The Innovators

Simon & Schuster; $35; 543 pages
By Walter Isaacson

What it’s about: Isaacson, author of the best-selling bio of Steve Jobs, trains his sights on Jobs and scores of other brilliant folks who created the computer and, eventually, the Internet.

Its main ideas are: Isaacson’s stated goal was to focus on the teamwork behind innovation, in an attempt to dispel the belief that innovation is a solitary pursuit. He certainly does that here, making it clear that in many cases, large-scale innovation is an accretive process that can span many decades. Particularly refreshing is his focus on the role of women, from Ada Byron in the mid-1800s to Jean Jennings a hundred years later, in shaping the concepts of computers and computer programming.

Why researchers should read it: A primer on innovation it’s not. If you want a direct, practical examination of the process of innovating, search elsewhere. But we all use and are affected by computers and it’s instructive to read a cohesive story of how they came to be.

The last word: You don’t have to be a programmer to enjoy the book. Complex concepts are explained well enough to communicate their importance without getting overly technical. And the later sections – on the creation of the Internet, for example – benefit from Isaacson’s considerable reporting and interviewing skills in getting the reader inside the minds and lives of his subjects. A section on Tim Berners-Lee, who is credited with creating the World Wide Web, is particularly fun, illustrating how timing (he was born in 1955 and saw the advent of cheap, readily available transistors), curiosity (one of his favorite hobbies was making and testing circuits) and the spark of an idea (in his case, childhood memories of a musty Victorian-era almanac called Enquire Within Upon Everything) can change the world.


A Job-Seeker’s Guide to Careers in Market Research

Paramount Market Publishing; $34.95; 160 pages
By James T. Heisler

What it’s about: The title says it all but there’s a lot more to it. Early sections include short overviews of the use, history and main techniques of marketing research. Other sections touch on training and education, career progression, salary ranges and how to get hired.

Its main ideas are: Heisler covers a lot of ground in the book’s 160 pages, outlining the skills and abilities necessary to be a researcher and giving the prospective researcher a good sense of where the profession has come from and where it’s going, along with a sense of what it’s like to be a researcher.

Why researchers should read it: Current researchers likely know or have experienced much of what Heisler writes about here but if you know someone who might be interested in getting into the field, this is a great place for them to start.

The last word: Of course, research has the image of being dull and boring – which we know it isn’t. Hard to imagine more apropos defense of the profession than this: “Market research is about human behavior, and that’s anything but boring,” Heisler writes. “It’s about thinking conceptually, thinking strategically. It’s also about how to just plain think. It’s about unraveling puzzles. It’s about informing major decisions that affect the fortunes of companies and organizations, and in doing so affect our daily lives. It's about playing a key role in developing the next must-have digital device, the next-generation airplane, the next Starbucks.”

 

Humanizing Big Data

Kogan Page; $39.95; 212 pages
By Colin Strong

What it’s about: Consumer researcher Colin Strong set out to write an unbiased look at many of the current theories, practices and ideas around the use and analysis of big data.

Its main ideas are: Big data is great but there are a host of questions to ask before diving into data analysis, chief among them is, are you measuring the right thing? And, just because you can measure something, should you? He looks at the ways to use (and not use) big data – as proof of suspected or hoped-for correlations; as predictors of future events; as confirmation of an internally-valued storyline – and also explores important related topics such as: the role of our social networks (both the online and offline varieties); mass analysis of images (not just words); and the promise and pitfalls of personally-generated data.

Why researchers should read it: Strong has obviously read a great deal about big data and for those who like to think about ways to think about data (!), he provides lots of fodder by exposing the reader to a number of theories and their proponents in a straightforward, conversational style.

The last word: He doesn’t offer any grand pronouncements or theories or singular ways forward – realistically, with something like big data, how could you? – but with its 200-plus pages, the book is a concise, readable, well-sourced platform from which to continue your own exploration of whichever facet of big data is currently most relevant to you.