Extracting Insights from Research

How to Extract Valuable Insights from Your Research

Reading Results vs. Extracting Insights

It’s vital to differentiate between the mere reading and analysis of results and the profound conclusions and insights that can be drawn from your study.

• Reading and Analysis of Results: This involves delving into the data obtained during your research, describing it in detail.
• Extracting Insights: This goes a step further. It’s about moving beyond the raw numbers and deriving meaningful discoveries from the research. It requires deductions, result analysis, and cross-referencing information.

Here are a few crucial steps to consider:

• Review the research objectives.
• Analyze the results, and cross-reference questions when necessary.
• Explore significant differences.
• Pay attention to the responses in open-ended questions.

Crafting Compelling Insights

To ensure your insights generate attention and curiosity, they need to be crafted effectively. Here are some key practices:

1. Direct and Specific: Insights should be clear, direct, and specific.
2. State the Main Idea:Clearly convey the main point or discovery.
3. Use Keywords and Adjectives: Employ relevant keywords, adjectives, and synonyms to emphasize key points.
4. Action Verbs: Use action verbs to make insights engaging and actionable.
5. Positive Communication: Frame insights positively to maintain interest.
6. Support with Data: Back your insights with relevant data from your research.
7. Use Comparisons: Compare results between subgroups and with the total sample for context.

Interpreting the Example

In this table, what insights can we extract?

• 87% of British consumers have been affected in some way:** This insight provides a general understanding of the impact of recent price increases in food and beverages on British consumers.
• Women have been impacted more than men:** This insight highlights a gender-based difference in how price increases affect shopping habits.
• 62% of consumers aged between 16 and 24 have been affected significantly or a lot:** Here, we see that a specific age group is significantly impacted by price increases.

SOURCE: [“Exploring the spending habits of British consumers on food and drink“] by Zinklar, conducted in four countries (Spain, Mexico, USA, UK).

Conclusion

Extracting valuable insights is the key to making your research data actionable. With the right practices, you can transform data into compelling discoveries that drive better decision-making.