Matt Close, Author at QRCA

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

May 26, 2026 0

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. […]

Leveraging AI to Recruit Qualitative Research Respondents

May 26, 2026 0

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. […]

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

May 26, 2026 0

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. […]

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

May 26, 2026 0

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. […]

The Moderator Reimagined: Lessons from a Season Away

April 27, 2026 0

Veteran moderator Judithe Andre draws on her experience as a national board-certified health & well-being coach and wellness studio operator to reimagine what it means to listen. In this reflective, practice-focused article, she explores how motivational interviewing, mindfulness, and behavioral science can strengthen qualitative research. Her integrated approach—what she calls Moderator Methodology—offers a roadmap for researchers seeking to balance presence with precision, empathy with insight, and human care with analytical rigor. […]

Why AI-Moderated Surveys are a Qualitative Opportunity

April 27, 2026 0

Traditional surveys? They’re overdue for reinvention. Data quality is slipping, participants are disengaged, and rigid formats no longer reflect how people actually express themselves today. With qual-infused-quant, we can bring back what was missing all along—empathy, rapport, and human connection. Discover how adding a qualitative dimension can transform quantitative research into something more engaging, enabling, and exploratory. […]

FROM SKIN TO SELF: BEAUTY BEYOND GENDER

April 27, 2026 0

Globally, genderless beauty and semiotic design are reshaping the cultural meaning of skincare. Moving beyond traditional gendered marketing, it reveals how emerging visual codes, materials, and color systems invite consumers to express identity with greater fluidity and authenticity. Discover how semiotics, shifting aesthetics, and Gen Z and Gen Alpha are driving a more fluid, expressive, and value-driven beauty landscape. […]

Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering

April 27, 2026 0

Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders and the Rise of Social Engineering is Malcolm Gladwell’s thought-provoking follow-up to The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. In it, he explores how small, often hidden changes made by those in power can shape behavior and drive social outcomes. Gladwell argues that we all share responsibility for ensuring these forces are used in ways that support—not undermine—our democracy. […]

“Buen Camino” to Our Milestone Pilgrimage–85 Miles of Learning and Reflecting from the Camino de Santiago

December 19, 2025 0

Two seasoned qualitative researchers turn an 85-mile journey on Spain’s Camino de Santiago into a powerful lens on reflection, connection, and the craft of insight. Blending ancient pilgrimage traditions with modern research sensibilities, they uncover lessons about traveling light—both physically and mentally. Their week-long trek is a story of movement, meaning, and the surprising clarity that emerges when we step away to walk with intention. […]

Demystifying Pricing Research

December 19, 2025 0

Most companies set prices by looking at history, or even key competitors, and hope for the best. But a price that is set too low leaves revenue behind, while a price set too high risks rejection and share loss. This article shows how blending qualitative insights with quantitative tools reveals the attributes that can justify a premium, reduce resistance, and keep pricing decisions grounded in customer reality. […]