The questions you ask dictate the answers you get.

The How's of research often take centerstage during initial discussions about projects,  Often, we hear clients express frustration with past research being "not actionable."  We believe "not actionable" is largely due to the wrong questions being asked of the wrong people for the wrong reasons.

To ensure you get the right answers to the right questions, we spend time upfront clarifying why, what, and who before diving into the how's:

• Why are you interested in doing research? Why is it important to you/your firm to spend time and money investigating this issue?  Why now? Bottom line, why bother doing this?
   
• What is the business issue or need that is really driving this project? Is this a symptom of a deeper or bigger issue? What learning has already occurred?
  
• Who will be impacted by this research? Who will use the results? for what purpose? Who else has a stake in the results? What matters to them?

Once we are clearer as to the why's, what's, and who's, we can agree on the How's of

• Design (e.g., is a survey really the right tool or are we still at the "we don't know what we know" phase so focus groups are the best first step?)
• Question-development (e.g., are we concerned about customer acquisition or retention questions or both?)
• Data collection (e.g., is an online survey the best vehicle for this audience? Who is NOT represented if we focus on only your Facebook audience?)
• Analysis (e.g., is our sample large enough for desired subgroup comparisons? Are we trying to make inferences to a larger population?)
• Reporting (e.g., do we need a top-line report only or a is a workshop with managers necessary to discuss sensitive results?)
   

We believe emphasis on the why's, what's, and who's ensures that the right how's are implemented.  If we understand you better, we can help you better understand...

 SIKORA ASSOCIATES, LLC 

Helping organizations understand...