About Julian
Julian Cole is the Product Owner of Qualzy. He co-founded Dipolar, the company that makes Qualzy, in 1998, and has spent more than 25 years working at the intersection of market research and technology. He brings both a researcher's perspective and a programmer's instinct to the way the platform evolves, and has been building it from the ground up since day one. Outside of work, Julian is a keen tennis player with a tendency to get lost in a good coding project.
Julian's session at Insight Platforms' Qual Insights Summit in November 2026, Real research is AI-proof, has a written companion on the blog.
Julian writes about
- Qualitative research
- Artificial intelligence
- Market research
- Focus group
- Online community
- Diary studies
Articles by Julian 19 articles
- Real research is AI-proof. Here's why, and where AI still makes it better Why AI can't do real research on its own, where it makes research faster, cheaper and better, with practical advice for communities, live interviews and chats.
- When AI-moderated interviews work, and when they don't An honest look at AI-moderated interviews: the different kinds, where they help, and when a human moderator or a live focus group is the better choice.
- Recruiting and paying research participants Where to find research participants, how to write a screener, how much to pay them, how many to over-recruit, and how to keep them taking part.
- In-depth interviews (IDIs): a practical guide What an in-depth interview is, how long it should be, IDIs or a focus group, how many you need, and how to run and analyse them online or in person.
- How to run an online focus group A practical guide to online focus groups: group size, length, recruitment, no-shows, the discussion guide, stimulus, the client backroom and analysis.
- What does an online research community cost? What drives the cost of an online research community: panel size, length, how much the vendor runs, recruitment, incentives, design and languages.
- Why consumers support sustainability in theory but reject it in the kitchen Consumers say they want sustainability, then choose convenience at dinnertime. Why the say-do gap shows up in the kitchen, and how to research it.
- What is an MROC? Online research communities explained What an MROC (market research online community) is, how it differs from a panel and a short online discussion, how long it runs and when not to use one.
- When the right tools meet at the right time: inside the Qualzy and DoReveal partnership How a shared client sparked a natural partnership between Qualzy and DoReveal, and what it means for researchers managing complex qualitative workflows.
- Online diary studies: how to run one well How to design and run an online diary study: length, entry frequency, prompts and media, keeping people going, and analysing entries with AI.
- Asynchronous qualitative research explained What async qual is, how it differs from live sessions, the main formats from pre-tasks to communities, and how to combine async and live in one project.
- Balancing the promise, pitfalls and progress of AI in qual research The qual research industry is at a tipping point with AI. An honest look at what's working, what isn't, and what researcher-first AI actually means in practice.
- Qualzy + CoLoop: an AI integration to elevate your research analytics Qualzy and CoLoop, two researcher-first AI platforms, join forces: shared values, complementary strengths and a better research workflow.
- Rewiring a qualitative research business with AI How qualitative research businesses can strategically integrate AI, seven practical areas for transformation, from talent to technology to service design.
- AI or human moderation? What we learned testing both In 2023 we tested AI-only, human-only and combined moderation in a research community with Mustard Research. What we learned, and what it means for qual.
- The ethics of AI in qual research Bias, privacy risks and the interpretation gap, the ethical questions qualitative researchers must navigate carefully as AI becomes part of their practice.
- How to analyse qualitative data, with and without AI How to analyse qualitative data: coding, building themes from evidence, where AI helps with the first pass, how to check it, and making findings land.
- How to choose qualitative research software A practical buyer's guide for research teams evaluating qual platforms: what separates the right tool from one that creates more work than it saves.
- Advantages of online research: why you should move your project online Online qual has real advantages: reach, candour, richer data and speed. Why more projects belong online than most people assume.