Research & Consulting

Amana
Kaskazi

PhD · Senior Research Analyst · Mixed-Methods Consultant

I help organizations understand their people and clients through rigorous qualitative and quantitative research — turning complex data into clear, actionable strategy. Based in New York.

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30+
Mixed-methods studies led
1K+
Research participants
Currently available for consulting engagements Survey design · Focus groups · Client engagement · Org health research
What I do

Research services that
drive decisions

From study design to stakeholder presentation — end-to-end research support for organizations that need answers, not just data.

01

Survey Design & Administration

Building, testing, and deploying surveys through Alchemer and other platforms. Ensuring valid measures, high response quality, and statistically analyzable results for internal and external clients.

02

Focus Group Facilitation

Designing and conducting focus groups using best-practice qualitative methodology. Delivering thematic analysis and actionable insights for business strategy and product decisions.

03

Client Engagement Measurement

Leveraging Domo to build dashboards and measurement frameworks that track client engagement over time. Translating behavioral data into meaningful performance narratives.

04

Organizational Health Research

Conducting employee research and consulting with HR and business units. Identifying patterns in culture, satisfaction, and performance to inform organizational strategy.

05

Statistical Analysis & Data Cleaning

Advanced quantitative analysis using R, SQL, STATA, and Python. Data quality audits, manipulation, and modeling to produce high-integrity, decision-ready datasets.

06

Research Reporting & Presentations

Translating complex findings into clear, compelling reports and stakeholder presentations. Communicating research to non-technical audiences in financial services, insurance, and publishing.

Tools & methods

A full-spectrum
research toolkit

Bridging qualitative depth and quantitative rigor — with the enterprise tools to execute at scale.

Enterprise platforms
  • Domo Client engagement measurement, dashboard development, data visualization at scale
  • NVivo Qualitative data coding, thematic analysis, focus group and interview synthesis
  • Alchemer Survey design, administration, logic branching, and response analysis
  • Power BI | Tableau Interactive data visualization and stakeholder dashboards
Statistical & coding languages
  • R Advanced statistical modeling, regression analysis, data manipulation
  • SQL Database querying, data quality audits, record maintenance
  • Python Data analysis, automation, and processing pipelines
  • STATA | SPSS Survey data analysis and social science statistical methods
Research methods
In-depth interviews Focus groups Ethnography Survey design Usability testing Contextual inquiry Participatory design Card sorting Diary studies Mixed methods
Selected work

Research that
informed strategy

A selection of projects drawn from experience across financial services, higher education, journalism, and civic technology.

Client engagement · Church Pension Group

Dynamic Client Engagement Metrics System

Challenge

A financial services organization needed a continuous, scalable way to track client engagement across products and advisor relationships — moving beyond one-off surveys toward a living measurement system.

Approach & outcome

Designed and now oversees an ongoing client engagement measurement infrastructure using Domo, integrating behavioral and survey data to enhance product adoption and strengthen client relationships. Delivers regular reports to leadership for strategic and operational planning.

Domo Alchemer Survey design Data visualization
Assessment research · Rutgers University

Program-Wide Accreditation Research & Assessment

Challenge

Four academic programs needed to achieve and maintain accreditation standing, requiring a rigorous, repeatable assessment framework and evidence base across all programs simultaneously.

Approach & outcome

Led 30+ mixed-methods research studies collecting data from 1,000+ students through benchmarking, observations, surveys, and focus group interviews. Presented findings to faculty and professional staff stakeholders. Achieved 4/4 programs in good accreditation standing.

Mixed methods Focus groups Survey design Stakeholder reporting
Civic technology · ProPublica

ElectionLand Voter Experience Research

Challenge

ProPublica needed empirical research to support the development of ElectionLand — a database project documenting problems that prevented eligible voters from casting ballots during the 2020 elections.

Approach & outcome

As a Civic News Lab Research Fellow, conducted qualitative and quantitative research including in-depth surveys, concept testing, and usability testing to improve user experience and engagement. Created and led the empirical research that contributed directly to the database's development and launch.

Usability testing Survey research Concept testing Qual + quant
About

The researcher
behind the work

Amana Kaskazi
Senior Research AnalystChurch Pension Group, Midtown Manhattan · 2023–Present
Asst. Director, Assessment & AccreditationRutgers University · 2019–2023
2021 ACLS Leading Edge FellowSocial Science Research Council
Civic News Lab Research FellowProPublica · 2016
PhD, Communication & InformationRutgers University
MS, Information ScienceUniversity of Michigan
BA, CommunicationPennsylvania State University

Amana Kaskazi is a mixed-methods research professional with experience spanning financial services, higher education, and civic journalism. She currently serves as Senior Research Analyst at the Church Pension Group in Midtown Manhattan, where she generates research reports for strategic planning, oversees dynamic client engagement metrics, and collaborates with business unit leaders to design experiments and interpret results that drive evidence-based decisions.

"The questions that make you a good academic researcher — who is this data really about, and what does it mean for them — make you a better analyst anywhere."

Before joining Church Pension Group, she served as Assistant Director for Assessment and Accreditation at Rutgers University, where she led 30+ mixed-methods studies involving 1,000+ student participants and achieved accreditation standing across all programs. Earlier in her career she was a Civic News Lab Research Fellow at ProPublica, contributing empirical research to the ElectionLand database project documenting voter access barriers in the 2020 elections.

She holds a PhD in Communication from Rutgers University, an MS in Information Science from the University of Michigan, and a BA in Communication from Penn State. As a 2021 ACLS Leading Edge Fellow at the Social Science Research Council, she oversaw research on how technology may reinforce or augment inequity — collaborating with designers, journalists, and technologists to translate DEI best practices into tangible resources.

Work with me
Get in touch

Let's work
together

I'm available for consulting engagements in research design, survey development, focus group facilitation, data analysis, and organizational health studies. I work with teams in financial services, insurance, nonprofits, and mission-driven organizations.

Survey design & administration
Focus group facilitation & analysis
Client engagement measurement
Organizational health research
Statistical analysis & data visualization
Research reporting & stakeholder presentations
Send me an email