AUGUST

2018

The WaveMetrix
Analyst Manual –
Consumer Findings

Page 1 Aug 2018

Contents

1. Key files and the importance of preparation – FAB p.3

Extension
2. Definition of a finding
p.11
3. How to record a finding P.15
4. Searching for consumer discussion p.21
5. Working for WaveMetrix p.29

Page 2 Aug 2018

1. Getting started:
key files and the
importance of
preparation

Page 3 Aug 2018

 Key files you will need before starting fieldwork
Research Request (RR)—read this document thoroughly
• The RR gives you the project scope, an overview of the research objectives,background
information, project-specific instructions, and explains the categorisation scheme for the
project
• Take at least 30-60 minutes to carefully read through the research request and make sure
you understand the research topic
• Half of this time should involve studying the categorisationscheme
• To be a successful analyst, it is essential that you understand the topic and diligently follow
the instructions in the research request
• And when in doubt, ask your Project Manager!

FAB Extension: the Google Chrome add-on for the test:

• FAB extension helps you to record and uploadfindings
• All projects have unique FAB extensions

Page 4 Aug 2018

 FAB Extension
FAB is fabulous and user-friendly Chrome add-on which helps us to Comprehensive checks and
collect findings

Using FAB

• Add a new account in Google Chrome (On the top right, select your profile image/
initial>Manage People> Add Person>Add)

• Go to https://fab.wavemetrix.com

• Log in with ‘analyst test email ID and Password’ given in the instruction mail

Page 5 Aug 2018

 FAB Extension.. (cont’d)

• You will then get a blank page with headers, click on the email ID
analyst_test@wavemetrix.com

• Download the Chrome extension by clicking on “try our extension” or else clickhere

Page 6 Aug 2018

 FAB Extension.. (cont’d)
• Click on ‘Add to Chrome’ button and then ‘Add Extension’

• The FAB extension icon will then appear on top right corner of your Chrome window

Page 7 Aug 2018

 FAB Extension.. (cont’d)

o Now copy the below URL in your tab:

https://fab.wavemetrix.com/titlehome/form?project_id=1807_International_Analyst_Test_v1

o It will leads to the window shown below. You can ignore this window.

o Your Add-on is now ready to collect findings. You can go for the Google searches and find
appropriate findings

Page 8 Aug 2018

 Research Request: read this to guide analysis

o This is the standard information we send to analysts when requesting research

o It contains the research objectives, special instructions and the discussioncategorization
scheme
o Read through it carefully, then once again, before starting any work!

Research Executive (RE) Research Executive (research.executive@wavemetrix.com)

Fieldwork dates + hours Monday xx/xx/xx until xx/xx/xx. Around 20 hours required in this time
Language/Country English/ UK
Scope All UK buzz on 4oD posted from xx/xx/xx – xx/xx/xx ONLY
Valid discussion This project is designed to analyse the Channel 4 4oD web service to understand
what consumers think of it as well as how and why they use it (USE
CASES).
Analyse consumer discussion from reviews, forums, blog posts and community
sites
FAB extension Please download from Analyst Search
Scoring Standard i.e. +2, +1, 0, -1, -2
Background See links below
Background links http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6318625.stm#sky
http://www.channel4.com/4od/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quHUA3pZ7
no

Page 9 Aug 2018

 Research Request: discussion categorisation
o Familiarise yourself with the categorisation
o Contact the Research Executive if anything is not clear!
o The RR should include explanations of difficultcategories
o Feel free to make suggestions for changes/additions to the cat scheme

o Value for money o Content – free o Restrictions

o Quality o DRM
o Usability
o Range/choice o Rental periods
o Bugs & errors
o Specified content type o PC
o Installation
o Other requirements
o Purchasing o Content – paid for o Broadband
o Quality
o Downloading requirements
o Range/choice
o Other o Other
o Overall quality o Specified content type
o Marketing and
o Picture o Other
o Content – unspecified advertising
o Audio o Quality
o Other o Range/choice

Page 10 Aug 2018

2. Definition of a
Finding

Page 11 Aug 2018

 Definition of a finding
What do you need to do?
• Your task as an analyst is to track down relevant online consumer discussion about the topic,
read it, and then record findings
What is a finding?
• Each finding is ONE instance of a relevant opinion expressed in a post
• A relevant opinion is a “reasoned argument” expressed by a consumer—i.e., anopinion
with supporting detail or context.
• Consumers may have many, similar opinions. It is essential that a separatefinding is
recorded for EACH distinct opinion.
• Findings do not relate to overall sentiment, nor to previous posts—record findings ONLY
where they can clearly be supported by a single post
• If the opinion is not expressed by a consumer then it is NOT relevant—no professional
reviews/blogs, no copy-pasted press releases, etc:
o However, consumer responses / comments attached to such posts ARE relevant opinions
and should be recorded
o NB: the definition of what constitutes a finding may change from project to project, so please
pay close attention to any instructions sent by a ResearchExecutive

Page 12 Aug 2018

 Definition of a finding (cont’d)
Recording proper findings
• Longer posts are very likely to contain many opinions. Each opinion should be
recorded separately—be comprehensive, be granular:
o Break posts up into as many relevant opinions as sense will allow

Guidelines on findings
• Findings are to be concise and in well-written English:
o Target length should be 10-15 words, up to 20 is acceptable
o No short hand. Fully spell out all words and phrases—even obviousones
o All findings should begin with capital letters

• Findings should always detail “what”,“why” and “how”, where possible

Page 13 Aug 2018

 Definition of a finding (cont’d)
How do we measure success?
• Volume: the more findings you produce the better
• Quality: irrelevant, incorrect, or otherwise spurious findings get deleted—DO NOT
duplicate findings or record empty chatter, and ensure all findings are within the scope
listed at the start of this document
• Accuracy: good findings are correctly scored and classified, and capture the reason, tone,
and context of what consumers say

The original consumer post Findings recorded from post

“My Sony Ericsson 800i is useless because the
battery goes flat after 4 hours and anyway the network
coverage in London is crap. Should’ve bought Nokia,
better batteries”
Examples
My Sony Ericsson 800i is useless because the battery goes flat
after 4 hours
Should’ve bought Nokia, better batteries
The “the only losers here” are those who watch Magibon then

“The only losers here are the people who watch insult her for no reason
Magibon's videos and then insult her for no reason. If
People who don’t like Magibon videos should not watch her
you don't like her don't watch. And she can speak
whatever language she wants, this isn’t an English
only-site” Magibon can speak any language she wants—YouTube is not
English-only site

Page 14 Aug 2018

3. How to record a
Finding

Page 15 Aug 2018

 Collecting Findings…
1) First, highlight the comment which you intent to collect as findings.
o If you can make multiple findings from a single comment, highlight only by fractions. In such
cases, make sure you don’t highlight the whole comment and each fraction is meaningful.
o Please do not highlight more than one post at a time
2) Click on the FAB icon on top right corner of your Chrome window
3) A window will then open. Fill up all the required details.

4) Make sure you enter your name at “Analyst name” on the first hand.
5) You then need to classify the findings:
o Carefully use the drop-down boxes to select the appropriate category; refer backto
the RR or ask if you’re not sure how to categorise — be diligent here!
o Choose a score from +2 to -2, based on the sentiment/action scale (see
‘Scoring sentiment’)
o Some analysts find it helpful to print a copy of the categorisation slides from the RR, to
help when recording findings

6) Next, fill in the “Findings” box. This is your synthesis of what the consumer said in the
finding. This is also what we read when writing reports and helps us synthesize thousands
of consumer posts into a concise report. Copy and paste the highlighted comment in this
column. Make sure there are no typos.

Page 16 Aug 2018

 Collecting Findings…(contd.)

7) We need only English comments for the test from US Consumers.

8) Enter the username (of the poster whose finding you are recording) into the “Name” field.
9) Add gender of the poster, if possible. If you can’t guess it from their available bio, you can go
for ‘Cannot tell’option.
10) Propensity to watch The Simpsons regularly, you can answer this according to their
comment content.
11) Fill in the “Article headline” field in the same way.
12) Fill in the post date of the highlightedcomment
13) Once add-on is complete:
o Click “Save” to save and read on to the next finding
o Click “Save and reuse*” to save and record another finding from the same text selection

14) If everything is fine, a green dialogue box with a summary of collected findings will appear for
a few seconds on screen. But if the comments are duplicated or if anything is wrong with the
findings collected, you will get a red dialogue box which will stay on screen until you close it.

Page 17 Aug 2018

 Scoring sentiment – overview

• Findings are scored using a +2 to -2 scale based on sentiment/action:

o +2 : Positive sentiment plus a positive action is needed for a score of +2. When we are sure
the poster will definitely watch the movie - e.g. will watch, definitely watch, absolutely
watching it, must watch, must see, 100% sure, won’t miss it, should go, going to see, let’s
watch it, let’s go see it, added this one to my movie list, etc. ------------- “I bought the Motorola,
specificallyfor its Bluetooth”
o +1 : Any positive sentiment towards the movie/cast/plot etc. and comments like ‘Can’t wait’,
‘wants to watch’, ‘have to see’, ‘looking forward to watch’, ‘planning to watch’, ‘need to watch’
"Motorola has GREATBluetooth!”
o 0 : Neutral comments—“Motorola hasBluetooth”
o -1 : Any negative sentiment towards the movie/cast/plot etc. and comments like don’t wantto
watch, may not watch, etc.—”Motorola Bluetoothsucks!”
o -2 : Poster states he is never going to watch Simpsons or has stoppedwatching Simpsons. A
negative sentiment plus a negative action is needed for a score of -2. will not watch, never see
it, etc. — ”I returned the Motorolabecause Bluetooth wouldn’t work right”

Page 18 Aug 2018

 Scoring sentiment – when to use +2/-2
• Avoid using neutral score (0):
o Posters usually express positive, negative or mixed opinions
o Mixed opinion should be coded as separate findings—do NOT record “User likesA, but hates
B”
o Neutral (0) ONLY applies to simple, relevant opinions that nevertheless have no clearleaning
o NB: approach to recording neutral findings may vary from project to project, please see
instructions from Research Executive when it comes to live project.

• Examples of +2/-2 usage:

o A +2 finding is “I watch the show because of x”. A -2 finding is “I stopped watching the show
because of x reason”
o A +2 finding is “I bought the iPhone because of x”. A -2 finding is “I returned their iPhone
because of x”
o If someone recommends a brand, you don’t need to give it a +2. Similarly, if someone advises
against a Brand, you don’t need to give it a -2; just put +1 or -1 (eg, if the project is on the Mac
Book Air, and a consumer says “I loveApple”, this is+1)
o Extreme negativity, even with profanity, e.g. “this is absolute bullshit!” = -1
o Extreme praise, “this is the best product ever, I was wowed” = +1

Page 19 Aug 2018

 Example of where different details are found
The text that you
Source Post date Name Thread subject line should collect findings
from

Page 20 Aug 2018

4. Searching for
consumer
discussion

Page 21 Aug 2018

 Overview of searching
• Unless told otherwise, you will need to look for online discussion sources, tofind
relevant opinions to record
• All relevant findings from all sites must be collected: you will have been given a scope
– a period of time, country and subject. It is important that you record all buzz within this
scope, unless told otherwise. Todo this you need to check all the different sources where
discussion can occur
• The key types of site where consumer discussion can be found are:
o Forums (search in Google, see next slide)
o Consumer blogs
o Product review sites (Amazon, Ciao, Dooyoo,etc)
o Videosharing sites (YouTube, Daily Motion,etc)
o Social media (Facebook,Twitter)

o Comments on news articles or professional blogs (comments by consumers appended to

articles on sites like Guardian.co.uk, Dailymail.co.uk, Gizmodo.com,etc)
• NOTE: we only ever want you to record CONSUMER opinions. Press releases and
articles written by journalists, even if posted in a forum, do NOT count as consumer
opinions. However, if a consumer then discusses the press release or article or adds their
comments, this is OK to record.

Page 22 Aug 2018

 How to search for buzz

• Successful analysts know how to search well, to track down buzz on obscure topics or
locate only buzz relevant to a very specific scope

• Consumer buzz can be found on a variety of sources (see previous page), and
all these must be checked

• Once you’ve exhausted standard Google searches, try user phrases, ie: ‘love using Head
& Shoulders’. Don’t use anything as a search term that you don’t think a consumer might
write. Play around with “” marks to achieve accurate results – try searches like ‘ “I think”
“Oral-B electric” ’

• Be organised. When searching in Google, write a list of the main terms you will use (e.g.
‘Braun’, ‘Braun shaver’, ‘Braun shave’, ‘Braun trim’…). Make sure you try them all, but only
change from one when you have all its findings:
o If someone posts a link, always check it out – exhaust all comment on it, then returnto the
same point in the originalthread

Page 23 Aug 2018

Using Google filters
Advanced search –
more options can be
found here, such as
better ocation-based
searching and date
range options

You can filter by a range of

set date periods – or choose
your own dates to search
between

Google allows you to filter by

country. You can do that for the
country you are located in
here, but unless you are in the
US, you will need to go to
‘Advanced Search’ to search
specifically for findings from
America

Page 24 Aug 2018

 Searching for buzz on social networking sites

• Facebook – search for groups and official fan pages:

o Many brands have official fan pages on Facebook where a good amount ofconsumer
discussion from fans can befound
o Fans may also set up unofficial pages
o Relevant discussion may also be found in status updates from consumerswith publicly
viewable profiles

• In Twitter, you can useAdvanced Search to find tweets:

o Although you cannot filter by country, you can specify language and within up to1,000 miles of
a location. So you should pick a couple of big cities at various points around your country and
search for findings within 1,000 miles of them, using the language filter to stop findings from
neighbouring countriescoming through
o You can also filter by the period in which the tweets were made

Page 25 Aug 2018

 Searching for buzz in forums

• Another way to search for discussion is to run a Google search, including your topic and the
name of a popular forum software:
o The most popular types of software are Vbulletin, phpBB, IP.board, UBB, EzBoard,Woltlab,
snitz, fusetalk, mesdiscussions.net, “powered by smf”, ASPPlayground.NET,proboards
o Search for these terms along with the research topic you are looking for—e.g. Motorola
+vbulletin, Motorola +ip.board, Motorola +"powered by smf“

• Whenever you access a forum, use its own search button to search
o Most forums have their own advanced search options, where you can choose to have
some or all terms searched for, and whether the findings should be based on relevance,
date or other things
o Search is good if you have an accurate search string that is not too long and that people will
use accurately. Often model numbers or product names work well
o Most of the time search only identifies a thread. You then need to diligently read thewhole
thread (before and after). This yields most of our findings
o If the site’s search tools do not give good results, you can try entering the site into “Search
within a site or domain” on Google’sAdvanced Search, plus yourkeywords

Page 26 Aug 2018

 Forum registration and email updates

• Log in to sources (like Facebook, twitter etc) which you have accounts before you take the test. It
can help you to run FAB smoothly and avoid further promptings from Websites.

• You should always register for each forum you check as this ensures access to
enhanced tools, particularly search:
o The first time you visit a forum, you should register for it; you can save log-in details in
Chrome to save you having to remember multiple log-ins, provided the machine you are
using is not a sharedcomputer
o Please use anonymous user names that contain neither your name, our name, nor
infer that a monitoring activity is ongoing. Choose invisible options if available

• WaveMetrix maintains a no posting policy. We ask our analysts not to post on the
forums or pages they monitor as this might contaminate the source of the information
we gather and therefore not be in our customers’ interest

Page 27 Aug 2018

 Generate search terms
Be as inventive as possible in your search:
o Generate lots of search terms
o Combine them with ‘forum’, ‘post’, vbulletin’, ‘phpbb’etc
o e.g, here are some terms you might use when looking for TV discussion…

LCD TI tv "best plasma screen"

PDP large screen "best LCD tv"

DLP screenburn / burn in "best plasma tv"

plasma overscan "best rear projection"

rear projection dead pixel "need LCD"

flat panel home cinema / home theatre / home "need plasma"

theater
flat screen component cable "which tv"
plasma display panel Blu ray "next gen tv" / "next generationtv"

HDTV HD DVD "love LCD"

high definition / highdef contrast ratio "love plasma"

viewing angle brightness ratio "plasma sucks"

liquid crystal display black to white response "lcd sucks"

perfect black / true black "plasma is" "why LCD"

screen door effect "LCD is" "why plasma"

rainbow effect "rear projection is" "cutting edge tv"
colour rendition "best LCD screen"

Page 28 Aug 2018

5. Working for
WaveMetrix

Page 29 Aug 2018

 The Project Lifecycle
• Once employed as a WaveMetrix analyst, you will receive emails informing you of new
projects:
o The email will detail when the project will run and how many hours it will require
o It will also include contact details for you to respond if interested
• WaveMetrix promises our work to clients in as little as 12 hours. For that reason, it is
essential that analyst respond quickly to all RE(Projectmanager) requests:
o Analysts will sometimes be allocated to projects on a first-come-first-served basis, soreply
promptly. However, there is no need to reply if you aren’t interested in taking on the project
• You will be given a Scope of Work document, when you start the project:
o This will detail your pay rate, hours you are expected to work and projectcode
o Please quote the project code and name in your invoice, and keep an accurate track of the hours
you work on the project, so you can invoice correctly
• You should keep in good contact with the Research Executive managing the project,
throughout the project duration
• Feedback on the quality of your work is generated throughout the fieldwork process and
should be checked at the end of the project, or periodically on longer-term

Page 30 Aug 2018

 Keeping in contact and deadlines
• Throughout a project, analysts are expected to keep in contact with the Research Executive
managing fieldwork via regular email updates:
o These updates should be concise and informative, detailing briefly what work you have done
since your last update, any problems you have encountered and any questions you may
have
• Updating the Research Executive about your progress is highly important and crucialto
performing well as an analyst:
o REs will often be managing teams of up to 60 analysts at once, so making sure your progress
updates are regular and concise isessential
o Conversely, a lack of contact can result in the projectbeingjeopardized
• Analyst deadlines are tied to client deadlines, so failure to meet them can result in failure to
deliver reporting to clients:
o It is therefore essential that analysts keep the RE informed with how they are progressing
o The RE must be informed as soon as possible if you think you will have trouble meeting a
deadline or if you are struggling with anything, so we can compensate and reassignanalysts
asnecessary
• NB: amount of contact required differs from project to project, so please see instructions from the
Research Executive.As a general rule of thumb, you should be emailing after every daily session of
work on a project running for 1 – 2 weeks, and twice weekly for longer-termprojects

Page 31 Aug 2018

 End Of the Day Report (EOD)

Once a project is done, Analysts are supposed to send a EOD report or a summary report to the
Project manager/RE with their total working details. Include all tasks done, number of links coded,
collected, Findings collected, time spent for each task etc.

Make sure this is done without fail as RE will be using EOD reports for analysing Analyst
performance.

Page 32 Aug 2018

 Analyst feedback
• Analysts are not supposed to use any means of online translations. We want native
speakers better insight for each sentence. Those who are found to be using anything
similar like Google translate, Bing translate etc will be directly removed from our
Analyst pool.

• For each project, analysts receive regular feedback on the quality of their findings. This
feedback is hosted on the Analyst Search site you will use after joining, and lists the
findings that you have recorded for the particular project:
• Each analyst is expected to study the feedback provided and use it to guide future work:
o It is natural that an analyst will receive lots of feedback, at first
o However, the level of feedback should decrease as the projectprogresses
• Should an analyst’s work continue to contain significant levels of errors, the RE may have
to reassign or remove the analyst:
o Toavoid that, all analysts should review the feedback and re-read the research request,
before restarting work
o Contact the RE with any concerns or issues as soon as possible

Page 33 Aug 2018

 Keys to becoming an exceptional analyst
• Simply put, exceptional analysts receive more assignments from us
• Analysts are expected to take responsibility for their own time and workload:
o Analysts are expected to ensure they are available for the times / dates agreedto—
communication, preparation and feedback time should also be considered
• Analysts are expected to be responsive and supportive:
o Analysts are expected to read through the research request diligently and ask for
clarificationsprior to starting any work. Proper understanding of the research requestcuts
down on wasted time —for both RE andanalysts
o Questions or comments that arise mid-project should be collected and sent at the end
of each session with the RE with the other analysts copied in—sharing problems or
solutions with other analysts ensures group success
• Analysts are expected to be proactive:
o Analysts have a different take on the data and are expected to offer classification suggestions,
where
possible—particularly for findings categorized under “other”
o Analysts are expected to inform the RE of reoccurring topics or items that may need to be
included as part of the overall research scope
o With the changing nature of online discussion, analysts are also expected to search for and
inform the RE of new or emergingsources

Page 34 Aug 2018

 Contact

Shilpa Onathara
“ WaveMetrix deliver
• HR Co-ordinator
• WaveMetrix actionable insight through
• shilpa.onathara@wavemetrix.com online analysis to help you
make informed business
decisions ”

Find out how we can help you wave

+(44) 207 283 3745 wave brings you bite-sized
info@wavemetrix.com digital insights using the
wavemetrix.com WaveMetrix methodology

Page 35 Aug 2018