Welcome to the third edition of Secrets of a Master Moderator™, updated, expanded, and filled with supportive tools to make it an exceptional resource document on the inner world of moderating and qualitative research. The elements presented here have been honed in the fires of experiences and sharpened with actual projects spanning more than three decades. This book is not an academic treatise on the best way to do anything. It is a document based on working with hundreds of clients and thousands of respondents. There is no attempt to promise “the only way” or “a proprietary design” to be followed like scripture. Rather it is what has worked for one moderator, often working alone, in hundreds of one way mirrored facilities, night after night across a landscape of topics that ranged from presidential misconduct to bioterrorism after 9/11. 

Lessons learned were shaped by projects for companies who wanted insights before changing icons, logos, product lines, and packaging. It shares the laughter from respondents who brought pictures of their dogs, so they could provide the dog’s “viewpoint” on an idea for a new dog food. It honors the tears of widows who lost their husbands suddenly, and received one lump sum insurance check, without advice about how to manage a life alone. Readers will find a newly designed table of contents that facilitates “browsing” to find topics of interest without having to read the entire book in order. The glossary has definitions of industry terms as well as RIVA terms that have become part of the qualitative market research industry. An index has been added to make this a useful resource book for novice and seasoned market researchers alike. Sample documents, along with charts and graphs, bring key points to life and allow the reader to adapt proven methods to their own work. This book is meant to be a legacy in support of the idea of leaving the industry better by being one of its chief supporters who believes: “ What counts cannot be counted. ”