The members of our Ad Hoc research team come from a variety of backgrounds — we are a diverse group of social scientists, designers, and information scientists. In addition to caring deeply about the people who will be using the digital tools our teams build, we are all data mavens, and focus on ensuring our research can be turned into action by ensuring key decisions are based in data. Most of our work is focused on qualitative studies, and we find that there is often a lack of clarity among our stakeholders on the benefits of qualitative versus quantitative data, what methods are appropriate for what kinds of questions, and how different types of data sets can work together to inform design, development, and product roadmaps.

My own background is in anthropological archaeology, and my training included both qualitative, observational methods and quantitative statistical analyses. I’ve used both throughout my career in design and innovation. The key to knowing what methods and approaches to use is to start with the questions. The questions vary at different stages of a project, and in fact the open questions themselves may inform what stage a project is in.

Read my full post on Ad Hoc’s website