Which of these research nightmares is the scariest?

This week from Pumpkin Nerds: We "unmask" professional scouts, dish about best and worst Halloween candy, and demystify spooky sample sizes

Don't fear the "professional" participant It's a dark and stormy night. You're analyzing answers from your participants and they're...they're...POLISHED AND THOUGHTFUL 😱 While many of us scream, "BIAS," seasoned panelists aren't as scary as you'd think. They can even be beneficial to your research.   AHHHHH! This week's community poll Answer with a click this week, see the results in next week's newsletter.   Which research nightmare would be the scariest to confront? 1. Research wraps and the team has already moved on with a decision. 2. An urgent research request sent with an impossible-to-meet deadline. 3. Participant no-shows derail the project timeline. 4. Research share out with low attendance and participation. 5. An over-involved stakeholder (with a limited understanding of research). Spooky scary sample sizes Perhaps the scariest question in all of qual, "Can we be sure? You only spoke with ten people." Sample sizes are nothing to be afraid of. By matching the right approach to the ideal number of participants you can still draw conclusions. Plus, there's always room for follow-up research.   IT WAS A GRAVEYARD SMASH I want candy 🎵 A "highs and lows" approach is a useful strategy for product testing. Asking participants to share their favorite or least favorite moments with your product is a great way to narrow in on faults and successes. To showcase this technique, we asked participants to share their polarizing opinions on Halloween candy.   CANDY CORN? YAY OR NAY? Trying times for Almond Joys Almond Joy lovers...beware. In the research we conducted above, this coconut treat left many participants not disappointed, but enraged.    Do Almond Joys really deserve this backlash? Shoot us a reply and tell us why you think this candy should be cherished, not trashed.  More we're discussing Make your qual analysis quicker and more efficient—try organizing your findings with crosstabs.     UX all-stars Amanda Stockwell, Kelly Price, and Nikki Anderson-Stainer discuss getting started in UX and growing your career. What we're hearing How Rina Kim made her Mr. Potatohead costume the best "user experience" possible.    Josefina Blattmann breaks down how to add some Halloween spirit to your products.  dscout is a company composed of People Nerds working to make context-rich human insight an everyday habit across organizations. The dscout platform—Diary, Live, Recruit, and Express—enables remote qualitative research that brings researchers into the moments experienced and shared by real people. Curious about the platform or working with dscout? Talk to an account executive.  dscout, 222 North LaSalle St. Suite 650, Chicago, Illinois 60601, (312) 880-9715 Unsubscribe Manage preferences