Editor's note: Kelly Hancock handles communications for the Qualitative Research Consultants Association.

It’s no secret that our world is changing every day: The way we talk to people, the way we seek information, the way we do business. Many of these changes can be attributed to a phenomenon we all know as social media.

While many companies are embracing social media as a marketing or public relations tool to interact with consumers or measure how many people are engaging with the brand, a growing number of qualitative researchers are latching onto the social sphere as a place to dig into consumer behaviors and opinions. “Most people are focusing on the marketing and PR side of social media,” says Kendall Nash, senior qualitative consultant at Burke, Inc. and a member of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA). “But that’s not what we do. As qualitative researchers, we dig for insights.”

“Social media is underutilized in qualitative research. I spend a fair amount of time educating clients about why that data shouldn’t only be used in the PR department,” says Kathy Doyle, president of Doyle Research and a QRCA member. “There is a lot of misunderstanding about how it can be used and the insights it can deliver.”

Qualitative researchers use a trained eye to look beyond the obvious and pinpoint trends and translate statements into insights. That knowledge is harvested from online forums, such as social media posts and comments, and key pieces of actionable information are identified from the millions of conversations that occur publicly every day.

“A lot of companies are using it in a quantitative fashion. It’s really qualitative information that they’re trying to quantify,” says Dorrie Paynter, president and founder of Leapfrog Marketing Research and a QRCA member. “As qualitative research consultants, our role is to help our clients figure out what the data says and how ...