The question posed to the group of 5 Bloggers this month was: “The survey monkey conundrum:  the upsides, downsides and opportunities for researchers that access to self survey tools creates.” Links to my fellow bloggers Annie Pettit, Joel Rubinson, Josh Mendelsohn and Brandon Bertelsen can be found below.

Ray Poynter used the term “Doing the Monkey” at the recent NetGain Toronto conference, and the larger issue of how “survey independence” is changing the research landscape. The serious side of this topic, is the growing trend of “Do It Yourself” Market Research, spawned by exciting new technology/software, in both the Qualitative and Quantitative fields.

Some have framed this discussion as Research Professionals vs. Non-Professionals, and who should be allowed to have the ‘keys to the car’. Over the past few years, some of my clients have deployed their own proprietary panels, others continue to rely on outside research agencies. There is no right or wrong … rather, just “Good or Bad research”.

In a recent LinkedIn thread posted by Ray Poynter (NewMR – Co-Creating the Future of Market Research), Mark Kupferman (Director of Consumer Insights, Universal Orlando) asked:

• “One has to ask where professional research ends and where “DIY” research begins. If I’m at a company and I do my own research with my own customers and/or with rented panels … am I doing DIY research because I’m not using an external research agency to write the questions and do the analysis? What if I or the people I hire have worked in a professional research firm in the past? And what is it that makes professional researchers better at executing research than an internal team of researchers?”

There is a time and a place for both DIY, and ‘Assisted’ projects … and there is both “Good” and “Bad” research being conducted. I’d encourage you to visit Jeffrey Hennings’ blog at Vovici, who has posted more on this topic than anyone else http://blog.vovici.com/blog/?Tag=Survey%20Monkey including this potential warning:

If you are a Client-Side researcher, Kathryn Korostoff (AKA, Research Rockstar) did an excellent piece summarizing the DIY short-list to ask yourself http://www.researchrockstar.com/diy-or-hire-a-market-research-company/

• Are you confident that you can write a questionnaire such that it will capture information objectively.
• You realistically have time to do the project management in-house
• You have the tools and skills in-house to clean the collected data and analyze it
• You have resources in-house that can report the findings in a way that will be credible to your internal colleagues

If you are a Supplier-Side researcher, stop dissing DIY platforms just because they are “DIY” instead of full service, and focus on evolving a solutions toolbox that gives clients your expertise, in situations where they have reframed the costing model for how you can add value to their decision making (ie – that “full serve” project might now become a consulting mandate). Focus on adding value, helping to develop/build question libraries, conduct advanced statistical analyses of Attitudinal & Behavioral databases, and help those clients establish best practices. This paradigm shift is happening for lots of different reasons, not just economics. Embrace the wave.

If you are a Software Provider, I believe it is time to practice “responsible innovation”. Having led 2 research-on-research studies over the past year (Sexy Questions, Dangerous Results and Eyes Don’t Lie), it’s clear that software developers must re-take the high ground and guide their end-users with how and why to choose different question types. Most researchers lack the Usability experience to guide clients on how/when different question types are best used, and the risks associated with survey layout.

But, at the heart of every good survey is a good question … and we can’t blame software providers when someone just asks a bad question …

Read the other blogs:

• Annie Petit (AKA “LoveStats”) at Conversition Strategies: http://lovestats.wordpress.com/2010/02/14/1-topic-5-blogs-diy-surveys/
• Josh Mendelsohn of Chadwick Martin Bailey http://blog.cmbinfo.com/bid/33687/1-Topic-5-Blogs-Why-market-research-professionals-should-embrace-DIY-Surveys
• Brandon Bertelsen: http://www.bertelsen.ca/market-research/1-topic-5-blogs-diy-surveys
• Joel Rubinson of the ARF: post coming shortly at http://blog.joelrubinson.net/

I learned that Jeffrey Henning (@JHenning) of Vovici and I have something in common – we both have 16 year olds at home. I was recounting a recent story, and decided to share, you know – for the market research implications.

My eldest has been studying hard lately. I was on my way home, and decided to pop into a Pizza place to pick up for him and his friend who was over at our house studying w/him.

Price/Inventory: If you call ahead, a large veggie pizza goes for $7.99. As it turned out, they they had one under the warmer, except that it was missing 2 slices.

Conversation with Pizza Guy:

• Me says: I’ll take that partial large pizza (6 slices) instead of 8 slices … And pay $7.99.
• Pizza dude: sorry, I have to charge you $2.25 per slice (x 6 = $13.50).
• Me says: but I’ll pay you full price for only 75% of that pizza.
• Pizza dude: sorry, if you want a whole pizza –  I can make one for you in 15 minutes.
• Me says: thanks, but sorry dude, gotta go.
  

So how much is 75% of a pizza worth?

Technically, I think he was correct, and I admired his holding the party line on the “pay per slice” take-out-premium-pricing model. Yet, it was an interesting Customer Service experience – since the opportunity to generate a guaranteed $8, and still have another full pie out within 15 minutes (on a not so busy night) was lost.

Mr. Pizza Dude, I will be back again, and might even call ahead next time.