QGS Looks Ahead, Not Back
The disruption of 2020 showed me that the hands-on work I do in the field is the foundational value I provide my clients. Here are few of the other things I’ve learned
Author Archive for: Christine Quirk
Entries by Christine Quirk
Doing the Best We Can with Online Focus Groups
Six months into socially distant qualitative research and what have we learned? We’ve learned it’s hard. Online focus groups have a lot of flaws, many of which cannot be mitigated, especially in lower- and middle-income countries. But, like a lot of annoying things these days, they aren’t going away. We have to figure out how […]
An Outsider’s Guide to the US Presidential Election
People all over the world are offering social media takes on the US Presidential election that range from gullibly wrong to dangerously misinformed. Because the stakes are so high, spreading misinformation, even accidentally, could have a serious impact on public perceptions of the legitimacy of the process. Understanding basic facts about the US system […]
Worried About Qualitative Research During Coronavirus? I am
With traditional focus groups off the table during physical distancing, qualitative researchers face options that may require too many tradeoffs to make the effort worth the costs. The challenges for qualitative research could be even greater than those facing quant, particularly for social or opinion research projects. If you’re interested in challenges facing quantitative researchers, […]
Can I Poll Now? Should I Poll Now?
Everything is up in the air! No one knows what’s going to happen next! At Quirk Global Strategies, we’re used to unpredictability. We’ve developed strategies to manage it. No matter where in the world we’re working, every project starts with a discussion of the research goals. What questions need to be answered? By whom? How […]
Global Survey Research in the Time of Coronavirus
Curious about how opinion polling can proceed when entire countries are closed down? I was, so I reached out to data collectors around the world to better understand what’s possible now and what kind of projects should wait. Pollsters who use telephone interviews are in a good position to keep on working. Unfortunately, those who […]
Watch Ukraine:elections scheduled in 2019
With up to three elections scheduled in 2019 (presidential primary and run-off, and parliamentary ballots), Ukraine is going to be the subject of a lot of international attention in the coming months. With an unpopular president, unpopular political parties and a disillusioned, undecided electorate, the outcome of all these contests is anyone’s guess.
“The Polls Were Wrong” Is the Easiest Answer
Since Sunday’s election I have been in the improbable position of defending Turkish pollsters. To be clear, I have had many, many quibbles with their lack of methodological transparency and the perception of bias that causes. Unlike other forms of public opinion or policy research, however, election polling provides a day of reckoning: you’re right […]
Want to Increase the Credibility of Election Polling in Turkey?
Remember that time you asked me how to increase the credibility of public polling in Turkey? No? Well, it turns out I have thoughts on the matter. Here they are. Transparency, Transparency, Transparency: This is the single most important factor. Given the amount of flawed data out there, every pollster who releases election polls publicly […]
How to Be a Good Consumer of Public Polls
Here we are again, weeks out from another Turkish election, arguing on Twitter and in bars about the pre-election polls on the Presidential race between the shouty guy and the bread guy. As much as we’d like to, we can’t really ignore this election, so wouldn’t it be great if someone explained how to tell […]
