Aggregating and analyzing information are two skills that are often cited as essential for researchers who want to graduate from (or rise above) the order-taker role that insights professionals are often relegated to. Some people are naturally gifted critical thinkers (and, if you’re a researcher, it’s pretty hard to advance without some skill in that area) but for those who need to rethink their thinking or want a crash course in how to develop and hone your analysis skills, Tom Chatfield’s new book Critical Thinking (SAGE Publishing; $27) is well worth picking up.

It feels like it’s written for a younger, college-age audience and some experienced businesspeople will be able to skim some of the sections but by no means is it simplistic. On the contrary, the engaging workbook-style layout helps keep the information being imparted consistently interesting and fun to absorb. In fact, if your team has some newer members who you’d like to work with on developing their critical thinking, there are exercises in the book that could be quite helpful for launching discussions. 

Now, the world of marketing research is certainly no bastion of logical, non-emotional decision-making, not when executives insist on acting on gut feel rather than on what the research data in front of them shows. Where Chatfield’s book may come in most handy is in helping readers learn how to develop arguments that refute the hunch-based assertions of internal clients, especially in sections such as “Reasoning with Observation and Uncertainty,” “Developing Explanations and Theories” and “Seeing Through Faulty Reasoning.” Though of course, proceed with caution on that front, as contradicting a higher-up, no matter how wrong they are, may be hazardous to your professional health. (And, a later section on overcoming bias in yourself and others is useful on that front as well, for researchers may be subject to their own types of bias!)

Another skill researchers are supposed to be good at is predicting the future. OK, not the actual future but insights pros are often seen as the oracles of consumer behavior within their organizations, thanks to their close proximity to customers. With How to Research Trends (BIS Publishers; $34.95), Els Dragt has put together a guide aimed at anyone who wants to burnish their future-predicting abilities, whether they are a budding trend guru or a product manager. 

What I like most about it, as its title suggests, is its practical, no-nonsense approach. Trend-watching by its nature can be a very squishy endeavor, full of vague predictions about future happenings that may or may not, well, happen. Dragt gives you tools and question-checklists, for example, to define and make concrete your assessments, with the aim of increasing their actionability and strategic value. She clearly realizes that the more legwork and analysis the trend-watcher puts into his or her pronouncements, the more likely they are to actually come to pass.