Smartphones Make For Smart Research!

In the past 15 years, the arrival of mobile technology as a common item for consumers and professionals has enabled researchers to explore exciting new ways of gathering information. Research participants can now provide photos and videos as part of in-the-moment research, and results can be viewed almost in real time. Participants can also answer poll questions or complete short surveys from almost anywhere at almost any time.

While mobile devices are a powerful technology for doing research, it requires us to re-think some aspects of how we should be doing things. From our experience, here are a few important considerations for mobile-friendly research:

• Is my questionnaire mobile friendly? How will it look on a small smartphone screen?
• How many open-ended questions do I have? Does my research platform allow for talk-to-text? (Typing a full paragraph on a smartphone keyboard can be tedious!)
• Should I ask respondents to take a short video of themselves? If asking for photos or videos, are the instructions on what should be filmed clear?
• Are respondents allowed to record what I am asking them to record? Could they potentially get in trouble for any reason?
• Am I making it easy for respondents to provide photos or videos to me?
• How will I analyze photo or video submissions?

Advantage Research has experience designing studies for mobile respondents including questionnaire design, structuring video diaries, etc. Reach out to us today to learn how we can leverage mobile technology for your insights needs!