The Yin and Yang of Research Gamification
Bernie Malinoff of Element54 presented on the “Yin and Yang of Gamification” at yesterday’s NetGain 6.0. Here’s a recap:
Most online surveys are boring. Survey grids are toxic for consumers and addictive for researchers. The first step, according to Bernie, is accepting that we have a problem!
In the era of the market research technology space race, there are a lot of shiny new technology toys that are tempting to use. But, says Bernie, it's one thing to embrace new technology; it's another to know how and when to use it.
For example, just because you can design flash question in your survey platform or trick out your survey with gamified questions doesn’t mean you should. When it comes to survey research, we as market researchers are well aware that asking the same question in different ways will result in different answers. In one example from his work, Bernie found 40% variance in answers based solely on how questions were worded. Welcome to the world of multiple realities.
What is a researcher to do? Approach survey gamification from the standpoint of purposeful innovation. Apply game mechanics – or any survey innovation – with a goal in mind. In a study in which he was exploring the effect of question formats on straightlining, Bernie discovered that, by changing a grid question on brand awareness to a flash question and adding in some feedback on whether respondents get the answer right can fully eradicate straightlining.
Gamification, when done right, increases enjoyment and engagement for consumers. But there are tradeoffs:
- Norms: Tracking studies are big business for large research agencies. But all you need to do is blow on a tracker, and the results will change. Do you really want to risk your tracker my introducing new question types? There is a practical reality around the types of surveys in which we can introduce gamification.
- Scalability: Survey programming at large research agencies is designed to be scalable – meaning, not a lot of variability in question and answer types. Gamification requires an investment that can be challenging for many firms to justify. Survey programmers are asked to be creative and think, but at the same time it’s a production process. Getting creative with a survey comes with an operational cost.
Can creativity and scalability co-exist? You can’t replace fundamentals with software. And this goes back to Lenny’s presentation on the future of market research. More creative surveys require more creative thinking from a traditionally analytical profession.
