(This post was pulled from an email I just sent to a client in which we were discussing if linear regression was the best analysis technique for a banking brand’s awareness research. Use the comments area below to tell me if you agree.)
I wrote . . .
No matter what analysis you do, it’s all just a tool. There are very few statistics that are worth anything outside of basic human judgment and insight. So long as you follow the rules and don’t manipulate the data or the people reading it, you can’t really go wrong.
I try to design data that will allow a group’s wisdom to come to the surface, spark an educated debate or deliver confidence to move in a direction that indicates progress. Sometimes I’ll take a strong position just to try and get people who know more than me to debate the conclusion.
This is where things happen. It’s the apathy and insecurity that kills me. There is too much mountainous reporting that no one reads other than the author.
I’ve long ago let go of “the book of truth.” Maybe it’s a lazy way out and I really just need to go to more conferences and read more of the trade journals.
What do you think?