The brain cannot be accused of epistemic modesty. It is well-known that in situations like this—where it faces profound uncertainty—it confidently fills in the gaps in knowledge by making assumptions. Usually, its assumptions are based on what it has most frequently encountered in the past. For instance, if the sensory information is more uncertain, observers will estimate object speeds to be slower than they actually are, presumably because slow objects are much more common in the environment than fast ones. (Indeed, most objects in any given field of view don’t move at all.) Color and lighting are no exception.



Quoted from: https://slate.com/technology/2017/04/heres-why-people-saw-the-dress-differently.html

This involves collecting and analysing non-numerical data, for example; text, video or audio. This is used to understand concepts, opinions, or experiences. It can also be used to gather in-depth insights into a problem or generate new ideas for research. Qualitative research is commonly used in the humanities and social sciences, in subjects such as anthropology, sociology, education, health sciences, history, etc.


Qualitative research example questions:
- How do children and adults interpret healthy eating in the UK?

- How is anxiety experienced around the world?

- How can teachers integrate social issues into science curriculums?
- How does social media shape body image in teenagers?


- Quantitative research

Quantitative research is the process of collecting and analyzing numerical data. It can be used to find patterns and averages, make predictions, test causal relationships, and generalize results to wider populations. Quantitative research is widely used in the natural and social sciences: biology, chemistry, psychology, economics, sociology, marketing, etc. In addition, you can also use quantitative research methods for descriptive, correlational or experimental research. To collect quantitative data, you will often need to use operational definitions that translate abstract concepts (e.g., mood) into observable and quantifiable measures (e.g., self-ratings of feelings and energy levels). Once data is collected, you may need to process it before it can be analyzed. For example, survey and test data may need to be transformed from words to numbers. Then, you can use statistical analysis to answer research questions. 

Quantitive research example questions:
- What is the demographic makeup of Singapore in 2020?
- How has the average temperature changed globally over the last century?
- Does environmental pollution affect the prevalence of honey bees?
- Does working from home increase productivity for people with long commutes?

By attending the talk, I came to the conclusion that User research is still relatively new and has only very recently come around. That being said, there have been various different studies that have taken part in creating it. For example, studies into psychology, ergonomics, anthropology, marketing and user interface have all taken place, to then formulate user research. All these topics have various different assets that have helped formulate user research, and extract the 'right' type of information from consumers; which in turn is very beneficial to companies.

As a Digital Marketing student, I can first hand understand just how important it is to get the right type of information from consumers, as this can tremendously help with understanding what the best type of marketing strategy would be for specific brands etc. 

From all the research that is gathered through the methodologies above, a trend hypothesis is created which is then articulated into drivers, consequences and impact. 

The research is then distilled into scenarios and trend themes that include information on overall aesthetics, colour direction, fabrics and textures, print and pattern. 

From all of this, an experienced and trained trend forecaster will be able to help you navigate complexity, and provide an evidence-based view of the future.