Research Consulting

We specialize in qualitative primary and secondary research, and our consulting approach and setup has evolved over more than a decade.

Structured, yet collaborative and flexible approach
Structured and collaborative, we involve our clients from initial project planning, through the actual process of conducting a study and sharing the findings.
We believe that the strength and relevance of research lies in clearly defined objectives, collaborative planning and a flexible research approach that assimilates both stakeholder and consumer inputs.

Customized and versatile research methods
We strive to move beyond cookie cutter research methods and tools.
We draw from a flexible toolkit, where proven methods are creatively customized to suit each project’s goals and cultural context. Our visual and exploratory research tools are designed to put participants at ease and encourage deeper, more meaningful responses.

Thought provoking and actionable research outputs
Our research outputs inspire and invite action.
From vivid ‘Postcards from the Field’ and rich visual frameworks to tangible artefacts like brainstorming cards, research outputs across project stages are designed to spark dialog and drive action among client teams.
We understand the correlation and overlaps between design and research. Our research insights and recommendations are thought provoking and actionable, geared towards inspiring design and providing design direction.

Curated network of partners
Over the years, we have carefully curated a strong network of global and local research partners.
Our local partnerships with researchers, local language moderators, participant recruiters, facility providers and other research support service providers enable us to meet the linguistic and geographic challenges of conducting pan-India primary research.
We can offer turnkey research solutions across India and quickly curate strong research teams without compromising work ethics or quality.
We have a trusted network of freelance researchers and small agencies worldwide who we can partner with for multi-country studies.

Our user interviews complimented by observation and research activities can range from a couple of hours to a week.

Rigorous research helps gain in-depth understanding of customer lifestyles, attitudes and behaviors.

Research can inspire and help identify opportunity spaces for design.

We visited over 40 homes across Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad for in-context research that inspired a client to design furniture and décor products for Indian customers more thoughtfully.

Rainy Kolkata… On route to Durgapur to talk to final year college students about their career related needs and aspirations.

We also visited students in Nasik, Davangere and Meerut to identify unmet needs and opportunity spaces for a client.

A ‘learning project’ – A client’s design team observed user interviews and participated actively in synthesis.

To enhance learning, Anagram Research also conducted a series of short workshops to help them understand the different research phases.

Conducting research ‘in-context’ enriches the entire interaction.

In one of our research studies, we explored user behaviors and attitudes towards sharing news digitally. We also got user feedback on current and potential features for a news app.

Quick lunch of bread pakodas before the start of a mini-focus group!

To conduct sessions with students in tier 2 cities, we chose ‘neighborhood home venues’ rather than a hotel. This helped reassure our participants parents and encouraged more students to participate.

We sometimes conduct research at a client’s office or at a professional research facility.

In such cases, the research study often doubles up as a ‘design/research awareness-building exercise’ for client teams interested or invested in research.

180 and 90 min home visits helped us gain an in-depth understanding about geriatric patients living in Moscow and Irkutsk.

Talking to caregivers and other stakeholders in addition to patients helped us get a holistic perspective.

The perks of conducting research in cultures like India and Russia!

The hospitality shown by research participants never fails to energize lengthy interactions.

Home visits in India can be unexpected.

In this interview with a young man living in the outskirts of Noida, his family joined us for most of the interview.

Good quality, ready to rent research setups are sometimes not available even in large Indian cities.

In those instances, we set up a CCTV across adjoining rooms in a home or co-working space to create ‘interview’ and ‘observation’ rooms.

Research Collaboration

In addition to our research consulting practice, we also collaborate to support other research teams in multiple ways:

Expert Resourcing
We collaborate with design, strategy and research consultancies, as well as with insights teams within larger organizations, when their in-house teams lack the capacity or specific expertise to take on large or complex research projects.

Cultural Insight Partner
We partner with global research and strategy consultancies to ensure cultural relevance when conducting research in India. In past engagements, we’ve either supported international teams on the ground or independently led the India leg of multi-country studies from end to end.

India Immersions
Cultural immersions offer client design and research teams a meaningful way to engage with their area of focus – beyond user interviews.
We curate immersive experiences tailored to specific research objectives or topics of interest. Our sessions are designed to help our client partners gain deeper cultural insight by observing real-life settings or through guided visits or walks.
Each immersion is led by a local researcher who will be able to provide cultural sub-context, ask the right questions and spot what might otherwise be missed.
While immersions are fun, they are also actionable – We work with our clients to capture notes and synthesize the rich data and observations that are a byproduct of immersions.
Examples of past immersions include:

Walks or visits to specific places of interest
Contextual and informal interactions with target users
Participation in local or seasonal rituals, events, or activities

In collaboration with a US based research agency doing a multi country study, Anagram Research was the local research partner for India.

This picture – A ‘Day in the Life’ chart used during home visits to understand device usage and preferences in India.

Anagram Research’s role in this collaboration was that of a cultural expert.

In addition to participating in interviews and debriefs, we also facilitated visits to inspirational spaces, people, and experiences relevant to the project.

We facilitated inspirational visits for a global research team doing research in India.

To find the diverse range of people they wanted to talk to, we worked with our professional recruiting partner and also tapped into our personal networks.

The culmination of a 2-month research collaboration with the in-house innovation team of a leading Indian company.

This picture – Externalizing and grouping research data to find patterns.

As the local research partner, Anagram Research helped a US based research agency with secondary research about alternate healthcare systems in India.

Secondary research was then enriched and validated through quick field work in India.

Collaborations are always great! An opportunity to work with researchers across the globe.

This picture – A thank you gift from an IDEO research team at the end of our research collaboration in Bangalore.

Workshops

Customized workshops
Our workshops are designed for impact and customized to meet a wide range of client needs. We tailor the content based on – our audience’s current level of expertise in research and usability / specific skills they need to develop / time available for training / service or product context / current workflows and processes.

We currently offer workshops in the following areas:

Expert based evaluation methods
User based evaluation methods
Design Research

Participants at a design research workshop for Urban Ladder learn how to download raw data from fieldwork, in preparation for research synthesis.

Free HCD workshop hosted by Wooplr and conducted by Anagram Research.

Teams from 3 startups participated – Nestaway, Zoomcar and Wooplr.

Students practice interview techniques during a 3-day design research workshop at Lecolededesign, India.

A 2-week workshop for NID Bangalore on design research – Ended with an industry visit to Yahoo Bangalore.

A quick 1-day workshop with B-school students – But not too short to understand and practically experience design thinking!

Students explore design research tools during a 2-week workshop on design research.

‘30 Circles’ – An ice breaker to wake up students creativity before a co-creation session.

Workshop on design research – Affinity mapping to finding themes in the research data.

Capability Building

The trusted expertise that Anagram Research is known for is now available through two new, affordable services – both facilitated by founder Devika, a seasoned researcher with over 23 years of industry experience.

Learning Projects
We offer hands-on training to independent researchers and in-house teams by guiding them through live strategic or evaluative research projects. Our training is supported by high-quality, field-tested templates and artefacts that equip learners to confidently plan, conduct, and report qualitative research.
Learning Projects are a cost-effective alternative to commissioning a full-scale research project through an external consultancy.

This service is ideal for organizations that want to make the most of their research budgets by combining hands-on training with the successful completion of a robust, high-quality research study.
It’s also well-suited for early-to-mid career independent researchers who are looking for technical guidance, feedback, and mentorship on real-world projects they are working on.

Hiring and Mentoring Support
For organizations looking to build in-house research capability from the ground up, we offer support in identifying, hiring, and then mentoring new researchers to set them up for long-term success.

Our model includes:

Partnering with clients to locate, assess, and interview suitable candidates.
Providing structured mentoring over a fixed duration or for specific research projects.