Which market research methods are best? Among practitioners, this is a hotly-debated subject - and there's rarely a clear-cut winner - but what do participants have to say about it? Which methods are they most comfortable with? Which ones don't they like at all?
In the 2010 edition of The Bridge, ZINC Research's syndicated online user segmentation survey, a research panel of 1,200 provides insights on the prevailing attitudes among social network users and non-users alike. Results, including a breakdown by user segments, are shown in the table below.
And the verdict is...
In the winners' circle...
Which methods are people comfortable with and would be willing to participate in? Online employee surveys, favoured by 76% of respondents, followed by online community consultation surveys (75%) and onsite surveys (70%).
The also-rans...
Which methods are people less comfortable with? In-depth interviews conducted at home (30%), followed by video-based research (44%) and telephone surveys (52%). The phone survey has traditionally been the tool of choice in public opinion polling, but continues to be a method that only half of Canadians are comfortable with. This is sobering news for the traditional print and electronic media, who appear to still favour reporting on telephone-based polls.TOTAL | HEAVY USERS |
BUSINESS USERS |
SOCIAL USERS |
FRIENDS & FAMILY CIRCLES |
CASUAL USERS |
NON-USERS | |
BASE | 1096 | 98 | 85 | 177 | 297 | 337 | 102 |
Online employee survey |
76% | 83% | 90% | 82% | 77% | 67% | 77% |
Online community consultation survey |
75% | 82% | 86% | 80% | 80% | 66% | 72% |
Onsite survey |
70% | 70% | 71% | 80% | 68% | 64% | 77% |
Online community survey |
61% | 72% | 67% | 72% | 63% | 51% | 56% |
Focus group |
61% | 68% | 74% | 71% | 61% | 51% | 66% |
Public consultation process |
61% | 69% | 73% | 66% | 60% | 54% | 60% |
Telephone survey |
52% | 57% | 56% | 54% | 50% | 47% | 60% |
Video-based research |
44% | 63% | 40% | 60% | 46% | 31% | 40% |
In-depth interview at home |
30% | 41% | 36% | 37% | 25% | 24% | 39% |
Is The Bridge right for your organization?
For information on The Bridge and other syndicated surveys conducted by ZINC Research, contact Brian Singh at: zincresearch.com.