New From NPD
High Definition Video Player Report Series - two new reportsMarket HD video players and HD video content more effectively to consumers who may be confused by the competing HD-DVD and Blu-Ray formats. These two reports — the Device Awareness, Purchase Intent, & Penetration Report and the Device Ownership
and Usage Report — provide critical details about what's happening in the market. MORE
Kids and Consumer Electronics Europe - New consumer perspectiveGet the most comprehensive consumer information about how consumer electronics are penetrating the lives of kids in the U.K., France, and Germany. This report delivers the detail companies need to understand ownership, penetration, and usage of CE products by children ages four to 14. MORE
Automotive Hard Parts Consumer StudyWhich parts are being purchased? How does retail service affect purchasing decisions? How are parts installed? NPD went straight to consumers to explore hard parts purchasing behavior. Equipped with this report hard parts installers, manufacturers, and retailers can get a clear view of the consumer and strengthen their marketing efforts. MORE
Grilling in AmericaThis exclusive report delivers new insight into American consumers' grilling habits. Based on data from an array of NPD information products, it details grilling behavior, including the foods grilled, how grilled foods are prepared, and what other foods are consumed at meals featuring grilled foods. MORE
Next-generation system wars - competition is heating up!With all the new gaming systems vying for consumer attention, the next-generation console- and portable-system wars are underway
. . . and competition is heating up. The Next Generation System Functionality & Usage Report identifies the early adopters and those who will be next in line to purchase these new systems, delving deep into consumer attitudes and behavior and exploring purchase intent. MORE
Insights Mission
HomeResearch Sciences Profile
“R&D is my passion, and it’s vital to NPD,” said David Pinsley. He should know – he’s been leading and contributing to NPD’s research and development efforts for over 20 years. He’s an inventor, a patent-holder, and a true R&D junkie.
David joined NPD in 1984 as a software engineer. He created some of NPD’s first PC applications, including PowerViewer, which some NPD clients use today. In the mid-1990s, he worked with now-Chief Research Officer Steve Coffey to investigate, among other things, something known as the World Wide Web. David and Steve were visionaries of how integral to NPD online capabilities would become. They registered some important firsts in the market research industry, including online focus group systems and the original PC Meter (now owned by Nielsen//Netratings). David continued to innovate with Web technologies and built one of the first Web-based survey systems, which evolved to become an important part of NPD’s industry leadership today.
The R&D group, affiliated with NPD’s Research Sciences group, explores and develops technologies and methods for marketing research. Typically David and his R&D associates focus on, but are not limited to, data collection. They’re also involved in the development of new information sources, such as the blogs and forums he writes about in this issue’s cover story.
Other R&D accomplishments include work on data quality. David’s group has developed automated robots to gather Internet information about products, and has built components that improve the user interface of our questionnaires. The group has also deployed NPD’s first internal “Wiki,” where researchers can exchange ideas and insight.
After leading the Panel Operations and then IT/Enterprise departments, David revitalized R&D in 2003. “I love combining technology, analytic thought, and creativity to design new solutions for our customers,” he said.
In addition to holding three patents on Internet-based market research techniques, David Pinsley holds an MBA from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from The American University.
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