Frequently Asked Questions

• Why should I use MindCanvas – give me the short answer.
• I am a designer/consulting company – can I use the MindCanvas service?
• How does the MindCanvas service work?
• What are GEM Methods?
• Why are GEM methods better than online surveys for understanding users’ thoughts and feelings?
• What typical or maximum sample sizes do you recommend for a study ?
• What are “deliverables-to-go”?
• Is GEM confined to the current methods you have or is there more to it ?
• Will my participants or I need to download any software?
• What do you mean by “Remote Moderated” and “Remote Unmoderated”?
• Can I use my own panel for the study ?
• How long does it take to do a MindCanvas project?
• How much does MindCanvas cost?

• Why should I use MindCanvas – give me the short answer.
  
  

  MindCanvas lets you gather rich data from engaged users with very little effort on your part. We offer fast turnaround times (total 1-1&1/2 weeks at our end). Our collaborative service means that you don’t need to spend time learning software or figuring out statistics. We specialize in a few methods – for each, we have created a game-like interface & interactive deliverables. Our “deliverables-to-go” are easy to share – your whole team can explore data, and gain insights themselves.

  MindCanvas simplifies the whole research process as well the process of sharing the results of the research. If you care about high quality research, then give the MindCanvas service a try!

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• I am a designer/consulting company – can I use the MindCanvas service?
  
  

  Yes, definitely. Its a collaborative service – meaning we work with you as closely as necessary to craft the study, and gather the data. Subsequently, we do the analysis and create the deliverables for you to explore. In our direct work with client companies, we have used MindCanvas in conjunction with information architecture / personas / design work. You can try something similar.

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• How does the MindCanvas service work?
  
  

  

  It starts with a research question that MindCanvas might be useful for. We work collaboratively to design the study. Next, we gather the data with (optionally) your involvement. Subsequently, we do the analysis and generate the interactive deliverables for you to explore. This process is described in diagram above.

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• What are GEM Methods?
  
  

  GEM stands for Game-like Elicitation Methods. It is the core idea behind MindCanvas. The idea is to do user research by having your customers do fairly complex, engaging game like tasks that answer the “big picture” questions you are trying to get answered. For example, you could get answers to questions like “how should the web site be organized ?”, or “which features should be part of the product ?”. These tasks are broadly framed, and provide significant scope for creativity and innovation. As a result, they provide new insights into customers, rather than simply confirming or denying pre-existing hypotheses.

  Surveys let you ask simple questions, and get simple answers. GEM methods let you ask complex questions that have more complex answers. GEM is a way of doing participatory design with your customers.

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• Why are GEM methods better than online surveys for understanding users’ thoughts and feelings?
  
  

  GEM stands for Game-like Eliciation Methods. The hallmark of the GEM methodology is that they don’t ask direct questions: instead they present the user with a game-like complex task that requires creative effort to solve. By having users do instead of tell, GEM alleviates a classic problem with survey research: the huge gap between what people say and what people do. And by having participants do creative work rather than answer simple questions, a GEM study can actually result in new insights, rather than simply confirm or deny existing hypotheses.

  A game-like approach also helps with keeping people engaged with the research and getting them to do pretty complex tasks. We strongly believe that an army of bored users checking HTML boxes is not a good way to understand your customers.

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• What typical or maximum sample sizes do you recommend for a study ?
  
  

  That depends on the type of study! For sorting studies we recommend a sample size of at least 30, and ideally at least 100 or so. We’ve done studies with as many as 400 subjects, and we can easily do larger studies than that. The only cost that increases with a larger study is any compensation being given to participants.

  One thing we’ve noticed: for sorting studies, the structure of a domain can be extracted from quite small sample sizes (around 60 participants or lesser). Getting good vocabulary data from the study (which provides authentic language that customers use to describe the domain) benefits from much larger sample sizes – to tap into the trends with user vocabulary and also get access to the Long Tail idiosyncratic word usage. Another factor to consider – you need a minimum number of users for each user group you are interested in.

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• What are “deliverables-to-go”?
  
  

  MindCanvas research focuses on understanding people’s subjective perception of the world. This can generate reams of data. We use a mix of proprietary and off-the-shelf statistical tools to mine the data and publish the results of the MindCanvas research as interactive visualizations. These visualizations give you a broad “30,000 foot” view of the results, while also letting you “dive deep” into the data to get more detailed answers to specific questions.

  We call them “deliverables-to-go”, because you can take them with you. These are self-contained, portable files, made with Macromedia Flash, so they will play on 98% of the computers currently in use. And you can easily embed them in a PowerPoint presentation, or email them as attachments.

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• Is GEM confined to the current methods you have or is there more to it ?
  
  

  Just wait – we have a few more tricks up our sleeve! A number of additional game-like methods are in development right now. Software takes time to write, and we want to make sure that anything we use for a client is truly “ready for prime time”. More methods will be published in the coming months!

  Game-like data collection is a broad approach to learning about people and how they think. The best GEM methods are probably still out there waiting to be discovered. If you play games of some kind with your customers in order to learn more about them, drop us an email! We’d love to chat.

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• Will my participants or I need to download any software?
  
  

  Neither your respondents nor you (the researcher) need to download any software to use our system. Our system (both the participant interface and the deliverables) use the ubiquitous Macromedia Flash plug-in that has a browser penetration rate of 98%. You can go here to check if you have the plug-in.

  We have run MindCanvas studies with large samples of everyday computer users (read: non tech savvy users) without any problems.

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• What do you mean by “Remote Moderated” and “Remote Unmoderated”?
  
  

  With MindCanvas, our goal was to create a platform that can be used for either qualitative or quantitative research.

  With the Remote Moderated service, we invite a few customers to use the software at a specified time. We use online meeting software to create an audio-visual link. You can watch the participant complete the study, ask them to think-aloud, probe as necessary. It’s very effective for gathering qualitative insight.

  With the “Remote Unmoderated” service, we send a link to many participants to complete the study at a time of their own choosing. You can use as large a sample as you want. The data is gathered within a specified period and you receive the deliverables pretty soon after that.

  We recommend a combination of “Remote Moderated” and “Remote Unmoderated” for best results, but you can choose either service in isolation.

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• Can I use my own panel for the study ?
  
  

  Yes! We can optionally recruit subjects for your study, or you can use your own panel. It makes no difference to us.

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• How long does it take to do a MindCanvas project?
  
  

  Under ideal conditions, a MindCanvas project can be done from start to finish in a week. We can collect and analyze data extremely rapidly. The things that usually add to the schedule are the details involved in the design of the survey.

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• How much does MindCanvas cost?
  
  

  The MindCanvas service is priced on a project by project basis. Contact Rashmi or Jon for a demo and for more information about pricing.

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Have questions? Call 1-650-564-0000 or email support@themindcanvas.com for answers, to find out about purchasing MindCanvas or to get access to live demo!