Video: Atomizing Research: Trend or Trap

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Atomizing Research: Trend or Trap

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Monday, March 30, 2020 • Advancing Research 2020

Matt Duignan

Principal Research Manager, Microsoft

Summary

There has been an explosion of interest in atomizing research, where researchers stop writing reports and instead tag individual insights in a database. The theory is that this will unlock your insights, making them findable and reusable. But does it work, and should you be doing the same? At Microsoft we tried it: Five years, 40,000 insights, 20+ research teams, and 17,000 unique users. So what have we learnt? We learnt that a structured insight library can be worth the effort. But we also learnt that atomizing insight can be taken too far. We learnt that context is critical. We learnt that short term efficiency is king, and that the required culture change is hard. And through this journey we’ve begun to discover how to blend atomized insight with your traditional research process.

Key Insights

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Research often results in disposable insights that lose value over time.
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Atomic Research shifts the focus from reports to individual insights that can be reused.
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The Human Insight Tracking System (HITS) connects insights across different contexts and projects.
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Creating a culture of continuous curation is essential for researchers to keep insights updated.
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Immediate tactical value for researchers is crucial for encouraging knowledge reuse.
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Effortless connection and integration of insights into daily workflows enhance research impact.
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Organizational balance is needed between immediate research demands and long-term knowledge creation.
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Cultural biases can significantly hinder the process of creating reusable insights.
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Providing immediate value helps motivate researchers to engage in durably curating knowledge.
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Cross-team collaboration fosters a healthier research environment and knowledge sharing.

Notable Quotes

"What if the atomic unit of research wasn't the reports, but it was the insight within those reports?"

"If we could take each of the individual observations from our studies and add in all other related observations, could we create more durable insights?"

"This journey is about bridging the gap between tactical knowledge and durable insights."

"We tried various models to encourage researchers to curate their insights, each with its own trade-offs."

"Making insights easy to access and connect with is essential for building a knowledge base."

"Discovery and collaboration among researchers can help rationalize conflicting insights."

"Durable insights can emerge organically based on their usage patterns and references."

"It’s important to provide immediate tactical value to motivate researchers in curation efforts."

"Research teams need to develop a taste for healthier, more robust insights over quick tactical wins."

"Just-in-time curation means integrating reusable knowledge creation into daily research activities."

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