Travelwise

Kenya’s Calling: Reflecting on Returning, a Journey for Learning

This article reflects on returning to Kenya after more than a decade through the perspective of a qualitative researcher preparing to lead a study abroad field program. Blending personal experience with pedagogical insight, it examines how Kenya’s conservation efforts, community-based tourism, and cultural preservation practices have evolved over time. The piece highlights how qualitative inquiry—through reflection, listening, and positionality—helps students engage ethically with new cultural and natural environments. […]

Toolbox

Leveraging AI to Recruit Qualitative Research Respondents

When traditional methods fall short in finding hard-to-reach qualitative research participants, AI-powered social media ad campaigns can offer a highly effective alternative. These campaigns use AI to target recruits based on specific behaviors and interests across multiple online platforms, as well as help optimize ad visuals, copy, and delivery to boost engagement and reduce cost. Author Tami Wloch shares that a thoughtful, human-guided approach—supported by AI—can deliver efficient, accurate results, helping researchers recruit for qual studies. […]

Book Reviews

Ask: Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You for Unexpected Breakthroughs in Leadership and Life

Jeff Wetzler’s Ask argues that significant insights, better decision-making, and stronger relationships are often hidden in the unspoken thoughts, feelings, and knowledge of the people around us. His book provides a practical, step-by-step framework—The Ask Approach—to effectively uncover this “hidden wisdom” in both personal and professional settings. […]

Schools of Thought

Thinking Like a Business: Four Strategies to Translate Research into Business Value

Author Josh LaMar offers a practical framework for translating research insights into measurable business outcomes. Using Jay Abraham’s Three Ways to Grow a Business and the author’s own Three Lenses of Strategy, it outlines four actionable strategies that connect research to revenue growth, pricing power, customer retention, and cost reduction. Whether you work in user experience, market research, or product strategy, you’ll learn how to position your findings in terms business leaders understand—making your work more impactful and your role more indispensable. […]