Good news for market research and insights professionals! Did you know that there are six categories of learning resources for our profession? It’s true. There are free resources (like YouTube and podcasts), webinars, industry conferences (all of which are online these days), university programs, online aggregators, and of course there are professional development organizations like Research Rockstar, Burke Institute, RIVA and the University of Georgia.
These days, of course, a lot of learning is online. That’s not new for us, because we’ve been offering the profession’s largest catalog of eLearning for almost 10 years now.
In our most recent podcast episode, we discuss market research eLearning options with guest Stephen Griffiths, Associate Manager, Global Consumer Insights at General Mills. In this episode, we discussed the many options for learning about market research and advancing professional skills, including both free and paid options. Please be sure to check out Stephen’s related episode on his fantastic podcast series, Digging for Insights. And for handy links to the sites mentioned, and more, please download our free market research learning reference sheet.
What type of learning options would best meet YOUR needs?
As you start to consider your various market research learning options, we want to clear up one common misconception about eLearning: not all eLearning is 100% self-paced.
When you investigate eLearning options, note that the formats actually do vary quite a lot:
- Self-paced for the ultimate in flexibility. Some courses are self-paced. That is, they are available 24/7, and the student can move at their own pace. Some people refer to this as asynchronous eLearning.
- Real-time, instructor-led for interactivity and peer connections. Then there’s e-learning that’s real-time. With this style of learning experience, some of the components involve meeting the instructor and other students at scheduled dates and times in a virtual classroom. This can be better for topics that are more complex, where discussion and real-time Q&A can be helpful for ensuring comprehension and, frankly, retention of the material. Some people refer to this as synchronous eLearning.
- Hybrid. Of course, some programs offer a blended approach. That’s what we do here Research Rockstar. You can choose to take courses either self-paced, real time with an instructor, or a mix of both.
Whatever type of eLearning you decide is best for you, be sure to consider your unique learning style. You may find that some formats are going to work better for you than others. Some students say that they like the convenience of a 100% self-paced option. And some students tell us that with the self-paced option, they don’t have a sense of urgency and their good intentions to complete training fail to materialize. These students may benefit from a real-time schedule, being in a (virtual) classroom on a certain date, at a certain time, to keep their momentum going.
Check out our handy market research learning reference sheet for direct links to more than 20 market research learning options—free and paid.
And as always, if you have any questions or want to chat, please schedule a time with Kathryn Korostoff on Calendly.
