Editor's note: Kathryn Korostoff is president of Research Rockstar, a Westborough, Mass., online and offline research training firm. This article appeared in the August 23, 2010, edition of Quirk's e-newsletter.
In the market research space, there is no shortage of blogs. Of the many fine research-related blogs, I have selected 10 that stand out based on consistently producing thought-provoking, content-rich, relevant material.
Now, in choosing my top 10, I confess some biases. I prefer blogs that meet these criteria: they focus on honest information sharing, less so on self-promotion; they generally avoid lengthy personal anecdotes or unrelated musings (as entertaining as they may be); they have a fairly consistent and frequent publishing schedule; and they truly focus on market research (for the purposes of this top 10 list, I am not including those blogs that equally mix in general marketing topics).
So apologies, if you feel I left out your favorite blog - the reason is probably one of the above.
The top 10
Vovici's Voice of Vovici blog (http://blog.vovici.com/blog)
The most consistently content-rich blog of all is Vovici's Voice of Vovici blog, authored by Jeffrey Henning (on Twitter as @JHenning). Henning delivers a consistent stream of educational, well-researched articles, often providing useful links to additional sources. His observations of market research trends, and their relative strengths and shortcomings, are obviously based on plenty of experience. My favorite posts from this blog are the ones where Henning addresses market research sacred cows; a favorite post along these lines is "Employee Satisfaction & Stock Performance."
Ray Poynter's blog (http://thefutureplace.typepad.com)
All professional market researchers should read Ray Poynter's blog. Poynter is never afraid to turn a constructively critical eye on market research topics, and he will keep you informed of the most current insider debates. His recent series of TARSK (things all researchers should know) items have been both educational and, well, brain-tweaking. My favorite so far is the one on inattentional blindness, with an amazing video accompaniment (I confess, I failed!). The author is on Twitter as @RayPoynter.
Conversition's blog (www.conversition.com/blog)
Conversition's blog is a must-read for anyone interested in using social media in market research. While written by a company that sells social media-centric research services, it is very well-grounded, non-salesy and equally points out social media research's limitations and best practices. One of the authors, Chief Research Officer Annie Pettit, also blogs at her personal blog LoveStats (http://lovestats.wordpress.com), where she addresses quantitative research and industry trends and ribs the market research community (@LoveStats is also her Twitter name).
Temkin Group's Customer Experience Matters blog (http://experiencematters.wordpress.com)
Formerly of Forrester, Bruce Temkin is a widely-recognized expert on customer experience. One could argue the blog is not strictly market research, but I think that's just semantics. Temkin analyzes trends in customer experience strategy, reports case studies of how companies implement customer experience programs and analyzes the results of customer experience efforts.
Joel Rubinson's ARF blog (www.thearf.org/assets/rubinson-blog)
Joel Rubinson, former chief research officer of the Advertising Research Foundation, writes a blog full of thought-provoking content. To be precise, his blog posts are often about marketing - not specifically market research - but I justify the deviation from my stated top 10 criteria because he looks at marketing like a researcher: very analytical, very objective. Besides, who can resist articles with titles like "Does your brand have a cold wet nose?"
Tom Ewing's Blackbeard blog (http://blackbeardblog.tumblr.com)
Tom Ewing posts delightfully irreverent commentary on market research topics, often poking fun of how researchers themselves discuss research. Researchers should read this blog to keep themselves honest. I also enjoy Ewing's Twitter feed (@tomewing).
PluggedIN's MROC blog (www.pluggedinco.com/blog)
From the folks at PluggedIN comes a blog about MROCs (market research online communities), mixing practical insights with creative ideas. Any client- or provider-side researcher even thinking about online research communities should read this blog. An added bonus: The authors aren't shy about using humor to hook you. Indeed, a recent post titled, "PluggedIN introduces 120 Minute Research Communities," was a ruse to get you to read about the risks of overhyping community-based research. They tricked me!
InSites Consulting's blog (www.insites.eu)
The blog from InSites Consulting is also important to the market research community. Content covers market research trends, best practices and occasional sharing of research results. For example, a June 2010 article had some fascinating tidbits about how consumers leverage social media sites for health-related answers. InSites Consulting is also home of Tom De Ruyck, whom I follow on Twitter (@tomderuyck).
Tom Weber's BrandSavant blog (http://brandsavant.com)
Tom Weber mixes market research trends with social media reality-checking. A recent favorite of mine was "What You're Missing By Measuring Social Media ROI Online." He's another blogger I follow on Twitter (@webby2001).
Diane Hagglund's Dimensional Research blog (www.dimensionalresearch.com/blog)
For practical, informed guidance on market research best practices, I recommend Diane Hagglund's blog. The founder of Dimensional Research, she has a flair for making market research incredibly approachable. As a bonus, she isn't afraid to point out common research mistakes.
Honorable mentions
Picking only 10 blogs for this list was painful. So I am comforting myself by also sharing some fantastic honorable mentions. Honorable mentions go to some favorite blogs that are truly excellent, but either publish sporadically, cover items far beyond market research or just couldn't quite be squeezed into the top 10.
MR heretic's Market Research Deathwatch blog (www.mrheretic.com)
First, don't you just love the word heretic? Consistent with the name, the blog posts fresh, unforgiving looks at market research. My only complaint: I wish this anonymous marvel posted more often. From a recent post, "You killed market research when you mistook information for understanding." Fantastic.
Bad Research; No Biscuit (http://researchrants.wordpress.com)
This is another anonymous blog. This obviously-experienced researcher posts wonderful critiques of online questionnaires and related topics. I don't know who this person is, but I think the blog is great. I especially love the screenshots from actual surveys so that we can all ridicule the bad research together. My only beef: S/he does not post often enough. Bad blogger; no cookie.
Nigel Hollis' Straight Talk blog (http://blogstraighttalk.blogspot.com)
Nigel Hollis, chief global analyst at Millward Brown, writes a wonderfully thoughtful blog. I especially enjoy his critiques of market research trends (he seems to enjoy taking a topic that is getting a lot of buzz and dissecting it). He often blogs more about marketing than research, but it's always a worthwhile read.
Dan Womack's blog (http://womackinsight.com)
This one is a rare find - a client-side research blog! When he does find time to blog, his posts are always relevant, timely and constructive - providing a reality check for all researchers. A witty writer, Womack doesn't shy away from catchy blog titles like "If Surveys Were More Like Colonoscopies."
Discovery Research Group's The Landmark blog (www.discoveryresearchgroup.com/landmark)
Authored by Vaughn Mordecai (on Twitter as @discores), The Landmark often blends amusing anecdotes to make points about market research a little more human. I particularly enjoyed a recent post that asks, "If (Insert Your Company Here) were a band, a musician, or a musical group, who would it be and why," and then lists some mind-tweaking answer options.
Margaret Roller's Research Design Review blog (http://researchdesignreview.com)
I only recently started reading Margaret Roller's Research Design Review blog and have found her to be a great, grounded source for getting the most out of market research projects. I have especially enjoyed her articles on qualitative research issues. She is also on Twitter as @MargaretRoller.
Katie Harris's Zebra Bites blog (http://zebrabites.com)
Zebra Bites by Katie Harris (on Twitter as @zebrabites) covers emerging research trends and best practices, with a focus on qualitative research. I also like her format: She tends to post short pieces that make a strong observation and then asks the important questions.
Gordon & McCallum's Research.Opinionated.Insightful blog (http://gordonandmccallum.wordpress.com)
I also recently began reading some great articles about research and the business of research on Research.Opinionated.Insightful, a blog kept by Alastair Gordon and David McCallum - wish they wrote more often!