Torchora
Back to Home

Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for MR Intern (Market Research Intern)

💰 $15/hr - $35/hr

Market ResearchInternshipConsumer InsightsData Analysis

🎯 Role Definition

A Market Research (MR) Intern supports data-driven decision-making by assisting with the design, execution, analysis, and communication of primary and secondary research projects. This role requires a mix of quantitative and qualitative research skills, familiarity with survey and analytics tools (e.g., Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Google Analytics, SPSS/R/Python), strong attention to detail, and the ability to translate data into clear, actionable insights for product, marketing, and strategy teams.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Undergraduate student in Marketing, Business, Economics, Statistics, Psychology, or related fields seeking hands-on research experience.
  • Marketing intern or communications intern with exposure to campaign analytics.
  • Data/Analytics intern who has worked with basic datasets or reporting.

Advancement To:

  • Market Research Analyst / Consumer Insights Analyst
  • Junior Research Associate / Research Executive
  • Data Analyst (specializing in consumer or marketing datasets)

Lateral Moves:

  • Marketing Analyst
  • Product Analyst
  • UX Research Assistant

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Assist in the end-to-end execution of primary research projects by contributing to project scoping, research objectives, target audience definition, and timeline planning to ensure deliverables meet stakeholder needs and deadlines.
  • Design, draft, and format survey questionnaires and interview guides with clear objectives, appropriate question sequencing, and bias-reduction techniques; work with senior researchers to iterate on question wording and routing logic.
  • Program and test online surveys in platforms such as Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, or proprietary survey tools; run logic checks, pilot tests, and finalize survey builds to maintain data integrity.
  • Conduct secondary research and competitive landscape analysis using industry reports, academic journals, syndicated data (e.g., Nielsen, Kantar, Statista), and credible online sources to provide contextual insights and inform research hypotheses.
  • Recruit, screen, and schedule research participants for focus groups, in-depth interviews, and usability tests; coordinate incentives, consent forms, and logistics while ensuring participant confidentiality and compliance with privacy policies.
  • Facilitate or co-moderate qualitative sessions (focus groups and interviews), take detailed notes, and produce verbatim transcripts for coding and thematic analysis under the guidance of senior researchers.
  • Clean, prepare, and manage primary research datasets by applying best practices for data validation, missing-value handling, weighting, and variable recoding to ensure high-quality inputs for analysis.
  • Perform quantitative analysis using Excel (pivot tables, lookups, advanced formulas), SPSS, R, or Python to run descriptive statistics, cross-tabulations, hypothesis tests, and simple regressions as required by project scope.
  • Build and maintain dashboards and visualizations in Tableau, Power BI, or Google Data Studio that summarize key metrics, trends, and segment insights for internal stakeholders and client presentations.
  • Conduct segmentation analysis, cluster identification, and persona construction using both behavioral and attitudinal data; support senior analysts in interpreting segment meaning and go-to-market implications.
  • Support pricing and concept testing studies using discrete choice methods, conjoint analysis inputs, or simple A/B test setups; prepare datasets and summarize findings for discussion with product and pricing teams.
  • Monitor social media and online review channels for brand sentiment, competitive mentions, and trend signals using social listening tools; summarize qualitative anecdotes and quantitative metrics for trend reports.
  • Prepare clear, succinct research deliverables including slide decks, executive summaries, one-page insight briefs, and raw data appendices tailored to different audiences (executive, product, marketing).
  • Present findings in internal brown-bag sessions or client meetings with coaching from senior researchers — translating technical results into practical recommendations and next steps for business partners.
  • Collaborate cross-functionally with marketing, product, UX, sales, and analytics teams to translate research findings into actionable initiatives, campaign optimizations, feature prioritization, or product-market fit hypotheses.
  • Support ongoing tracking studies and KPI monitoring by updating periodic surveys, refreshing datasets, and verifying continuity and comparability across waves.
  • Maintain a centralized repository of research documentation, question libraries, respondent panels, and study materials to improve reusability and institutional knowledge across the team.
  • Ensure research practices comply with ethical standards, company policies, and data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) by following consent protocols, anonymizing data, and securely storing respondent information.
  • Contribute to proposal development and project scoping for new research engagements by estimating timelines, sample sizes, and resource requirements under senior guidance.
  • Automate repetitive reporting tasks through templated scripts, macros, or dashboard setups to improve team efficiency and reduce manual errors.
  • Participate in weekly stand-ups, project update meetings, and retrospective sessions to provide status updates, surface risks, and propose process improvements for the research workflow.
  • Conduct ad-hoc exploratory analyses requested by stakeholders to answer pressing business questions, validate assumptions, or test new hypotheses in a rapid, evidence-driven manner.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
  • Assist with vendor coordination for panel providers, moderator services, or specialized analytics vendors and maintain vendor performance logs.
  • Help maintain respondent incentive bookkeeping, invoicing details, and vendor receipts for budgeting and audit purposes.
  • Shadow senior researchers on client calls to learn stakeholder management and project communication best practices.
  • Contribute to knowledge-sharing initiatives such as research brown-bags, methodology training sessions, and internal “best practice” documents.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Survey design and questionnaire development with experience or familiarity with best-practice question types, branching, and skip logic.
  • Survey programming in Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, or similar platforms including logic testing and debugging.
  • Advanced Excel skills: pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, INDEX-MATCH, conditional formulas, and basic macros for data cleaning and analysis.
  • Statistical analysis fundamentals using SPSS, R, or Python (pandas, numpy, scipy) for descriptive stats, significance testing, and basic regressions.
  • Data visualization and dashboarding in Tableau, Power BI, or Google Data Studio to communicate insights visually and interactively.
  • Experience working with Google Analytics and other web analytics tools for digital behavior analysis and campaign measurement.
  • Familiarity with social listening tools and techniques (e.g., Brandwatch, Sprinklr, Talkwalker) to track sentiment and topical trends.
  • Basic SQL skills for querying databases, extracting samples, and joining research data with CRM or web analytics sources.
  • Qualitative research competencies: note-taking, transcription review, thematic coding, and familiarity with tools like Dedoose or NVivo.
  • Knowledge of sampling methodologies, weighting, margin of error concepts, and panel management best practices.
  • Experience with A/B testing basics and interpreting experimental results for product or marketing tests.
  • Basic scripting or automation (Python or Excel VBA) to streamline repetitive data tasks and produce reproducible analysis.
  • Familiarity with privacy and compliance principles (GDPR, CCPA) and practical steps to anonymize or secure research data.

Soft Skills

  • Strong written and verbal communication to craft concise executive summaries, research memos, and stakeholder-facing presentations.
  • Critical thinking and curiosity to probe beyond surface-level findings and uncover root causes, patterns, and actionable recommendations.
  • Attention to detail to ensure survey logic, data processing steps, and results are accurate and replicable.
  • Time management and prioritization skills to juggle multiple projects, deadlines, and rapid turn-around requests.
  • Team collaboration and interpersonal skills to work closely with cross-functional partners and external vendors.
  • Project management fundamentals: creating project plans, tracking milestones, and escalating blockers proactively.
  • Adaptability and learning agility to pick up new tools, methodologies, and business domains quickly during the internship.
  • Presentation and storytelling ability to translate complex data into persuasive, business-oriented narratives.
  • Problem solving and resourcefulness to address unexpected data issues, recruit challenges, or scope changes with practical solutions.
  • Professionalism and ethical judgment when handling sensitive respondent information and communicating findings.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Currently enrolled in a Bachelor's degree program or recent graduate (0-1 year) in Marketing, Business, Economics, Statistics, Psychology, Sociology, Data Science, or related disciplines.

Preferred Education:

  • Pursuing or completed coursework in Market Research, Consumer Insights, Statistics, Data Analytics, Research Methods, or Behavioral Science.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Marketing
  • Business / Management
  • Economics
  • Statistics / Data Science
  • Psychology / Sociology
  • Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) / UX Research
  • Applied Mathematics

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 0–2 years (internships, relevant course projects, research assistantships, or part-time roles preferred)

Preferred:

  • Prior internship or project experience in market research, consumer insights, analytics, or a related field.
  • Hands-on exposure to at least one survey platform (Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey) and one analytics environment (Excel advanced, Tableau, SPSS, R, or Python).
  • Demonstrated ability to manage small research tasks independently and contribute meaningfully to team deliverables.
Explore More Careers