Research World’s Most Read Articles in 2025

Research World is incredibly lucky to have people from the insight, data, and analytics sector – and beyond – write content for us all-year round.

In 2025, we received 170 articles (and counting). And from this 170, these were the 10 most read.

10. How have study designs evolved in 2024? by Phillipe Guibert & John Smurthwaite

Our sector depends on businesses wanting to know more about their category. So, it’s reassuring that insight professionals practice what they preach!

This article focuses on the market trends regarding different types of research study (ad-hoc vs. tracking vs. panel). What study type is growing in spend? And is that cannibalising from other types of study?

Given this article is based on data from the ‘Bible of Market Research,’ it’s worth clicking on the above link to find out the answers to these questions! 

9. Three More Dangerous Behavioural Science Myths by Chris Harvey

Behavioural science’s popularity keeps rising. The discipline is positively impacting research methods by giving us the tools to better understand human behaviour. And most importantly, what this means for brands.

But behavioural science has also generated some myths about human behaviour. And this has profound consequences. Poor understanding of human behaviour = poor research recommendations = poor marketing.

This article looks to prevent this from happening by unpacking three such myths: 1) Human behaviour is irrational. 2) Systems 1 & 2 exist as distinct regions of the brain. 3) People don’t do what they say they do. 

8. The Road to Business Impact by Simon Chadwick & Kahren Kersten

Over a series of articles, Simon & Kahren looked at the four drivers of insight maturity. This piece concentrates on ‘the people equation.’ This refers to the role of diversity; the links Consumer Insight functions must build across organizations and their level of collaborative mastery.

This means Consumer Insight teams need people in them who reflect societal diversity. That they integrate with other data-based business units and external partners. And that they collaborate across the whole business.

7. The Monetization of Meltdowns by Pernille Kok-Jensen

This article looks at the difference between ‘reel’ and ‘real.’ And poses the question: Can anything be truly authentic when it’s posted for public consumption?

This reflects the ‘authenticity paradox.’ A trend for people to share their moments of pain and hardship on social media. This is a response to boredom and frustration with content that paints pictures of – what appear – perfect lives.

One example is crying content. A genre that spans spontaneous breakdowns and breakups with 529.4 million TikTok posts to its name.

6. In a World Without Trust by Yogesh Shendye

Trust is a universal currency. Without it our sector wouldn’t exist. Consumers trust us with their data. Clients trust our advice. Young researchers trust elder researchers with their career.

This article is a biography of trust. From evolutionary biology and mythology to democratic governance, brand ecosystems, and decentralized protocols.

Along the way it highlights how trust has evolved, how it has been challenged. And most importantly why now trust is insight professional’s most strategic currency.

5. The Nature of Insights: Understanding Ecosystems by Erin Sowell

Over a series of articles, Erin discusses how insights are a compass, used to navigate an increasingly complex business landscape. In this landscape, leaders must continuously learn from their environment. And based on these learnings, adapt and create solutions.

This article focuses on how to embrace – not resist – change, the engine of progress. How businesses need to exist in complex systems where competition and collaboration create dynamic feedback loops. And importantly, how businesses need to understand these broader systems to succeed.

4. From faux-gras to faux-mage by Rhonda Fontaine

French food culture is steeped in tradition. It prefers to preserve ritual rather than chase change. This makes it a hard market for plant-based brands to succeed in.

However, this article shows how the success of brands like La Vie, Le Fou Gras, Jay & Joy, Happyvore, and Hari&Co prove that there’s a growing appetite for plant-based alternatives in France. These brands have created demand by making products that combine relevance with French food culture with modern concerns about health and sustainability.

Could these brands have written a playbook for how to succeed in French food culture? And in doing so carved a culinary path that respects tradition while embracing new possibilities for the future of food?

3. What I Know Now…Kirstin Luck by Rhiannon Price

Each month, ‘What I Know Now’ asks familiar faces from the insight world about what their time in the sector has taught them so far.

This article covered Kristin Luck’s career journey. From founding Women in Research. To co-founding research businesses. To becoming an investment banker.

Among all the inspiring stories and insights, two pieces of advice from Kirstin stood out: “Let go to grow” and “don't let perfect get in the way of good enough.”

2. Google's Sarah Ashley on AI and revolutionising insights by Crispin Beale

This article covers Sarah Ashley from Google’s career path in insights. This includes how to make the jump from agency to client-side. How to create luck for yourself in finding new career paths. And how to manage complex stakeholder audiences. But most importantly, contains three top tips for communication:

• The medium is the message. Know when to send a quick ping to get an informal or urgent message across vs. email, vs. video call, vs. face-to-face.

• Focus on preventing surprises. Balance the details of what’s going on. But not in a way that drowns people.

• Once an email is over 300 words, add a tl;dr at the top of the email that summarises the remainder of the message in a single sentence.

1. Synthetic Data - Just a hype? Decoding Synthetic Data for Product Testing by Dr Nikolai Reynolds

This article explores the use of synthetic data in product testing via insights from an IPSOS study. This study includes: 

• Examining synthetic data’s potential to augment human data. Especially in scenarios where traditional data collection is costly and time-consuming.

• Investigating the conditions under which synthetic data can accurately replicate results obtained from real-world data. With a focus on how to trade-off cost, time, and accuracy.

The study suggests that synthetic data offers significant advantages, particularly in augmenting smaller human samples. However, its effectiveness is contingent on the quality of the training data and the we’re assessing.