Repeaters and Cheaters:
Five Qualitative Recruitment Tips To Help
Talking one-on-one with a respondent, a handful of people, or a large group of respondents is a time-tested process for researchers and brands to gain valuable insights. As important as it is to find the right individuals for the group, recruiters work just as hard to make sure that the wrong people are not part of the project. Some screeners allow for a very flexible past par, or don’t find past par restrictions valuable. For those projects where past par is important, and in general to discourage dishonest people, recruitment firms like Focus Forward have strategies to ensure projects are populated with the right individuals.
1. Talk to the respondents – person to person
The human touch is more important now than ever. Yes, respondents can be fully screened online for qualitative research, but should they be? Having an experienced recruiter speak to the respondent not only adds a level of security, but also allows them to gauge the articulation and assess the right type for that particular project. This helps bring great, engaged people onboard, and ensures that those who are the wrong fit are kept out of the project.
2. Verify usage with a photo
For product users, verifying that they actually have the product can be a key element in making sure the right users are part of the project. Photos can be collected in the online screening process and checked by an experienced recruiter before the potential respondent is called. If online screening is not being used, photos can be emailed or texted. Quality Assurance team members will check the photo for authenticity vs. a photo pulled from the internet.
3. Great respondent software that tracks participation
Databases build up your respondent access, allow respondents to show interest in a project and should be used to track participation. Recruitment companies track participation by date, type of project, client and product. When potential respondents are accessed from the database, those who don’t meet the past par requirements of the project can be excluded at that point. In addition, a Quality Assurance Recruiter should be checking the past par on the screener vs. the database, as another step to ensure that respondents are not repeatedly recruited.
4. Physical checks mailed for online qualitative
Physical checks mailed to a US mailing address, not a PO Box, are a great step to ensure that the respondent’s information is accurate. While this is not always possible due to budget or other reasons that may make an electronic incentive more attractive, Focus Forward offers our clients a variety of incentive payment options. Still, for added authenticity, we recommend a check to help ensure that we have the right person in the project.
5. Rescreening Respondents
A Quality Assurance team that can rescreen respondents is a helpful way to assess if the information provided on the first screening was meaningful and accurate. Answering the same question in the same way is a great tool to confirm that the respondent’s answers are what they think, feel and are. It is not always possible, due to the length of the screener, to rescreen on all questions. Still, a few carefully selected questions can mean the difference between thinking a person is right for the project, and knowing they are right.
Focus Forward, The Qualitative Respondent Recruitment Professionals
Since 2003, Focus Forward has been your team for respondent recruitment and all services to support your marketing research efforts. Recruiting participants, handling transcripts, incentive processing, online panels, survey programming, open end coding – we do it all! How can we help? If you have a project where you feel like our team can add value, we would be excited to talk!
Contact us today at 215-367-4000.
