from the gut vs. research

As a researcher I often feel that much of what I do could be accomplished by just going from the gut. Many of the questions I'm asked to answer could (and should) be answered by instinct, not surveys or focus groups.

I know, this is blasphemy coming from someone that actually does research for a living, but I think the first question that a good researcher should ask is, "could I answer this question from instinct much quicker (and cheaper) than conducting research?" At the very least this will help refine any research that is conducted and it may actually replace doing research altogether.

You should try it. It's fun.

4 comments:

M Guy said...

But what about all the great, counter-intuitive insights that you could turn into a best selling BIG IDEA book?

psyxonaut said...

from researcher to researcher: totally right! first think by yourself, than ask the world.

Tim Siedell said...

Here's what Andrew Stanton, director of Wall-E, recently had to say on the subject...

http://tinyurl.com/5cwpyh

T. Willerer said...

Thanks, Tim. What a great interview. It makes me wonder...

going with the gut works

and

most good research confirms something obvious that was otherwise being overlooked

maybe we need more creative people doing research?

a topic for another post...