Do I know what I want? Research Attitudes!

LESSON 3

Do I know what I want? Research Attitudes!

Learning Outcomes

- You will familiarise with several research methodologies to identify what attitudes people hold, and who exactly thinks what
- You will learn how to identify the pros and cons of quantitative and qualitative research

Finding Out What People Think and Feel  

Attitudes are what people feel. But who exactly feels what? Before attempting to change something, you need  to know what’s going on.

Often campaigners start from the assumption that they  already know what’s going on. After all,  you are at the frontline of the battle and these attitudes you’re trying to change, well you hear them everyday.

The problem is that the opinions you hear are usually those of the most vocal people and, as we have seen, these are not the people that are the most useful to target. Campaigns have a better time approaching the silent groups who are “on the fence” and for them, things are more subtle…

This lesson will take us into researching WHO feels WHAT. 

“No matter how well you believe you know your target audience, the reality is that they know themselves better. That’s why campaign messages based on research are invariably more successful than those developed by intuition. Your intuition may be reliable when it comes to you, but it’s less reliable when it comes to someone else.”

Movement Advancement Project - Communications Campaigns Best Practices