A lot of things appear to be different than what they actually are. This weeks featured posts will help you to get to the bottom of it.

dimensional research: Are Your Research Participants Smart?
Research projects must include perspectives from all kinds of buyers who influence purchasing decisions – which usually includes both “smart” and “not smart” participants. But: Taking “sounding smart” input and presenting it as “smart” input will not drive business results.

iMedia Connection: Just because I am obsessed with your commercial doesn't mean I'll buy your brand
This commercial made me laugh a lot, and is another example of something I laughed at but probably won't get involved with.

Research Design Review: Accounting for Social Desirability Bias in Online Research
How real are those at-the-moment snippets transmitted by mobile research participants (which may be meant to impress the researcher more than inform)? How honest are those product reviews or blog comments? What is the extent of bravado being exhibited in our online communities, bulletin boards, and social network exchanges? The answer is we don’t know, and yet it doesn’t take a great leap of faith to acknowledge that the individual attitudes and behavior we capture online are potentially distorted by an underlying need for social approval.

The NY Times Opinion Pages: The Death of the Cyberflâneur
The idea of exploring cyberspace as virgin territory, not yet colonized by governments and corporations, was romantic; that romanticism was even reflected in the names of early browsers (“Internet Explorer,” “Netscape Navigator”). Transcending the Internets original playful identity, it’s no longer a place for strolling — it’s a place for getting things done. Hardly anyone “surfs” the Web anymore.

Thre Green Book: Counteracting the Dirty Little Secrets of Online Panels
There are some really, really bad panels out there. The question is, how can we as researchers navigate these treacherous waters? In short, what can we do to avoid these bad panels and practices?

The Survey Geek: Let’s have a look at online sample routers
Like many people I have confused blending with routing. But the objectives of routing are different from blending. Blending is basically sourcing and how to be smart about leveraging your panel, river, social networks and other people's panels to create more diversity in a sample or to fill low incidence quotas. Routing doesn't necessarily involve blending; some companies are only routing their own panels.