The Association for Qualitative Research
The Hub of Qualitative Excellence

Recent articles from the AQR Library

Stop villainising people
The 2012 Paralympics placed positive images of those with disabilities in the media, but what's happened since?
Steven Lacey
Making digital fit for purpose
Accessibility is a subject that Government takes very seriously. Hardly surprising, since it affects roughly one in five of the population. But what exactly does this mean in practice?
Craig Abbott
Let's cut water at kitchen sink
Blue Marble's entry to AQR's 2021 Qualitative Excellence Award gained a "highly commended", revealing how video technology can be used to research household water usage.
Tom Clarkson
Planning for the future
Most of those reading this article won't have been prevented from gaining an education, a job, or leaving home, because of a disability, but can research make a difference?
Louella Miles
Energising world of insight
If the qualitative research industry is feeling a bit flat, then maybe it's time to look outside its borders for ways to revitalise it. Liz Norman offers a few suggested routes.
Liz Norman
Energy, Circardian Rhythms and Self Talk
Can tuning in to our circadian rhythm help us maintain high energy levels? It might, aligned with a bit of self talk.
Pauline McGowan
Slàinte! The challenge of launching a young, premium, Scottish whisky
The 2021 winner of the AQR Qualitative Excellence Award, Claire Boorman of Boxclever, together with William Dobbie of R&B Distillers, showed how the Isle of Raasay distillers challenged category convention to launch a young, premium, Scottish whisky.
Claire Boorman
Qual and a higher calling
Let's not forget that vocations can be extraordinary too, not least that of Fiona Jack. Tuesday to Thursday she's a quallie, but Friday, Sunday and Monday she'll be working as a curate.
Fiona Jack
(Extra)ordinary people
Interconnectedness is on the rise: we hear from ordinary people in extraordinary situations more often, but we still need to champion superdiversity in research globally.
Lailah Choudry
Mindset around obesity
There's an extraordinary shared narrative that we choose to ignore. It concerns obesity, as highlighted by the case study in AQR's Qualitative Excellence Award shortlist.
Lucy Neiland
Extraordinary adventures of qual
Space: the final frontier. The year: 2367. We are on board the Starship Enterprise on its continuing mission to explore strange new worlds and civilisations. What are we doing here?
Kerstin Bickelmann
Sustainability is a team sport
The qualitative research industry, like many others, is grappling with how to be more sustainable and finds that a good place to start is with the people we work with.
Laura Chamberlain
Creativity will be the key
As qualitative researchers our work revolves around questions and answers but sustainability is the big one, requiring change on a multitude of levels.
Ella Fryer-Smith
The Comfort Conundrum
In this case study, Stephanie Holland reveals how qual research re-envisioned what soothing means for mothers.
Stephanie Holland
Winning support for taxing wealth
The third case study from the 2020 AQR Qualitative Excellence Award finalists reveals how public attitudes towards tax, wealth and public services have been shaped by the pandemic.
Jane Carn
Exploring listener needs
Hook Research's entry to the 2020 AQR Qualitative Excellence Award was highly commended by judges. Sam Harris reveals how it helped BBC Radio navigate the UK's music landscape.
Sam Harris
Ad trends in a lockdown
We tend to take advertising for granted, but the pandemic has made it challenging, both practically and creatively, to keep it going. Jon Evans offers insights on how it's been achieved.
Tom Ewing
Fancy being a novelist?
It may be stretching a point to say that our industry attracts more than its fair share of creatives, but Kirsten Hesketh explains how it can hone writing and communication skills.
Kirsten Dougal-Biggs
Safety net of routines
Has lockdown stifled or encouraged creativity? Janet Weight- Reed, a working artist for nearly 50 years, says the answer lies in the attitude we bring to each day, lockdown or not.
Janet Weight Reed
Thinking inside the box
Life has been rather boring of late, but take heart: brands have been devising new formats to treat us.
Bella Wateridge
Getting rid of tokenism
There is no magic formula for brands wishing to improve their diversity and inclusivity, small wonder because it would change constantly, but there is a definite thirst for change.
Louella Miles
Lurpak: Feeding the imagination
Bread and butter, what could be nicer? Or more boring for advertising! Lurpak realised this years ago and instead championed the cause of great home cooking in its award-winning global advertising.
Peter Fenton-O'Creevy
Future Gazing
It's that billion-dollar question: what will the research agency of the future look like? More importantly, what business models will serve the qualitative industry best?
Louella Miles
Putting inclusivity at MR's heart
Colour of Research (CORe), a global community promoting diversity in research, is flying high. In Brief talks to co-founder Theo Francis about its evolution. So why isn't BAME helpful? Are carrots always better than sticks?
Theo Francis
When digital isn't the answer
Coloured pens and sticky notes triumph in the digital age. For Brackenhurst College, keen to attract teens to its vocational courses, it reignited engagement.
Sarah Jones
Positives from negatives
Jane Sharp charts how an issue that has been debated for years, that of remote consultation and online technology which enables doctor-patient contact, has suddenly turned into reality. What lessons can the qualitative research industry learn from this?
Jane Sharp
We're all progressives now?
AQR members did well at the MRS Conference this year, not least Peter Totman who, though his presentation didn't unleash the torrent of questions he expected, was put forward for best paper.
Iain Carruthers
Fieldwork Flashback
In the 1980s, our only means of communication for qualitative recruitment was a dial-phone attached to a landline. Everything was typed as most companies had their own printing department (normally in a dingy basement).
Liz Sykes
Every day is different
This AQR Qualitative Excellence Award 2019 finalist's case study, from The Nursery's Lucy Banister, reveals how qualitative research helped people care about social care.
Lucy Banister
The future is factual
The winner of the AQR Qualitative Excellence Award 2019 reveals how creative insightful qualitative research can lead to a greater appreciation of what motivates your audience.
Amanda Anderton
Celebrating 40 years of AQR
Come 2020, AQR celebrates its fortieth anniversary. To mark the occasion Roddy Glen and his helpful band of contributors chart the Association's development from its humble beginnings to its status as a professional and energetic body today.
Roddy Glen
Language of banking rebels
FinTechs, or digital-only banks, are redefining the rules of customer service. So are traditional banks lagging behind or are they taking a leaf out of these newcomers' books?
Jennifer Simon
Case of ethics versus ease
People talk about making more ethical decisions when out shopping but often fail to follow through. Here are a few tips for brands wondering to offer them a carrot or a stick.
Kymberly Loeb
The mind games of M&As
In an era of uncertainty, it can be helpful to know just how agency mergers and buy outs are shaping our industry and what you, as an individual, can do to survive or thrive.
Iain Carruthers
Start with strength
It's all too easy, when trying to solve a problem, to focus on the negatives rather than positives. Here, our author argues that we are ignoring an important agent for change.
Kat Jennings
Power of difference
"You've packed a lot into one arm, haven't you? My life would only cover the top half"
Judy Taylor