organization has been working to raise awareness about SNAP eligibility in New Hampshire, including the fact that the state expanded benefits to 200% of the federal poverty rate — making more people eligible for the program. She said for people who are eligible, participating in SNAP could be a good option for people who are hesitant to approach food pantries or other providers.

“I understand that the application process and having to talk to the state can be a barrier,” Milliken said. “SNAP provides you with benefits on an EBT card that you get every month, and you can spend them in ways that are culturally and dietarily, health-wise, appropriate for you. So that's what makes SNAP much easier than having to go to charitable food providers.”

'We would be very interested in partnering with direct service providers to think about best practices and how we use inclusive language.'

But some of those community providers are taking steps to be more inclusive, too. In Keene, Tardiff said he’s been grateful to connect with one organization that is more welcoming that other spaces where he’s sought help in the past: the Keene Community Kitchen. He said they’ve been open to feedback on how to make things more accessible, and he doesn’t worry about his sexual orientation being an issue when gathering food.

Keene Community Kitchen’s executive director, Sarah Harpster, said they try to do several things to alleviate stress on those seeking help.

For one, they give people the choice of how they want to receive their food: pre-bagged items for quick pick-up, or browsing shelves for specific ingredients. Harpster said that can give people more of a sense of agency.

Harpster also knows that pantries’ hours of operation can be an inconvenience. Unlike a grocery store that might be open consistently throughout the day, these organizations are often working with more limited staff — and their schedules don’t always line up with when people have transportation, time and funds to shop.

Transportation is another barrier for a lot of people, so the Keene Community Kitchen is also trying to work with smaller towns and pantries to deliver food to people. This can also eliminate some of the stigma people might encounter when coming in person.

But there’s another piece of the puzzle that people experiencing food insecurity say is important: representation. Several people who work at Keene Community Kitchen identify as LGBTQ+, including Harpster. As an organization, they state publicly that they value diversity, equity and inclusion.

Harpster said it’s important for any organization that’s trying to offer these kinds of resources to make an effort to engage with people from lots of different backgrounds, instead of assuming that what works for one group of people works in all cases.

“We know that food insecurity is not on them, they’re facing a lot of daily challenges in their lives,” Harpster said. “We’re just here to make those challenges a little bit easier and help them stretch their family budget by not having to purchase all the food they need in their household.”

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