Research plays a vital role in every industry around the world. Marketing, academic, medical and scientific researchers are all searching for answers to their roles’ and projects’ greatest questions.
Getting up to speed on tactics and tools to make research easier is a large part of being a good researcher in itself. Here are a few of the best ways to approach any type of research, capture information accurately, and then easily analyze your findings.
1. Think like a scientist.
We’ve been taught the Scientific Method since grade school. It is a trusted, tried and true way of coming at any question; one that has been used for centuries. Thorough researchers in any field make sure that revealing insights follow the basic procedure:
- Make observations
- Define hypotheses
- Come up with predictions
- Run testing and experimentation
- Draw conclusions
The quality and accuracy of answers uncovered are dependent on this scientific process.
2. Analyze from every angle.
The purpose of many projects, and a large part of all related tasks is looking at facts, observations, and research from every perspective. Without analyzing the information gathered from many angles, it’s easy to neglect bits and pieces that may play a vital role in its interpretation.
While often difficult in some cases, leaving all personal judgments and biases aside is absolutely critical in the collection and formation of sound research. If any one-sidedness is presented during interviews or any other part of the information gathering and analysis, this research is already polluted.
3. Take advantage of transcription.
The large amount of time required to transcribe interviews by hand can stall important research, and the average cost of an expert-level freelance transcriber can often be impractical. TranscribeMe provides the accuracy, quality and low-cost that makes in-depth research more possible, all backed by unrivaled security and confidentiality.
With advanced transcription apps like TranscribeMe for iPhone, it becomes much more accessible to take hands-free dictation and conduct detailed studies in the field; the app saves time and expended typing energy by allowing the user to record interviews, focus groups and meetings at a moment’s notice.
4. Use an integrative research platform.
For research that involved qualitative data, software such as NVivo are built to run automated analytics and statistical models in SPSS. Researchers use NVivo to analyze specific keywords in their qualitative research, but this format could be used by market researchers as well.
TranscribeMe offers formatting designed for NVivo use; it’s used to transcribe interviews that will be run through the NVivo analysis platform. Researchers can order transcripts directly from NVivo (10 SP5 required) or upload finished transcripts directly from the Customer Portal to begin analysis immediately.
By taking advantage of traditional research methods, leaving biases at the door and utilizing tools to streamline the gathering and analysis of information, any research job will become much easier and far more effective.
