Use games for better research

Games are an effective way to get participants more engaged in market research. For example, playing “two truths and a lie” (where each participant says two true statements and a false one about themselves, and others have to guess which one is false) is a great ice-breaker exercise. And role-playing games can provide more candor and deeper insights than direct questions.

At the QRCA Annual Conference (“Keep Qual Human”) last month, I attended a fascinating and inspiring presentation by Oana Popa Rengle from Anamnesis in Romania. She talked about how she creates full board games to use in qualitative research. The story, competition and pure fun of the game gets participants much more involved in the research. They provide greater depth of thought and generate more ideas when playing games. Oana finds games particularly useful for generating insights, and she frequently involves clients in the games as part of a co-creation process.

In addition, participants are more willing to admit to socially unacceptable behaviors when playing a game (they can do so while playing a character that is different from themselves, or perhaps the game rules make it OK to lie in order to achieve a goal). Conversely, games can reward people for more authentic answers, for example, by providing extra points if participants can provide proof of their statements, perhaps by showing photos on their phones.

Games can also be helpful when trying to figure out how much people will pay for something. When we ask people in theory how much they would pay (for example, by giving them a certain number of colored dots), it’s easy for them to spend those dots; they tend to want to pay for all the potential features of a product. But in a game, participants earn currency though their efforts, and they don’t part with it as easily. That helps us understand what people will pay for despite the pain of spending their money.

Consider using games to get deeper insights in your research. I recommend the book Games and Gamification in Market Research by Betty Adamou. In addition, we have partnered with Oana Popa Rengle and can work with you to create games specifically for your research objectives. Call me at 760-469-9266 or email info at bureauwest.com.

Sources: QRCA Annual Conference (“Keep Qual Human”), January, 2020; “2 years of creating boardgames for qualitative research,” Oana Popa Rengle, 12/2/19; Games and Gamification in Market Research, Betty Adamou, 2019