Real Research: The Market Research Podcast

This episode provides a comprehensive guide to creating impactful online surveys. Starting with establishing clear objectives, you will learn how to build a hierarchical structure that aligns questions with research objectives without overwhelming respondents. Matt Hilburn will lead a discussion of best practices for questionnaire writing, including avoiding biases, question randomization, survey flow, and more. He will also discuss the role of open-ended questions in an online survey. Matt will discuss survey analysis plans and teach you how to develop surveys with the end in mind, ensuring each variable needed for any modeling is the correct data type and structure. You will learn to rigorously review your survey against the objectives to prevent scope creep and ensure every question is purposeful. Programmatic issues such as effective screener questions and setting quotas will also be discussed. Finally, he will review proper survey quality checks, including value recoding, spell checking, and pre-testing the survey to identify and correct potential issues before deployment. By the end of this episode, you will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to design concise, effective, and engaging online surveys that yield reliable data for your research project. Matt Hilburn is a freelance marketing research statistician that has worked in marketing research for 15 years. He holds a Master of Statistics in Econometrics and a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Business. Matt has a passion for translating technical findings into everyday language for informed decision making. He enjoys the full market research process and has used advanced analytics to conduct large scale projects and provide data-centric reports to executives of Fortune 100 companies down to the smallest non-profits. Matt’s passion for research design lends itself well to both qualitative and quantitative research. Matt has also been an instructor at the University of Utah Business School and a developer of many data analytics courses and certificates.

Bryan Orme, President of Sawtooth Software, and James Pitcher, Global Marketing Science Brand Practice Lead at GfK/NIQ take an expansive dive into price sensitivity measurement using conjoint analysis. Topics include: • How many choice tasks are necessary for pricing research • Display strategies for consumer packaged good research • Tips and tricks for handling complicated pricing schemes • Discussion of different approaches to calculating price sensitivity and reporting suggestions They also share some real results comparing conjoint studies with sales data. Bryan Orme is the president of Sawtooth Software. He is the recipient of the American Marketing Association’s Charles Coolidge Parlin Award. He has published over one-hundred articles and white papers on conjoint analysis and related methods. He also authored the book Getting Started with Conjoint Analysis and co-authored the books Becoming an Expert in Conjoint Analysis and Applied MaxDiff. Bryan has also served as an ad hoc reviewer for the Journal of Marketing Research. James Pitcher leads GfK/NIQ’s Global Marketing Science Brand Practice, crafting innovative analytical solutions to better measure the health of brands. He has spent over 15 years providing statistical advice and consultancy within the Market Research industry, working with clients across many different sectors and regions. James is an expert in conjoint analysis, brand research, pricing, consumer segmentation, and a wide range of multivariate techniques.

Inspiring data-driven action—it's what every applied researcher strives for. But how do you achieve it? From choosing the right data visualizations to framing your narrative effectively, every decision matters in ensuring your research resonates and prompts stakeholders to act. As a former consultant and current research director at Red House Communications, Anna Dragotta will share a number of tried-and-true strategies for communicating research in a compelling and impactful manner. Anna Dragotta, PhD, SHRM-SCP is a highly versatile consulting and analytics professional with 15 years of experience in executing start-to-end mixed methods research. She combines expertise in behavioral science, data and people analytics, and qualitative research and has helped numerous organizations set and achieve strategic goals through the use of data. She has worked with organizations both big and small across a range of industries—some of her more well-known clients include Credit Karma, CrowdStrike, Clif Bar, Environmental Sciences Associates, and more. Anna is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands with an M.S. in Applied Social Psychology. She also earned an M.S. in Social Psychology and a dual Ph.D. in Social and Biological-Health Psychology with a Minor in Quantitative Research Methodology from the University of Pittsburgh.

In this presentation Chris Moore, Head of Data Science & Advanced Analytics at Ipsos UK, will cover SKU-Based Conjoint. SKU-Based Conjoint involves presenting respondents with numerous products 'Stock Keeping Units (SKUs)' at different price points. In contrast to typical conjoints, the product concept is fixed and refers to existing (or close to launch) products. This design is best suited for pricing research. However, the complexity arises from the number of SKU, leading to lengthy surveys that can overwhelm respondents. This can result in decreased data quality and unreliable insights. The session will present an overview of previous foundational research in the area and recommendations for some of the best practices in areas such as selection bias, nested simulations, data augmentation and modeling the price function. Chris has spent over 25 years working in the Market research industry conducting advanced analytics. He is the Head of the Data Science & Advanced Analytics Transversal at Ipsos in the UK, which includes more than 130 analysts, statistician, and data scientists/engineers. He has a diverse role working across the business, both with the specialist analytics teams as well as the client service teams. Chris is a prominent figure in the global choice modelling community, having presented at numerous conferences over the last decade. This has included Sawtooth Software conferences (2010, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2024), European Sawtooth/SKIM conferences (2010, 2013, 2016, 2020) and other events such as New MR (2021) and Quirks (2020).

In this insightful episode of The Real Research Podcast, host Aaron Hill "talks story" with longtime friends and brilliant minds from Universal Destinations & Experiences: Jennifer Avery, SVP of Strategy, and Laura Dulude, Assistant Director of Global Strategy. Together, they unpack what it really takes to do impactful research in the high-stakes world of theme parks—where data isn't just collected, it's lived. Jennifer and Laura share their unique journeys into Universal, the culture of doing research in-house rather than outsourcing, and why subject matter expertise is crucial—especially in the niche world of themed entertainment. They discuss how hybrid work has changed the research game, the complexity of data interpretation, and why not all research is worth doing (yes, even if a C-suite exec asks for it). From managing bias and building internal trust to the "social labor" of research, this episode pulls back the curtain on how strategic insights really shape magical experiences—and how the right questions matter more than the right answers. Tune in to learn: Why Universal keeps its research in-house How data can take on a life of its own The myth of the “rational decision-maker” How curiosity beats fandom in great researchers Why sometimes the best research advice is: don’t do it

In this episode of Real Research, host Aaron Hill dives deep into the decade-long research journey that helped bring Epic Universe, Universal Orlando’s newest theme park, to life. Joined by Universal's strategic minds Jennifer Avery and Laura Dulude, listeners get a rare behind-the-scenes look at the planning, insights, and tough decisions that paved the way for this industry-shaping project. Jennifer and Laura share how research supported the early business case, guided strategic IP selection, and shaped the overall creative direction. From competitive positioning against Disney to exploring innovative concepts like augmented and virtual reality experiences, no idea was off the table. In the end, guest demand for deeply immersive, IP-driven lands won out—and Epic Universe was born. This episode reveals not only how long-term research can drive billion-dollar decisions, but also how teams balance creative vision with data, budget realities, and future-proofing strategy for the next decade of themed entertainment. Tune in to learn: How research influenced the vision and scope of Epic Universe The strategic decision-making behind launching a third gate Why Universal tests even “obvious” ideas before execution The balance between creative freedom and research-driven validation What’s next in Universal’s global expansion pipeline