"Once again I would like to reiterate how incredibly impressed I was with your team on the survey you designed.
This professionalism extended to all stages of the project -- from the beginning, where you had the courage and respectful persuasiveness to convince me to use a different channel than I had planned, to the follow-up, which extended well beyond the contracted relationship."
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Custom Research
Research Design
Sample Selection
Participant Recruitment
Data Collection
Data Analysis
Reporting
Presentation
Research DesignWe have found that the most important step in the research process is to clearly understand client needs. Karlamar Associates will work closely with your organization to fully grasp your business situation, understand your research objectives and then select the right set of tools to deliver the information that you require. This enables us to present the results of the study in the context of the your business, making the results both meaningful and actionable. Sample Size and Selection We will need to understand who you want to study, in order to identify and prepare a representative sample of this population. The size of this sample effects how well the population is represented in the results. Sample size trade-offs are often made based on how the results will be used, available budget, time contraints, the degree of precision required, response rates and access to qualified participants.
Depending on the desired demographics, likely sources of contact are identified. These sources range from customer contact lists, to published business listings. We take care to find the best source of qualified participants. Contact may be made through targeted email by the official list owner, through direct mail, or by telephone via a tele-recruitment house.
Participant Recruitment We feel strongly that pre-recruitment is required before most surveys or interviews to ensure that the sample of respondents adequately represents the demographics required by the study. Participants need to be screened prior to surveying to ensure that relevant sub-groups within the population are adequately represented, and there is a higher likelihood that the respondents are truly who they say they are. We do not advocate the use of general use online panels, since participant demographics are often not verified and it is unknown whether the participants are who they represent themselves to be and that they are not "professional" survey takers. Data Collection There are many ways to conduct surveys and collect data, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. For instance, data can be collected in face-to-face meetings or via telephone, mail, e-mail, or web-based surveys.
The choice of method often depends on
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the client's timeframe and/or project budget
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the respondent's access to the Internet or e-mail
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the respondent's level of literacy
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the respondent's comfort level with various survey tools
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the respondent's desire for anonymity
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the respondent's sensitivity to specific topics.
Data Analysis
Some say that, "Market Research Data Analysis is a blend of statistics, psychology, information technology and art... there is a need to manage the blending of these disciplines in order to develop and organize a complete analysis of the data that satisfies the information requirements of the project." We agree and feel strongly that the analysis and communication of findings is key to the success of any market research project.
Reporting
Once the analysis has been performed, it is important to communicate the results in a timely manner and client useable form. Our reports are structured such that information is concise, and easy to read, understand and apply. You can quickly find what you are looking for in our reports since they are written with the reader in mind.
Presentation
We will be more than happy to develop a custom presentation for your use in communicating the results of the research to others within or external to your organization. We believe that the knowledge should be formatted such that it can be easily shared with and understood by others.
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