The Evolution of Digital Qualitative Research: A Look at the Discuss Platform
By Discuss
- article
- Insight Communities
- Online Communities
- Online Qualitative
- Remote Qualitative Research
- Qualitative Research
- Mobile Qualitative
- Group Discussions/Focus Groups
- Depth Interviews
This article is a brief summary of Discuss’ Research’s Demo Days session in February 2025.
Watch the full webinar replay here:
Discuss Demo: Rethinking Qualitative Research: How to Scale Human Connections with GenAI
The shift towards digital qualitative research has gained momentum in recent years, influenced by both necessity and technological advancement. Discuss is one example of this evolution, integrating established qualitative research methodologies with digital tools and AI Agents built for market insights.
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About the Platform
Discuss’ end-to-end global market insights platform supports both live and unmoderated research. Its live moderation function enables traditional interviews and small group discussions, with groups of four to six participants recommended for productive online interaction. For unmoderated research, Discuss enables respondents to complete tasks and share feedback at their convenience. The platform also includes the ability to upload past research recordings to create a holistic and globally accessible research repository.
Discuss includes features purpose-built for market research, from discussion guide tools that help moderators structure sessions to a private backroom that enables stakeholders to observe and communicate without disrupting the discussion. Researchers can share stimuli, collect annotated feedback, and use polling tools to gather structured data during live sessions or self-paced activities.
Discuss is a true end-to-end platform with comprehensive tools for project setup (managing participant communication and technical checks) to data collection and analysis with the ability to easily create sharable highlight reels for stakeholders. Researchers can also use specialised vocabulary tools, including a medical library for healthcare research and custom vocabulary terminology options to capture industry-specific language.
The Use of AI in Discuss
Discuss’ AI Agents automate the manual tasks of collecting, analysing, and presenting in-depth market insights at scale. Embedded across the platform’s workflow, these AI Agents provide support across the entire research lifecycle, from engaging respondents in research activities, to empowering global insights through its multilingual capabilities, to surfacing key insights, themes, and quotes in an instant.
Its users report a 30-50% reduction in analysis and reporting time with the use of its AI tools. Further developments on the AI front will continue to be a core focus for Discuss as it reflects a wider industry trend of combining automation and human expertise in market research.
Purpose Built for Market Insights
Designed for corporate research teams and agencies, the platform offers flexible usage options. Teams can choose a do-it-yourself or do-it-together approach, integrating key services and support only as needed.
The shift towards digital qualitative research reflects broader changes in the field, as researchers aim to retain the depth of traditional methods while enhancing efficiency and reach through technology, like AI. The challenge lies in integrating these technological advancements without losing the human elements that define qualitative research.
As the research industry evolves, platforms like Discuss demonstrate how digital tools can complement traditional qualitative methodologies while expanding the depth and breadth of insights.
Watch the webinar to learn more about the Discuss platform.
Discuss Demo: Rethinking Qualitative Research: How to Scale Human Connections with GenAI
About Discuss
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