How Buddhism Can Help You Do Better Research

Beyond the 8-fold path to enlightenment and long-form meditation, Buddhism has some pretty simple, but astoundingly effective and powerful philosophies on finding happiness and peace in your life. Be Present. Let Go. Compassion. Have Gratitude. It’s all really powerful stuff.

And while the Buddha likely never moderated a focus group or conducted an ethnography, I’ve found that these principles are also useful guidelines to gain compelling insights from your qualitative research. In fact, you might find that how you experience research is dramatically changed by adopting these four principles.

Be Present: experience each moment

Whether you're a moderator or a viewer, it’s so easy to focus on what was said before or what will need to be said next (or more likely, what’s piling up in your inbox and whether your flight home will be on time). However, the best insights come when you truly immerse yourself each moment: being mindful of what’s being said, body language, behaviors, what’s not being said, and so on. You’ll be surprised what you hear and what you learn when you really pay attention.

Let Go: leave your expectations in the office

In the world of research, there is a bad habit of expecting respondents to say or do or think something, and being frustrated when they don’t. Or, expecting that respondents understand something that is so clear to you (because you live and breathe the category), then discounting what they say because of their perceived ignorance. Before you walk into a qualitative session, let go of your assumptions, expectations and judgments. The richest insights often come from something truly unexpected and different than what you and your team members believe.

Compassion: “feel” the life of your respondent

I had written an article about taking a deep dive into the reality of your target audience, and this is a similar concept. Compassion is a uniquely human quality, and though research deals with people, often there is little “humanity” in it. In Buddhism, Compassion is a sense of solidarity with others, arising from a wish for mutual happiness and growth. In research, I see Compassion as having an authentic curiosity about other people, really understanding their needs, joys, and struggles. And when you are authentic about your interest in your respondents as human beings (rather than “consumers”) – you will hear deeper, more compelling and more actionable insights.

Have Gratitude: appreciate the respondent

Humans can be messy, awkward, frustrating, challenging and weird. You walk into a home for an ethno and the house is filthy. Your online respondent can’t spell. Your focus group respondent can’t grasp the idea of your new product ideas. These are all very human issues – and it can be easy as a moderator or viewer to discount or even be annoyed with the respondent for these reasons.  But this isn’t useful: not only does it makes the research experience a waste of time, there’s always the possibility that the woman in the filthy house has extremely thoughtful ideas about your brand. Or the man who cannot spell has a thought-provoking anecdote about a retail experience. Or the focus group respondent doesn’t understand your new product ideas because they’re just not that clear. So, I recommend approaching all respondents with an “attitude of gratitude”: appreciate what they have to offer, be thankful for their opinions and give them the respect they deserve for giving you their valuable time.

Adjust your approach to qualitative research, and you’ll find yourself the enlightened recipient of amazingly rich and useful insights.