DIGITAL METHODOLOGIES ENHANCING UNDERSTANDING
We support on-line engagement with people, whether local or spread far and wide, through our partnerships with some exceptional digital research providers. The "new" methodologies can be less expensive, faster, and more immediate than more orthodox f2f approaches, but they should always be seen in the context of the project deliverables and may be best suited as a complement rather than as a direct replacement.
Digital methodologies do come into their own where project logistics are challenging and where people would benefit from having time to deliberate their views and responses. And, of course, subject areas that are complex or personal fit well too. However, the main power of on-line activity is a creative one. A suitably designed on-line qualitative environment can provide the very best in creative dialogue between project stakeholder and respondents and/or amongst the protagonists themselves, whether in user-generated discussions (with no fixed choreography) or through self-ethnography (where people simply chart their behaviour, feelings, and intentions at a point in time).
And yet, in all of this, we do not regard on-line research as an end in itself. Even the most spontaneous and crowd-sourced views need to be understood and synthesised. And it in this regards where we continue to excel.
We support on-line engagement with people, whether local or spread far and wide, through our partnerships with some exceptional digital research providers. The "new" methodologies can be less expensive, faster, and more immediate than more orthodox f2f approaches, but they should always be seen in the context of the project deliverables and may be best suited as a complement rather than as a direct replacement.
Digital methodologies do come into their own where project logistics are challenging and where people would benefit from having time to deliberate their views and responses. And, of course, subject areas that are complex or personal fit well too. However, the main power of on-line activity is a creative one. A suitably designed on-line qualitative environment can provide the very best in creative dialogue between project stakeholder and respondents and/or amongst the protagonists themselves, whether in user-generated discussions (with no fixed choreography) or through self-ethnography (where people simply chart their behaviour, feelings, and intentions at a point in time).
And yet, in all of this, we do not regard on-line research as an end in itself. Even the most spontaneous and crowd-sourced views need to be understood and synthesised. And it in this regards where we continue to excel.