Making social media part of basic research

It begins with basic research. At the start of every research initiative, we mine the social networks and comb the web to identify the key experts, influencers, and decision-makers, to determine the “edges” of current thinking on a particular topic. Drawing on the latest search technology, we are able to collect, review, and compare recently published articles, papers, and other research on the topic. By doing our homework up front, we ensure that our research programme is fresh and distinctive.

Our alliance with Onalytica, a specialist in web intelligence and sentiment forecasting, enables us to provide a real-time snapshot of the viewpoints, attitudes, and concerns of millions of market influencers, as well as a detailed understanding of the underlying drivers and emerging market trends. These efforts allow us to uncover market shifts and new perspectives not detected through traditional research approaches—helping us craft truly ground-breaking thought leadership.

We engage with our network of thought leaders, experts, executives, influencers, and other stakeholders through a variety of efforts, including blogging and micro-blogging, interactive forums, and spot-polling to gather insights, perspectives, and opinions that critically shape our research. This allows us to take advantage of the interactive nature of social media—engaging respondents in multi-party conversation that supports and adds weight to the quantitative aspects of our research.