Podcasts

VIEWS Podcasts: Dresden McBride

Mike Carlon’s latest podcast with Dresden McBride leverages their combined four decades of conducting user research in the financial services industry and is a must-listen for researchers interested in the digital customer experience. Highlights include when and why to leverage instinct and experience over customer opinions, and Dresden’s take on how researchers and designers can work more effectively together. […]

Lauren Isaacson, President, QRCA
From the President

From The President – Spring 2024

Last year, the QRCA Board of Directors approved a fitting celebration of Naomi Henderson’s memory. As part of the team that selected the winners of these awards, the decision was very difficult. Everyone who applied was extraordinary in their own way. I was honored to deliver the awards at the QRCA 2024 annual conference in Denver to Daniel Berkal and Julianna DeMicco. […]

Industry Focus

That Was Then, This Is Now: How Financial Services Product Research Has Evolved in the Past Quarter Century

Mike Carlon takes us back in time to show how product development research in financial services has evolved from solution-focused to customer-focused. Today’s clients are using more agile, iterative explorations, conducted with far less money and time. The article details the essential methods and skills qualitative researchers need to be successful in financial services product research. […]

Travelwise

What I Learned from Guided Tours… as a Traveler and as a Researcher

In this travel reflection, Oana Popa Rengle reevaluates guided tours based on tours she recently took in Sicily and Portugal, drawing parallels between her experiences and qualitative research. Read how the exploration of a unique “spleen sandwich” in Palermo, a visit to a family-owned salt pan in Trapani, and touring Lisbon with locals inspired her approach to qualitative research. […]

color photo headshot of Professor Batja Mesquita in front of a large bookshelf
Luminaries

Professor Batja Mesquita on Culture’s Role in Shaping Emotions and Accounting for Them in Research

Zoë Billington speaks with Professor Batja Mesquita, a pioneer of cultural psychology, about how culture shapes emotion, and how emotions act as powerful tools in relationships. After reading, you may be compelled to rethink if, when, and how to ask participants the very important question, “how did you feel about that?” …and even add on “and what did you do about that?” and “and how did you respond to how that made you feel?” […]

an image of Sigmund Freud psychanalyzing a female patient
Schools of Thought

How Techniques from Psychoanalysis Can Provide Deeper Insights

Darren Harvey draws from his psychoanalytic training to explain how leaning into research participants’ defensive behaviors and anxiety can provide valuable material for understanding their world. When one’s true self is seen, validated, and brought into the space, participants can enjoy a more enriching and satisfying experience, and our clients can net deeper and more meaningful insights from consumers. […]