A Novice’s Guide to Commissioning Fieldwork

One of the first questions we get asked by people new to research is what do you need to know?  Whatever the nature of your request, one of our experienced team will be able to help and in this blog post we have provided a few pointers on what we need to know to get your project up and running… 

In the first instance we’ll refer you to the relevant department: UK, International or the Elite and Expert Department. 

Who? Consider the demographic criteria as well as the key behavioural or attitudinal quota that define your audience. If you’re speaking to your client’s existing customers, do you have access to a list, or do we need to find them from scratch? (List recruits are a whole other story… watch this space for another blog post!) 

Where? If you have specific locations in mind, let us know. Whether it’s UK, International or Elite, we can advise you on what’s feasible, and make alternative recommendations as required. 

When? You might not know exactly, but a rough idea will help us guide you on what’s feasible in your timeline.

What services do you require? We can help with recruitment, venues, filming, catering, transcripts, sim trans and more.  If you’re not able to moderate the sessions yourselves we can engage one of our freelance researchers to help.

How? There are many different methodologies available for qualitative research, and we have outlined a few below.

- Focus Groups: Targeted discussions with a small group of individuals. Arguably the ‘bread and butter’ of qual research.

- In-depth Interviews: There may be some topics that are better suited to an in-depth interview. This also allows you time and space to delve deeper into an individual's opinions.

- Online Forums: Whether an online photo/video diary, or a series of tasks responding to questions and stimulus over a longer period of time, this can stand alone or be a highly effective approach for pre- or post-tasks.

- Ethnography: Sometimes you may need to go even deeper. An ethnography immerses you in the world of your participants: for example, joining them at home, or on a shopping trip. There are also apps available for participants to conduct ‘self-ethnography’, filming themselves as they go about their daily life.

Online or offline? Until relatively most research happened in-person, but the Covid lockdowns reversed that trend and nowadays the vast majority of the work we do takes place online. There are good reasons to choose both: the flexibility and reach of online, vs. the accessibility and intimacy of in-person. The days of holding groups ‘in home’ are over, and there are increasingly limited viewing facilities in the UK, however we can advise on appropriate alternatives.  Who you are talking to and what stimulus you have to show them are two key factors to consider, and we are always happy to advise which approach may work best.

Whether you’re brand new to commissioning research, or want to talk through your options for a challenging new brief, why not reach out to one of the team for a chat.