Field guide
Turn a market research question into a decision
Before booking interviews or writing a survey, name the decision the research must support. A useful brief fits on one page and tells the team what it will do differently when the findings arrive.
Start with the choice, not the questionnaire
Imagine a fictional community repair service deciding whether to offer Saturday appointments. The broad question is whether people like the idea. The useful decision is whether to run a limited Saturday trial, keep the weekday schedule or investigate a different barrier. Write those options before collecting evidence. Give the decision an owner and a date. Research without a decision point often becomes a collection of interesting comments that nobody knows how to use.
Separate what the team controls from what it needs to learn. It controls appointment length, staffing and the size of the trial. It needs evidence about when people have recently needed a repair, which alternatives they used and what prevented them from booking. A question about the last failed booking is more specific than asking whether longer opening hours sound helpful.
Match each uncertainty to a source
List the uncertainties that could change the choice. Existing appointment records can show when requests arrive, but they do not explain why someone never contacted the service. Interviews with recent enquirers can reveal barriers, but they do not establish the size of the local market. Published statistics can describe an area while missing the circumstances of the people the service wants to reach. Use each source for the question it can answer.
For this fictional repair service, the brief could combine a review of unfulfilled enquiries, conversations with people who could not attend and a check of volunteer availability. Keep buyers and funders separate from service users. A resident's need for a Saturday slot does not confirm that a funder will cover the additional opening cost. Record that as a separate uncertainty, with its own source.
Define a useful finding before you look for it
Write down the evidence that would support each next step. Avoid choosing a convenient threshold after seeing the results. If a small interview sample reveals a scheduling problem, treat it as a reason to test a change rather than proof that the whole town needs it. Include a route for an inconclusive result: recruit a missing group, check the records or make the proposed trial smaller.
Keep a short evidence log with a source, collection date, observation, interpretation and limitation. An observation is that three interviewees described missing a weekday appointment. An interpretation is that opening hours deserve a test. The limitation is that the interviews covered recent enquirers, not everyone who needs repairs. None of these statements should silently replace another.
Close the brief with an action
At the review, put the evidence beside the original options. State which uncertainty was reduced and which remains open. If staffing is still unresolved, do not describe the idea as ready to launch. Assign the next task to a named role and set a review date. Keep the brief with the decision record so a later team member can understand why the trial was chosen.
One-page brief: decision and deadline; options; people affected; uncertainties; evidence sources; recruitment gaps; handling of notes; review criteria; next responsible role. This is an editorial working method, not a validated research instrument. For a conversation-based study, use the interview preparation sheet alongside the brief.