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From the President
From The President – Winter 2024
BY Jeff Hecker, QRCA PRESIDENT | PRINCIPAL, ATHENA BRAND WISDOM, TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA | jeff.hecker@athenabrand.com […]
Book Reviews
The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t by Julia Galef
Book Reviewer Melanie B. Brewer says that Julia Galef’s book, The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t, makes a strong case that we are hardwired to defend our opinions and stick to our beliefs—and shows how to develop the best possible map of reality. […]
Quant Lens
Synthetic Data: Friend or Foe?
Synthetic data is moving from buzzword to practical helper for qual. This article demystifies what it is (and isn’t), distinguishes spreadsheet-style synthetic datasets from narrative synthetic personas, and shows when to use each—screeners, guide tests, privacy-safe storytelling, and bridging gaps between qual/quant—without replacing live human voices. You’ll get starter use cases, guardrails (seed quality, labeling, sanity checks), a beginner’s playbook, and hybrid workflows so synthetic data lightens the load while real conversations do the delicate listening. […]