Trends and News
3/12/14
Societal values in music
We stumbled across the interesting data visualization today, which shows how commonly different words or phrases have appeared in Billboard’s Top 100 songs over the past 50 years or so. As we scroll through the tables, the most obvious pattern is the increase in profanity (described as “foul words”) since 1990. Prior to that era, […]
By Kevin RainesRead More
1/2/14
Online qualitative tools provide more workscope options
Our Corona team has been looking into online qualitative research tools as of late in order to keep up with how various technology platforms can most effectively assist in data collection for our market research work. As you might expect, we have examined both the benefits and drawbacks of different online data collection platforms that […]
By Leo LewisRead More
12/16/13
Increase in giving
Per the IRS, the Federal gift tax is a tax on the right to transfer property from a living person to other persons or trusts. For the latest year available (2011), the Internal Revenue Service reported that 3,040 gift tax returns filed that year listed gifts of $1 million or more (all gifts, including charitable […]
By Kevin RainesRead More
12/9/13
Paying it forward
The other day while working at my local coffee shop I was surprised to learn that someone ahead of me had left extra cash to cover drinks for the next several customers. So, I got my drink free and then chipped in the $5 cash I had to keep the pool going. Perhaps you have […]
By David KennedyRead More
12/5/13
Deciding where to give in the season of giving
As the season of giving approaches many of us start to think about what we can do to make the world a better place, to help those less fortunate than ourselves, to give back or pay it forward. And in addition to undertaking individual acts of kindness, many of us will look to nonprofit organizations […]
By Beth MulliganRead More
12/3/13
The United [Fill in the Blank] of America
The United Watersheds of America? The United Ancestral History of America? The United Federal Reserve Districts of America? Or as our own Kevin Raines has redrawn the map, The United Equal Population States of America? Redrawing the United States of America (as well as other maps) has become increasingly popular. Is this solely due to […]
By David KennedyRead More
11/26/13
Black Friday Fever: Facts and Findings
While I’m a sucker for a good bargain, when it comes to holiday shopping, the idea of venturing out on Black Friday has never sounded appealing to me. Upon researching what’s been called the most hype-filled and the busiest shopping day of the year, I found that in-store sales on the day after Thanksgiving in […]
By Sarah WilliamsRead More
10/30/13
Choosing the Right Research Method: Planes, False Claims and Automobiles
I recently came across an article (which shall remain anonymous) claiming that “focus groups are a thing of the past,” and that Google Trends could better serve anyone considering using a focus group for feedback. I had to laugh. The situation the author used made sense: By using Google Trends, they were able to instantly […]
By Andrew MonroeRead More
8/26/13
Evolutionary vs. Revolutionary
In a recent blog post I wrote about identifying claims full of hype in market research. This got me thinking about evolutionary vs. revolutionary changes we’ve seen and how most really fall into the former. Perhaps it’s no surprise given that all market research works to the same end (i.e., gaining new knowledge) by largely […]
By David KennedyRead More
8/19/13
Making the Most of Our Money
Scientists and researchers like to think that if our leaders would only stick to the facts, the data would make many of our hard decisions for us. Unfortunately, some of the most contentious debates don’t hinge solely on facts – sometimes because of insufficient data, sometimes because values are at play. However, data has a […]
By Beth MulliganRead More