I’ve been following an interesting discussion forum started by Ray Poynter  in the NewMR Group on Linked In.  In this forum, about forty or so of us have been debating the usage of MROCs – are they qualitative or quantitative research?  The purists among us (yes, that’s me) stomp our feet and exclaim “Qualitative!” for the polls and surveys run through MROCs have not proven their reliability.  Yet, as this user group discussion suggests, are we entering a new dimension of data collection where there is some blurring of qual/quant?  A new anthropological species?  It’s really no different than what we’ve faced with traditional focus groups (how many voted for that concept?) but on a larger scale.

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Late last week an old colleague of mine – Tamara Barber, Data Analyst at Forrester Research – contacted me and told me that she is writing a research document on how to use social media for listening in a way that adds value to the MR role. I’m looking forward to seeing the piece because since Tamara raised the issue with me, I can’t get it out of my head.

My first reaction is a loose interpretation of the title of this blog – Buyer Beware. Open social media communities like Twitter, Facebook, and blogs (just to name a few) are great places to listen (to use a popular buzz-word), develop hypotheses, and see what some folks think about your brand. However, it’s the next step that introduces the Buyer Beware part of my thinking. At this time there is little defined research logic, order, or rules in the social media world. This makes it difficult – if not impossible at this time – to guarantee the validity or reliability of these findings. (more…)