Good with
the questions
that aren't simple.
I'm a senior qualitative researcher. I like the layered, open-ended projects, the ones with a lot going on and no clean answer yet, and I'm good at turning that into something clear you can move on.
Ways I can help
A senior researcher for the whole thing, a partner for part of it, or an hour of straight talk about your approach. Four ways in.
The Gut Check
Not sure your approach holds together? Want a second read on the brief before the budget goes out? One focused hour, honest and experienced. You leave with a clearer method and a few concrete next steps. Good for founders, in-house researchers, and teams at any stage.
Research & insight consulting
Qualitative and mixed-methods research that gets past what people say and into why they do it. Depth interviews, focus groups, ethnography, diary studies, digital methods. Getting underneath a surface answer is the part I'm best at.
Market research & consumer insight
A tightly scoped study, or a proper read on how a whole category behaves. Either way, research that ends in a decision, not a shrug. I'm good with B2B, CX, and the audiences that don't hand it over easily. And if your team's drowning in half-analysed data, I'll take the synthesis off you.
Writing & thought leadership
Writing that sounds like your brand and earns its place, not filler for a content calendar. Articles, white papers, point-of-view pieces that make research thinking readable. Also up for workshop design, facilitation, and helping teams get sensible about AI.
Selected work
Names off for confidentiality, but the shape is real. A few things relevant to product and brand work.
Which format lands
ChallengeA global drinks brand weighing up formats for a new product, pre-production.
OutcomeA clear steer on which one to back, and the sensory and emotional why behind it, straight into the product decision.
Is this thing right before we launch it
ChallengeAn early-stage brand needing to validate a product with real users before going to market.
OutcomeBuilt from scratch, end to end. A clear read on what worked and what didn't, shaping both the product and the go-to-market.
Why people buy wellness
ChallengeA health and wellness brand needing to understand what tips people from sceptical into buying.
OutcomeA sharper read on the real motivations and barriers, and where to earn trust in a category people are (rightly) cynical about.
Want the fuller versions? Ask me for the work samples.
Where I've worked
How I work
Start with the actual problem, which isn't always the one written on the brief. Good framing changes everything downstream.
Better questions make better research. I'll push on a vague objective until it's something worth answering.
Past the surface answer to the beliefs and tensions doing the real work behind a decision.
Findings a team can act on. Clear, and honest about what they mean.
About
The part I like most is the messy middle. A lot of moving pieces, no clear answer yet, and the job of making sense of it.
I'm a senior qualitative researcher with five-plus years leading work across FMCG, financial services, tech, healthcare, retail and B2B. Global brands, early startups, and a fair bit in between. The projects that find me tend to be the tangled ones: several stakeholders, a brief that shifts, a lot happening at once. I bring some calm to that, and I get to an answer worth acting on.
The methods themselves range wide. Depth interviews, focus groups, ethnography, diary studies, workshops, synthesis. I moderate well, which mostly means keeping a conversation loose and pointed at the same time. Synthesis is where I'm happiest: a pile of messy, multi-source input on one side, something clear enough to decide on coming out the other.
And I'm easy to have around. I run my own projects, I'm collaborative, and I'll nudge a brief when I think it'll make the work better. A safe pair of hands, minus the ego.
- Comfortable with complex, high-stakes work and the ambiguity attached to it
- A strong moderator, loose and on-point at once
- Happiest in synthesis, turning multi-source mess into a clear read
- Fluent across traditional and newer methods, AI-enabled research included
- Independent, collaborative, genuinely good to work with
What clients say
★★★★★"An experienced researcher. She moderated a focus group for us and kept the conversation moving smoothly while staying right on topic. Highly recommend."
Qualitative research · Upwork
★★★★★"Incredibly well-spoken, intelligent and insightful. It was an honour getting her thoughts on our product, and her read on design, marketing and value was genuinely helpful."
Consumer insight · Upwork
★★★★★"A pleasure to work with. Thoughtful, receptive, collaborative, and very thorough. We're grateful for her help."
Research & strategy · Upwork
★★★★★"Easy to talk to and easy to work with. She kept reaching out, kept things moving, and kept an eye on the timeline. Definitely hiring her again."
Ongoing project · Upwork
★★★★★"Responsive, professional, and her work is on point. You won't be sorry you hired her. Can't wait to work together again."
Research & writing · Upwork
A 100% job success score across 346 projects and 1,144 hours on Upwork.
Also writing
Two newsletters, kept firmly apart. One's the day job. The other is what my brain does when nobody's watching.
Qualitea Thoughts
Qualitative research, from the inside. The craft, the field, the arguments worth having, and the odd thing everyone's thinking in the debrief and nobody's saying out loud.
Read it ↗Baseerat
Pop culture with a sociology degree pointed at it, and no self-control. Film, music and TV across Bollywood, Lollywood and Hollywood, taken far too seriously in the best way.
Read it ↗I also build things.
Mostly with Claude.
Small tools, Claude skills, and a pile of AI experiments that got out of hand in the best way. Everyone says they're AI-fluent now. Mine's a public GitHub full of receipts.
Visit claudefun ↗Come yap
with me.
A juicy project, a role with my name on it, a study you want to think out loud about, or a research problem that's keeping you up at night. I love this stuff and I love talking about it. Send a message, let's get into it.
Open to interesting work, in-house or freelance · myra.nizami@gmail.com