Researcher or Parent…You're Still Lame

Parent or researcher…it can be the same thankless job.

Kids want to eat junk food and hardly sleep.

As parents, we know that they need to eat healthy foods and get plenty of sleep so that they can concentrate in school, grow their brains and muscles, and generally achieve a healthier state of being.

And when we do this, our kids say, “Hey, that’s great advice; thanks so much for looking out for me!”

I mean, when we do this, our kids say, “No fair! You’re mean! We will not eat these cold green beans.” [It rhymes if you chant it.]

Do our kids express appreciation and gratitude?

HA!

Again, I say HA!

Sometimes we find ourselves in the same thankless role as researchers, such as when...

• Clients want to use qualitative data to generalize to overall populations.
• Clients want to believe that opt-in surveys are representative of all customers.
• Clients want to think that they can field meaningful 85-question surveys, squeeze the views of 15 people into a 90-minute focus group, and conduct valid research on their own employees.

"Vegetables?!? LAME!"

When clients make questionable decisions, it’s the researcher’s job to look out for their best interests, steer them towards better decisions, and help them understand and embrace alternative options that will ultimately improve their long-term health.

But don’t expect a big hug and an expression of gratitude…at least not immediately.

That only comes later, when the client grows up big and strong, gets interviewed by Oprah, and asserts, “I’d like to thank my researcher for making me eat all those green beans!”  

Hey, I can dream.