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Welcome to “On the Wild Side of Research”. In this month’s
newsletter, I discuss expectations and how to make sure they
don't get in the way of interpreting research results.
Happy Spring,
Carol
Carol Monaco
President
Great Expectations
I recently saw Wicked, a musical about the Wicked
Witch of the West and the goings on behind the story of
The Wizard of Oz. In it, we learn there’s more to
the story—how the Wicked Witch came to be viewed as
‘wicked’ and whether Glinda is really a ‘good witch’. It
challenges our perceptions of the popular story and our
expectations of a ‘Wicked’ Witch and is highly
entertaining as well. See it, and I guarantee you will
never look at The Wizard of Oz in quite the same
way.
As I was reflecting on the musical, I thought about
expectations and how they apply to research results.
Everyone brings a set of expectations to most
research—that participants will like or dislike the
product or service, that people make buying decisions
for this product based solely on price, that there are
no true competitors to this product, that people in a
certain job description, income bracket, age, geographic
location, etc. act in a certain way--well, I could go on
and on, but you get the picture.
If you’re not very careful, expectations about how the
research will turn out can color the interpretation of
your data. Before conducting your next research
project, ask yourself, “What are your expectations of
participants’ answers? Like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz,
do you expect the witch to be wicked and therefore
conclude that she is? Or, are you truly open to
having your expectations and perceptions rattled?”
Here are a few suggestions on how to avoid the
expectation trap:
- Write down your expectations ahead of time.
Seeing them in writing will help you become more
aware of them and allow you to remain more
objective.
- Ask the right questions. Ask yourself
what else you might have asked if you knew your
expectations were wrong.
- Ask enough questions. Have you probed in
enough detail? Or do you just accept that Glinda is
good because she's pretty, nicely dressed and
travels in a bubble (at least she didn't pay $3 a
gallon for gas), without delving further?
- Spend some time challenging your conclusions.
Look at the expectations that you wrote down at the
beginning of the project and ask yourself if the
conclusions are in line with them or not. And if
they are, make sure you are vigilant in poking at
the results to ensure that your conclusions stand
up.
- Track your expectations over time. When
doing similar projects or projects in similar
markets, look back at old expectations. Are you
bringing the same expectations to this project? If
so, how can you overcome that?
Using these suggestions and making yourself aware of
your expectations will ensure your research project is
truly objective, which after all, is one of the goals of
good research. Nearly everyone has some expectations
when conducting research, but bringing them into your
awareness will ensure that they don’t influence your
research results.
Do you have comments on this article?
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