Young Futures: A Millennial Research Challenge

Written by: Megan McDowell

Twenty participants, twelve topics, and a year’s worth of invaluable anecdotes, insights and perspectives.

In November of 2017, Insightrix Research® launched the Young Futures study- an innovative and interactive research project with 20 millennials from the province of Saskatchewan. The research project was powered by Insightrix Communities® software. Each month respondents logged onto the Insightrix Communities platform to participate in both one-on-one (diary mode) discussions and group (bulletin board) discussions, as well as surveys. Considerations to age and locational representation were made; our sample was created with equal numbers of participants from Saskatoon, Regina, the southern and northern parts of the province, as well as equal numbers of early millennials (18-24) and late millennials (25-34).

Each month a new topic, important and applicable to the lives of our group, was presented. These topics ranged from politics and sustainability, to relationships and emotions, all the way to ideas of life and death, and what it means to be a millennial. The use of Insightrix Communities software to gather both qualitative and quantitative data for each of these topics provided well-rounded and in-depth data.

Our high retention rate was another measure of success for the project. Retention of participants for the whole year saw nearly three quarters of the original group making it until the end of the project. Qualifying for participation meant that our millennials completed all three of the research activities presented to them each month. The activities ranged from surveys, to bulletin board discussions where participants could view and respond to each others’ comments as well as the moderators, and private, one-on-one diary mode discussions with the moderator. Learnings also included efficient and effective ways to recruit and maintain a sample, as well as quick participant replacement if needed.

The project also succeeded in realizing the four main purposes set out by Insightrix Research for the study: we were able to set the bar for research on millennials by keeping our participants engaged, presenting them with interesting topics, and retaining a large majority of our sample for the duration of the study. The methods utilized for data gathering proved effective in collecting in-depth insights and opinions from our group. Benefits of utilizing an online community for an ongoing study were immediately realized; savings occurred in terms of costs, time, and resources needed for the project. Finally, the Young Futures project demonstrated the capabilities Insightrix Communities software has by exemplifying its ease of use, effective data gathering capabilities, and streamlined data exporting.

At the end of the project, we invited our participants to provide feedback on the project overall. We asked them to indicate the parts they liked best, suggestions they had to make a project like this better, and any general comments towards the project. Overall, the project was regarded as enjoyable and fun. A couple participants indicated that they would be keen to participate in projects like this in the future and that they wished the Young Futures project was longer.

We would like to thank our participants for making the project so enjoyable, for sharing their insights and stories, and for making the study a success overall. To access the 12 monthly reports, please visit the Insightrix Communities website and look under the Millennial Study page. Be sure to also check out the Project Overview report, which summarizes the project specs and reviews the feedback provided by our participants.

If you have any additional questions about the Young Futures project, or want to know how Insightrix Communities software can help with your own project, please contact us!

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