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Summary
During this call, Advancing Research 2021 conference curators invite a special panel of researchers to discuss the future of research. In particular, panelists share their perspectives about the research practice and how they expect the discipline to evolve. To provide additional grounding for our conversation, we discuss, broadly, results from the survey we recently launched, which is designed to learn more about the topics and themes that you, the community, believe will be important to advancing the research and insight industry over the next year. Our esteemed panel of cross-disciplinary researchers, includes: Steve Portigal (Principal Researcher & Rosenfeld Media Author), Dr. Gloria Osardu (Senior Researcher at Amazon), Alba Villamil (Principal Researcher and HmntyCntrd Facilitator) and Sam Ladner (Principal Researcher at Workday). Dr. Jamika Burge (Entrepreneur and Head of Experience Products & Platforms Research at Capital One), one of our AR curators, will be moderating the discussion. Join us!
Key Insights
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Research should be positioned as a strategic decision-making tool rather than merely a service function.
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The pandemic forced a rapid shift to remote research, but the field has yet to collectively process the long-term implications.
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Inclusive research practices require systemic changes in organizations, not just diverse hiring.
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There is a growing need for apprenticeship and community-building within the research profession to support future generations.
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Bridging insights across disciplines like UX research, marketing, and data analytics leads to richer, more impactful narratives.
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Standardization and professional codes of conduct could help address quality and equity concerns in the growing field.
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Research teams must focus on storytelling to translate data into relatable human experiences for stakeholders.
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Equity-centered research must address how tools and methods can unintentionally exclude marginalized groups.
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Researchers face unique challenges such as racist participant interactions and lack of organizational support for aftercare.
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Strategic partnerships within an organization, such as with middle managers acting as connectors, enhance research influence.
Notable Quotes
"The future of research is very much about finding unique value to our clients, stakeholders, and customers — that's where we're at a juncture."
"We've done everything remotely for 18 months, but we haven't really processed collectively what's different beyond tips and tactics."
"Our standard research frameworks and tools are completely inadequate for addressing complex social problems."
"Research is not just to validate what PMs want to test; we're supposed to see problems we haven't seen before."
"Research is kind of the little hub holding design work and design research together."
"The idea that there's a pipeline problem for diversity isn’t supported; our organizations are fundamentally racialized and exclusionary."
"If we believe we are the only ones championing the human experience, we're not doing the right job."
"Effective research influence is a skill, not just a tool, and frameworks like McKinsey's can help us be intentional about it."
"We have a lot of credentialed researchers of color, but the system still creates barriers for them to succeed."
"We need to move from solving tiny problems to being courageous in pulling strategic threads for broader impact."
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