By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    data science anayst
    Growing Demand for Data Science & Data Analyst Roles
    6 Min Read
    predictive analytics in dropshipping
    Predictive Analytics Helps New Dropshipping Businesses Thrive
    12 Min Read
    data-driven approach in healthcare
    The Importance of Data-Driven Approaches to Improving Healthcare in Rural Areas
    6 Min Read
    analytics for tax compliance
    Analytics Changes the Calculus of Business Tax Compliance
    8 Min Read
    big data analytics in gaming
    The Role of Big Data Analytics in Gaming
    10 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: What Can Academics Learn From Market Researchers?
Share
Notification Show More
Latest News
ai in automotive industry
AI Is Changing the Automotive Industry Forever
Artificial Intelligence
SMEs Use AI-Driven Financial Software for Greater Efficiency
Artificial Intelligence
data security in big data age
6 Reasons to Boost Data Security Plan in the Age of Big Data
Big Data
data science anayst
Growing Demand for Data Science & Data Analyst Roles
Data Science
ai software development
Key Strategies to Develop AI Software Cost-Effectively
Artificial Intelligence
Aa
SmartData Collective
Aa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > Uncategorized > What Can Academics Learn From Market Researchers?
Uncategorized

What Can Academics Learn From Market Researchers?

AnniePettit
Last updated: 2015/08/20 at 5:58 AM
AnniePettit
7 Min Read
SHARE

Having just attended the European Survey Research Association (ESRA) conference, my brain is now full of important learnings and ideas for future research. While many of those ideas fall into the category of “How to conduct better surveys,” a lot of others relate to how similar and different academic and private research conferences are. Let me give you a few examples of what academics can learn from market researchers.

Having just attended the European Survey Research Association (ESRA) conference, my brain is now full of important learnings and ideas for future research. While many of those ideas fall into the category of “How to conduct better surveys,” a lot of others relate to how similar and different academic and private research conferences are. Let me give you a few examples of what academics can learn from market researchers.

  1. You can mix business with pleasure. Market research conferences pay a lot of attention to balancing out brain heavy learning with brain light entertainment. For example, ESOMAR had a SoapBox to allow anyone to rant on any topic for a couple of minutes. MRIA had ping pong tables freely available during breaks. MRA planned a bar hopping social event. I’ve seen caricaturists, photo booths, prize drawings, and more. ESRA had, well, no activities.
  2. If it’s not practical, it’s pointless.  Market research presenters focus on practical learnings, not necessarily significant learnings. In many sessions at ESRA, I listened to the presenter speak about statistically significant results only to see that the effect size was too small to be of any practical use. Market researchers know that if the difference between two outcomes isn’t large enough to trigger a change in the marketing practice, then a statistically significant difference is no a difference at all.
  3. Ban paragraphs. Presentation slides shouldn’t be sentences and paragraphs, but rather bullet points and titles. If your audience is busy reading your slides, they can’t listen to you or match what you’re saying with what they’re seeing. Besides, if you use bullet points, you can’t read your slides.
  4. Tell me what happened. Many academics spend months or years on a single study, becoming so ingrained with it that they seem to forget no one else understands it with the same level of detail. This led to quite a few presenters concluding “These results were statistically significant suggesting that there are major differences among these variables.” Unfortunately, I would have rather heard “There were significantly more speeders among people whose second language was English.” A little translation would speed things along.
  5. Not everyone ought to speak. Market research conferences often seek out not just any speaker, but great speakers. Let’s be honest – no matter how important your research is, if you can’t communicate its importance, no one will learn from you. Before taking on a big conference, practice a few times in smaller, local venues. For many of us, that means chapter events. When you’ve mastered that, then it’s time to move up. Good speakers know how to mix great content with engagement and entertainment. It’s a fine line but it’s one important way of making sure that people understand and retain your argument.

But wait. Why can’t this post be called “What can market researchers learn from academics?” Let’s try things from the other side of the fence.

  1. Statistics don’t kill. ESRA presenters had no fear of statistics. Equations were shown all over the place. Betas and dfs and p-values littered the slides. Names of regression models and correction factors were listed, analyzed, and critiqued. No one apologized for showing their statistics. No one giggled and said they didn’t really understand what was on the slide or that we could talk to a smart colleague who could explain it. No audience members fainted or fell asleep during highly technical presentations. Some took pictures. Others asked detailed statistical questions.
  2. Null results matter. It is rare to hear about null results at a market research conference. You’d think we don’t value the Journal of Null Results. ESRA presenters had no problems discussing null, negative, and unexpected results. You see, life is full of uncertainty. Some studies go as planned. Others suffer from excellent sampling, excellent survey design, excellent analysis, and null results. There’s a lot to learn from determining why some results were positive and others negative. Let’s acknowledge the importance of both. It’s how we learn.
  3. Clip art wastes space. I must have seen 100 separate presentations and, among those, I saw one clip art. One. Presenters felt that it was much more important to summarize the methodology, raw data, and results in that precious space instead. Even better, showing me the data rather than a picture of a bucket allowed me to judge for myself whether I agreed with the presenters’ conclusions.
  4. You only need 15 minutes. As someone who has done 60 minute presentations, I now sometimes find it difficult to keep things short. However, 15 minutes is plenty of time to get the job done. There’s no need to create filler, pause for dramatic effect, or take acting lessons. You’ve come to share a piece of knowledge. Share it.
  5. You don’t need a theme. Many conferences have this strange need to come up with a theme. “Enlightening tomorrow” or “Increasing horizons.”  Well, the only theme I saw at ESRA was “Great content.” It was awesome.

Consider this post a list of challenges. As you plan for your next conference, pick one and dash it aside. For me, I’ve already started showing just a few more statistical details on my slides. I hope you enjoy them!

More Read

big data improves

3 Ways Big Data Improves Leadership Within Companies

IT Is Not Analytics. Here’s Why.
Romney Invokes Analytics in Rebuke of Trump
WEF Davos 2016: Top 100 CEO bloggers
In Memoriam: Robin Fray Carey

AnniePettit August 20, 2015
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

ai in automotive industry
AI Is Changing the Automotive Industry Forever
Artificial Intelligence
SMEs Use AI-Driven Financial Software for Greater Efficiency
Artificial Intelligence
data security in big data age
6 Reasons to Boost Data Security Plan in the Age of Big Data
Big Data
data science anayst
Growing Demand for Data Science & Data Analyst Roles
Data Science

Stay Connected

1.2k Followers Like
33.7k Followers Follow
222 Followers Pin

You Might also Like

big data improves
Big DataJobsKnowledge ManagementUncategorized

3 Ways Big Data Improves Leadership Within Companies

6 Min Read
Image
Uncategorized

IT Is Not Analytics. Here’s Why.

7 Min Read

Romney Invokes Analytics in Rebuke of Trump

4 Min Read

WEF Davos 2016: Top 100 CEO bloggers

14 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

ai is improving the safety of cars
From Bolts to Bots: How AI Is Fortifying the Automotive Industry
Artificial Intelligence
AI chatbots
AI Chatbots Can Help Retailers Convert Live Broadcast Viewers into Sales!
Chatbots

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US

© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?