Market information that actually helps
In November 2008 we were invited to present a short series of master-class lectures at Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Sweden. Why? Because we think the same things. This quote from one of their published papers* illustrates our approach perfectly:
“Data and information are two separate entities. Data is un-interpreted information, something machines send to each other, or something we have sensed but not yet realised, or have not understood the meaning of.
If data is not meaningful, in the context at the time, it does not provide information and is not helpful or useful. One way of making the transition from data to information easier is to “translate” it or present it in a way that we can understand and use.”*
This is the reason we always comment on our research results, offering conclusions and recommendations as well as the fact of the findings.
“Information that is used often, or must be found quickly, must be directly and quickly accessible. Finding the information you need should not be difficult.”*
That’s why we always include a Management Summary with every report we write, presenting the key details of the project and all the most important findings in no more than two pages to get anyone up to speed with the key facts of the project, whether they were involved in it or not.
“It should be possible to present pieces of information that need to be combined in connection with each other.”*
If your research agency can’t do that, or doesn’t see that as part of the project, maybe it’s time to give GRS a call. Good research is more than just opinions or statistics. Sometimes it’s both. One of the papers we presented was about exactly the problem of interpretation, in this case, the problems that can happen when statistics are thought of as objective fact. Sometimes they are statistics about subjective events. Does that make them qualitative or quantitative information? Objective or subjective? Relevant or useless?
As ever, it depends what you’re trying to do. And what you want to know. If would like to discuss these kinds of issues, then give GRS a call today. We can help.
(*Source: Chalmers ISSN 1854-1820-4, Asst. Prof. Lutzhoft)
