Lighthouse Studio by Sawtooth Software is a survey platform for advanced quantitative market research designed for controlled experimental studies. It lets researchers author rigorous experiments, run advanced choice and ranking protocols, and generate datasets ready for statistical modeling and scenario testing. The package supports extensibility through web technologies and scripting to tailor presentation. The product targets professional market researchers and academic teams that require precise measurement of preferences to inform product and portfolio decisions.

What specialised analyses does Lighthouse perform?

Lighthouse implements dedicated modules for experimental choice work, notably Choice-Based Conjoint (CBC), Adaptive CBC (ACBC), and Menu-Based Conjoint (MBC), alongside MaxDiff (best–worst) scaling. The authoring environment connects to built-in analysis tools and a market simulator so researchers can translate model outputs into predicted shares and run scenario or "what-if" comparisons directly within the tool.

How does Lighthouse handle fieldwork deployment and data collection?

The authoring environment runs on Windows while surveys produced by Lighthouse display in modern web browsers across devices. Offline CAPI support lets interviewers collect responses without an active connection on Windows devices or via an app. Hosting options include Sawtooth's built-in hosting services or the ability to host questionnaires on private servers, which gives teams control over respondent routing and data storage.

Is Lighthouse approachable for non-specialists and what skills are required?

The app exposes many functions through a point-and-click interface, enabling basic experiment assembly without scripting. Advanced customization benefits from HTML, CSS, and JavaScript knowledge for bespoke presentation and complex logic. Data export formats include Excel, SPSS, and CSV for downstream analysis. Professional users note a steeper learning curve compared with entry-level survey tools, reflecting its specialist orientation and depth.

Lighthouse suits specialist research teams that can plan for setup and validation

Sawtooth Software's founding in 1983 and decades-long focus on quantitative methods, together with frequent citation in academic literature, support Lighthouse's technical credibility and reliability for complex trade-off studies. It suits research teams and corporate insights groups that can allocate specialist time to author experiments and validate models. Allow time for training and a pilot dataset to check experimental scripts and downstream analysis before large-scale deployment. Recommended.