No offense to my friends on the quantitative side, but qualitative researchers are more fun. Granted, they are paid to be extroverts (as if they needed monetary encouragement!). It’s their job to be talkative, open, friendly, inclusive, and good listeners. But after spending three days at a conference of 300-some moderators, I’m convinced those traits come naturally to them.

In October I attended the annual conference of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA) in San Diego at the invitation of QRCA President Jim Bryson. Though research conference organizers frequently invite writer-types like myself to their shows, my presence at the QRCA event was unprecedented. Until I set foot in an early-bird session the night before the show opened, the organization had apparently never allowed a member of the press to attend its annual gathering.

Members candidly informed me that the decision to invite me had been a controversial one. I’m not sure what all the hand-wringing was about - I can’t think of a more pro-research media outlet than ours. But if QRCA members had reservations about my presence, they certainly hid them well. I felt quite welcome and received an enthusiastic response from everyone I talked to at the show.

Have a good time

And what a show it was. The QRCA knows how to have a good time - and I’m not talking about the cocktail receptions and post-show events. I’m. talking about the seminars, meetings, conversations, and the countless small-group discussions that I observed.

One of the things that keeps our magazine alive is the willingness of marketing researchers to share their knowledge with others in the industry. That same spirit infused the QRCA conference.

In contrast to the product/technique demonstrations that commonly make up research industry event programming, the QRCA presentations focused on information exchange rather than information delivery. It was moderators teaching moderators. Topics covered everything from online research to report writing and conducting international focus groups.

But the teaching didn’t stop once the presentation was over. At most conferences, once the speaker is done and the house lights go up, the room empties and people get back on their cell phones or head to the next presentation. Not so at the QRCA show. In the sessions I attended, even before the last PowerPoint slide was shown, attendees began lining up at the microphone to ask the presenter and others in the audience questions and to share tips, techniques and insights gleaned from their successes and failures.

One hilarious session, which drew a standing room-only crowd, focused on "groups from hell" and how to handle the embarrassing, infuriating, and mystifying things that respondents and clients can do during a focus group. Moderators took turns playing different roles, from Troublesome Respondent to Harried Moderator (those playing the respondents seemed to delight in being the tormentor instead of the tormented!).

The session’s comedic value was matched by its educational worth. Following each hellish scenario, the presenters opened the floor to discussion and had the assembled moderators share thoughts on what they might have done to handle that boorish respondent or the stream of notes that trickled in from the imaginary backroom.

Rising tide

Moderating - like the rest of marketing research - is a competitive business. Yet from what I observed, the QRCA and its members are the very embodiment of the idea that a rising tide floats all boats. The sense of excitement and the enthusiasm for learning at the show was palpable. I saw a group of bright, dedicated people eager to make their profession better by exchanging information. A good time was had by all.