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The Duchess: You're thinking about something, my dear,
and that makes you forget to talk.
I can't tell you just now what the moral of that is,
but I shall remember it in a bit
Alice: Perhaps it hasn't one.
The Duchess: Tut, tut, child!
Everything's got a moral, if only you can find it.
Market research, social and developmental research, ethnography, technology and innovation...
I hate labels - with time, I am beginning to hate them all the more... Qualitative research is what I do... However, 'qualitative researcher' does not describe me entirely. Ethnographer. Blogger. Photographer. Parts, not the whole. I have been in the field of consumer research for ten years now. Seems such a long time...
Till recently, I was working in one of the largest usability research and design testing companies in the world in their newly set up contextual innovations team. In contextual innovation, we provide research support for business innovation in emerging markets using ethnography combined with other suitably modified qualitative user research methods.
Now, as an independent consultant, I work under the name 'indsight' - since my work revolves around understanding and interpreting India - markets, consumers, culture, society, consumer behaviour, psyche... in all their complexities. I also work as an external consultant with a small market research agency providing research support to them on strategic research work.
I blog about design and innovation and technology and qualitative research happenings here at MindSpace
"Methods is as methods does"
I am a researcher by profession; I suppose having a naturally inquisitive mind helps! And after years of training and experience, I cannot let a statement or new idea pass by without wanting to get deeper into it.... The same goes for people - what makes them tick? How are people across cultures different? And how are they similar? What do they like and dislike? Why do they say what they do? Why do they buy what they do? As a market researcher, these are a few questions I try to answer for my clients.
My forte is qualitative research which means that I use largely qualitative methods in my work although I am always an enthusiastic proponent of the tenet "methods is as methods does"... I believe that the priority is to provide the client with research findings and insights aimed at decision-making. "How" is only a small part of the whole deal...
Which means that I am getting more and more interested in exploring new research techniques such as ethnography, story-telling, observations, participant research and so on. Market research in India is very exciting, given the fact that India is an evolving market and there is always something new happening. And the best part of my work is the fact that I am always working on something new and different all the time... food and beverages to skin care products to banking and insurance to engine oils to photographic films to contraceptives to automobiles and paints...
It has been close to ten years now... the journey has been exciting and continues to be so...