Guiding the next generation: Lessons learned from training thousands of moderators

Naomi R. Henderson

CEO, RIVA

It never occurred to me, in the early 1980s, that I would look back over more than three decades in qualitative research and see metaphorical footprints in the sand; the feet of thousands of researchers who wanted to know more about the art and science of moderating and how to provide clients with actionable results. In nearly every case, these researchers knew that moderating had more in common with art than science.

Qualitative research consultants (QRCs) enjoy the privilege of being allowed into the minds of consumers, doctors, teachers, scientists, those with serious illnesses, felons and every job title possible. We invite them to focus groups, telephone interviews, online events, conference workshops and any other place that immediately becomes a research environment after we introduce ourselves and start asking questions.

What we do as QRCs borrows tools, tips and techniques from disparate sources. Sometimes we are like priests, listening to someone talk about an experience or an emotion while we sit in passive listening mode, working hard not to judge the one speaking. In other cases, we operate as scientists, experimenting with different approaches to solve problems. In yet other situations, we are similar to psychologists, listening to the words but analyzing the root causes of a belief system or a point of view. Sometimes we act like lawyers, stripping away elements of a story to get to facts and the rationales that drive behavior.

How do QRCs learn their craft?

Priests and ministers, along with scientists, psychologists and lawyers, have something in common: they have all been trained in a specific set of guidelines that govern the work they do. They have taken tests, conducted a practicum in front of experts or written a thesis reviewed by masters in their field.

Not every qualitative researcher is trained in a set of rigorous principles or practices. Some learn via the apprentice method, working as a disciple under a trained QRC until deemed trusted to work alone without supervision. There are some qualitative researchers who are self-taught, learning from their mistakes, reading books and articles in the industry and attending conferences and workshops to discuss best practices. A very small set of qualitative researchers are “naturals,” picking up key skills almost by osmosis, intrinsically understanding the best way to talk to strangers and invite them to share below top-of-mind thinking. They have a lot in common with perfect-pitch singers who have had no training. Both are a rare breed.

The qualitative research industry as a whole does not have a body of knowledge in one location or a specific accredited “temple of learning” to produce “graduates of qualitative research.” There are less than 10 institutions of higher learning that offer degrees in market or marketing research. If someone decides to print business cards with their name and the title of moderator or QRC, no one checks to see what, if any, credentials prove that those titles were earned through education or training.

When I started in qualitative research in the late 1970s, I bridged over from quantitative research and learned in the apprentice model, being very lucky that my mentors both held degrees in psychology and sociology. I had to read several books about “the dynamics of groups.” I also attended a plethora of meetings with those mentors, who quizzed me about what I observed as I watched them moderate. The final lessons came when they provided feedback about how I moderated. At some point, I passed the invisible line between acolyte and priest and got the green light to lead groups on my own.

I wanted to be a good qualitative researcher, finding gems and nuggets of information from different kinds of respondents. I wanted to make sure that every study purpose met the requirements of clients and that my reports were actionable. I never aspired to be a trainer of other moderators.

But life serves up opportunities and it is smart to honor those doorways when they open. After attending a workshop in NYC in the early 1980s, positioned as “An Advanced Workshop for Moderators,” I saw a vacuum and set about to fill it. Along with my sister, we met the requirements of having led 100 focus groups. We attended, hoping to find answers to challenges we now faced and looked forward to meeting others like us.

How disappointing to discover that the workshop provided little more than a definition of a process (which we knew by heart) and an ego trip soapbox for the session leader. He spent a lot of the workshop sharing experiences in which he showed up as the hero in every situation.

Every time I brought up a question based on a challenge I had faced, the session leader said some version of, “That isn’t the content of this workshop.” On the train ride home, my sister said, “If you want answers to your questions, you’re going to have to find them somewhere else.” That place turned out to be a request from a client who wanted a training for his staff under this aegis: “We want to be better clients when we hire a moderator so we can get the maximum benefits from the insights generated.”

Having been trained to write public school curriculum while an undergraduate, it didn’t take long to craft a training course that stood on what I knew as best practices. Teaching thousands of researchers since that first course has illuminated the true value of training moderators.

What is the value of training for QRCs?

Qualitative research training is not the rote learning of specific skills or the mastery of certain words. It centers on bringing inherent research skills (e.g., asking good questions/probes) into harmony with individual elements of one’s personality in such a way that the researcher sees him/herself as a tool to reach an outcome.

Qualitative researchers are in partnership with clients who have a desire to know something specific and who hire QRCs to navigate the landscape of respondents’ perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes without judging any answer that comes forth.

To do that, the training of a moderator is not based on learning skills but rather based on learning about one’s self. The end result is not standing on, “See how great I am as a moderator” but, “See how great you are as a respondent who is open and willing to share your thinking with me.” To get to that space, moderator training focuses on these elements shown in Table 1.

Good qualitative researchers in the 21st century are made, not born. After training some of the next generation of moderators, I am thrilled to leave a legacy that includes a written body of knowledge and an awareness that qualitative research techniques are not static. As I move toward retirement, it is very satisfying to look back at those footprints in the sand and know that an army of trained moderators stands ready for any client challenges.