Clients often request lists from Wonder to help them decide on products and services. They frequently want us to find the “top” or “best” products, services, people, etc., by researching various characteristics and ranking them according to objective criteria.

Minimum Requirements Per 3-Hour Request

1. Provide a list of 5-7 of the top/best for each 3-hour request.
2. Share how you defined and selected the top with the client in the Research Strategy.
3. For each one identified:
   1. Provide a 1-2 sentence explanation of what qualifies the company, person, etc., as top, supported with a source.
   2. Provide a 2-3 sentence description of the company, person, etc.
4. Provide a minimum of one image per 3-hour request. If possible, add an image of each concept discussed.

Identifying Best / Top

• Start by searching for pre-compiled lists from credible and reliable resources or databases that offer metrics/sorting/ranking capabilities to prove measurability.

• If you cannot find these through a general search, use more specific search strings, Boolean and X-ray searches, and filters to pull relevant results.

  <aside> ⚠️ Note: Search strings and advanced search methods, e.g., X-ray and Boolean search, are tools, not strategies. Do not mention these in your research reports. Instead, note the publishers of the resources, reports, and databases consulted (e.g., International Data Group (IDG)).

  </aside>

• Use consistent metrics to select the top/best items that apply to all items on the list so the client can make apples-to-apples comparisons. Commonly used metrics include revenue, sales, market cap, number of users, and number of app downloads, among others.

• Include a source for each item on the list to justify its inclusion.

• Provide more than just several pre-compiled lists. If several pre-compiled lists are available, include them as sources if they helped identify items to be included on the list.

• Avoid superficial proxy lists for "top" (e.g., most reviewed on Amazon, top hits on Google).

Findings

• Once the top/best items are found, briefly describe each item on the list unless the Research Criteria require something else.
• If the Research Criteria asks for “ranked lists,” rank your findings' top/best items.
• Organize your findings using bullets and concise headings/subheadings.

Research Strategy