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Research Operations & Insights

onkoru

From design to data

Most researchers know exactly what they want to study. The bottleneck is everything else — designing the instrument, programming the survey, recruiting the right participants, and cleaning the data. Onkoru handles all of it.

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Services

Research execution,
start to finish

Every project is handled with publication-grade rigor. IRB-compatible protocols, validated panels via Prolific and CloudResearch, power-analysed sample sizes, and analysis ready for peer review — whether you're running a single study or a multi-wave design.

Study Design

Experimental design, hypothesis framing, power analysis, and IRB-ready protocol development. The architecture gets locked in before a single line of code is written.

Qualtrics Programming

Full survey and experiment builds — logic branching, randomization, embedded data, attention checks, timing, and multi-block designs — tested and deployment-ready.

Participant Recruitment

Validated human panels via Prolific and CloudResearch, with quality checks built in. Sample size recommendations, screening criteria management, and respondent verification — all handled.

Verified Human Panel

Access to a curated, ID-verified respondent pool — general population and specialized subgroups — at lower cost than Prolific or CloudResearch. Every respondent is government-ID verified, deduplicated, screened for bot and AI-agent behavior, and recontactable for longitudinal work. Built for researchers who can't afford data quality issues at peer review.

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Data Analysis

From data cleaning through hypothesis testing in R or SPSS — descriptive statistics, regression, mediation/moderation, and polished output files ready for publication or reporting.

Lab Infrastructure

Full research lab design — physical space layout, Qualtrics environment, panel vendor onboarding, SOPs, and team training. Built to run cleanly from day one.

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8+
Years of research experience
100+
Studies designed and executed
10+
Institutional backgrounds

About

Small team,
direct access

Onkoru is a small research operations and insights firm. Our team brings 8+ years of hands-on research infrastructure experience, working with faculty and research teams at institutions including USC Marshall, Harvard, Booth, Columbia, and Stanford.

When you work with Onkoru, you work directly with the people who designed and ran studies at those institutions — bringing that same methodological rigor to your project, from the first scoping call through final deliverable.

온고루

The name draws from the Korean 온고루 — a quality that describes something done thoroughly, evenly, and without gaps. It's the standard a well-designed study is held to: every condition treated the same, every variable accounted for, no corner cut. That's the commitment behind every project we take on.

Experience background

USC Marshall School of Business
Harvard Business School
Chicago Booth University of Chicago
Columbia Business School
Stanford Graduate School of Business

Who it's for

Built for researchers
who need it done right

Academic researchers

Faculty, PhD students & research labs

You have the research question. What you don't have is time, Qualtrics expertise, or a reliable way to recruit clean data fast. Onkoru steps in as a trusted execution partner — handling everything from IRB-compatible study design through analysis — so your work moves forward without waiting on in-house support that doesn't exist. Includes access to our ID-verified human panel at lower cost than Prolific. Academic pricing available.

Corporate & industry teams

Research managers & insights leads

Need behavioral data that holds up to scrutiny — not just a survey report? Onkoru brings academic-grade experimental design to applied research problems, with analysis you can defend internally and validated participants you can trust.

What researchers say

Trusted by researchers
across disciplines

"

The Onkoru team brings a rare combination of technical skill and genuine methodological understanding. They catch design problems before they become data problems.

Associate Professor · Top-10 Business School

"

Working with Onkoru felt like having a co-investigator who happened to also handle all the execution. Fast, precise, and the data came back clean.

PhD Researcher · Strategy & Organizational Behavior

"

We needed a validated panel and solid Qualtrics programming on a tight deadline. Onkoru delivered both, and the analysis was publication-ready.

Research Lead · Consumer Insights, Fortune 500

Case Studies

Research in practice

A sample engagement illustrating the full-service model — from study architecture through executive-ready findings.

Consumer Insights  ·  Gaming & Entertainment

AAA Gaming Franchise
Purchase Driver Research

A full-service quantitative study examining the role of in-game vehicles and military hardware in consumer purchasing decisions across a leading action-combat gaming franchise — executed for a major global games publisher.

2,531
Qualified respondents
recruited & retained
9
Day field period
from launch to close
30+
Survey questions with
multi-path logic branching
37
U.S. states represented
in final sample

Methodology

01
Screening & Sampling
Population Definition & Recruitment
U.S. adults aged 18–65 who had played one or more titles in the franchise. Active-duty military, veterans, and industry employees were excluded to eliminate professional familiarity bias. Quotas across gender and age cells ensured demographic balance throughout fielding.
Consumer Panel Quota Sampling Eligibility Screening
02
Instrument Design
Questionnaire Architecture
Four thematic blocks — usage behavior, awareness and first-purchase drivers, ongoing engagement factors, and lapse reasons. The vehicle relevance battery was positioned late following deliberate attitudinal priming. Aided recall questions were dynamically populated from each respondent's earlier title selections.
30+ Questions 4 Thematic Blocks Bias Mitigation
03
Programming
Qualtrics Implementation
End-to-end Qualtrics build with conditional routing for active vs. lapsed players, title-specific question piping, embedded respondent identifiers, and dynamic quota controls that triggered termination protocols as cells filled — preventing over-fielding.
Qualtrics Conditional Branching Dynamic Quota Control
04
Analysis & Reporting
Data Processing & Insight Delivery
Post-field QA including duration review, straight-liner detection, and open-end validation. Cross-tabulations across active/lapsed status, engagement tier, and title cohorts. Findings structured around the core business question: to what extent do military vehicles factor into purchasing behavior, and how does this vary by player type.
Cross-Tabulation Subgroup Analysis Executive Report
Key Finding
"Military vehicles and aircraft were rated important or above by 84% of respondents — hardware authenticity functions not merely as a feature, but as a core purchase motivator for a majority of the active player base."

Select Study Outcomes

6 headline findings
84%
Rated vehicle importance "slightly important" or above
With 53% at "important" or "very important" — hardware authenticity emerges as a purchase consideration, not a peripheral feature.
61%
First discovered the franchise through friends or family
Word-of-mouth outperformed paid media by nearly 2:1 — with direct implications for community investment vs. advertising spend.
62%
Of play time spent in multiplayer vs. campaign
Despite significant single-player investment, multiplayer retains players — competitive community was the top engagement driver across all active segments.
53%
Of lapsed players cited boredom as the reason for stopping
Churn driven by content fatigue, not competitive displacement — pointing to a content cadence problem rather than a rival-title threat.
40%
Named one legacy title as most-played entry — 4× any other
A clear franchise anchor title identified, with implications for remaster decisions, heritage content, and naming conventions.
37
Average respondent age — broader than industry assumptions
Combined with a near-even 55/45 male-to-female split, findings challenge the prevailing stereotype — with direct implications for media targeting.
AAA Games Publisher · March 2019 · n=2,531 View full case study

Signature service

Behavioral Lab
Design

Building a research operation from the ground up — or rebuilding one that isn't working. Onkoru designs the full infrastructure: physical space layout optimized for experimental flow, Qualtrics environment configuration, panel vendor selection and onboarding, and hands-on training for your research team.

The result is a lab that runs cleanly from day one, with the systems, vendors, and people aligned around rigorous, reproducible research.

Physical Space Design Layout optimized for participant flow, experimental control, and observation — maximizing the utility of every square foot.
Qualtrics Configuration Account structure, templates, naming conventions, user permissions, and survey architecture built to scale.
Panel Vendor Onboarding Evaluation and setup of Prolific, CloudResearch, or custom recruitment pipelines — with quality standards built in from the start.
SOPs & Team Training Study intake protocols, QC checklists, data management workflows, and hands-on training so your team can operate independently.
Start with a scoping call
01

Scoping

A structured discovery session to assess current state, define needs, and produce a written infrastructure plan with timeline and full project fee.

02

Design

Detailed infrastructure plan — space layout, technology stack, vendor selection, SOP documentation — reviewed and approved before build begins.

03

Build

Full execution of the infrastructure plan. Configuration, procurement guidance, vendor onboarding, and documentation — all delivered.

04

Training

Hands-on training for your team — methodology fundamentals, platform proficiency, and quality standards — so the lab runs without dependency on outside support.

Engagements are scoped individually. Get in touch to discuss your lab's needs and receive a custom proposal.

Services

Work with Onkoru

Projects are scoped individually — whether you need a single study executed end-to-end, ongoing research support, or a full lab built from the ground up. Get in touch with a brief description of your project and you'll receive a scoping outline and fee estimate within one business day.

Per project

Study design through final deliverable — Qualtrics build, recruitment, analysis, and report in one engagement.

Retainer

Monthly access — dedicated consulting hours, full study execution, and priority panel turnaround each month.

Lab build

Full infrastructure engagement — space design, platform configuration, vendor onboarding, SOPs, and team training.

Academic researchers receive 15% off all project work — mention your institution when you get in touch.

Start a conversation

How it works

Four steps,
one point of contact

01

Scoping

A single 30-minute call to understand your study, your timeline, and your constraints. No commitment required — you'll leave with a clear sense of scope and cost.

02

Design

Experimental design review, power analysis, and Qualtrics build — tested before launch.

03

Collection

Participant recruitment through validated panels with quality monitoring throughout.

04

Analysis

Clean data files, statistical output, and a summary report — ready for your team.

Contact

Tell us what
you're studying

Share a brief description of your study — design, sample, and timeline. You'll hear back within one business day with a clear scope and cost estimate. No lengthy intake process.

Academic researchers receive 15% off all project work — just mention your institution above.

Email: hello@onkoru.com

Call or text: 213-712-4617

You'll hear back within one business day.