People-first research

People-first research is more important than ever.

When I was in divinity school, I learned from my pastoral peers about what they call “witnessing” – the act of patiently listening to someone’s story to understand where they are emotionally and spiritually. I’ve found this to be especially helpful to bear in mind when conducting market research in the age of COVID-19.

While it’s not business as usual, business does go on. In-person focus groups have been moved online.

And while respondents are overall happy to have a (paid) diversion from the nonstop barrage of COVID-19 updates, it feels disingenuous to dive into what we want to talk about without giving them the space to say what they need to say. Put differently, when a cup is full, it must be emptied before it can be filled again. Any social worker would tell you as much.

Good qualitative research is all about connecting with your respondents – not just how you frame questions and probe for details, but how you invite them to share their experiences with you.

We need people-first research as much as we need people-first policies in our country. Perspectives change rapidly in these uncertain times, so it’s important to give people space to recalibrate and verbally process the Corona Fatigue so they can be emotionally present to answer your research questions.

– A Talk Shoppe team member