Adapting to online research

Over the last six months we’ve all adapted to do things differently – often with unexpected benefits, exposing the inefficiencies of behaviours and habits we were wedded to before. For example, where once we might have popped to the supermarket every day on the way home from work, we’re now accustomed to list-making and meal planning which saves time and reduces food waste.

At Humankind Research we have always done research online in the form of communities and self-ethnography, but interviews and focus groups would most often be conducted in person. Apart from habit, the reasons for doing research face-to-face seemed unequivocal; building empathy and rapport (with and between respondents), reading non-verbal cues like body language and context (if in-home), the ability to share more complex stimulus. However, as many other social interactions have been forced online, so has face-to-face research and the benefits are making us question if we’ll ever choose to go back. Or at least carefully consider when ‘in person’ really adds value.

Here we share the silver linings of conducting interviews and focus groups online, as well as some things we’ve learned.

Shorter, Smaller Groups (same sample size)

We quite quickly realised that attention span is reduced online and looking at a screen for 2 hours without a break is uncomfortable for everyone – moderator and respondents alike. Adapting to this all our interviews and groups are now 90 minutes or less.

Conversations online also happen slightly slower than in normal life – when people inevitably try to talk at the same time there are apologies and pauses. It can also be difficult to see who else is in the conversation when using the screen share function, which is necessary for showing stimulus. To increase the speed and build greater cohesion between respondents we have reduced the size of our groups. Four people feels optimal; everyone has the opportunity to voice their opinion and it mirrors a more natural conversation flow.

We’re still covering the same sample sizes, we’re just doing a greater number of shorter, smaller groups which feels like it has enhanced engagement.

Sample & Schedule Flexibility

Geography is no longer a barrier online. We do most of our work in the UK and where budgets may have restricted us to two or three locations before, we can now include respondents from multiple locations in one group. This is useful when you have multiple typologies to cover, your sample is niche or you are recruiting from customer/supporter lists – you can get the right people in the room rather than be defined by where they live.

Also, given people don’t have to travel and are more flexible whilst working from home we can run interviews and groups earlier in the day rather than at 8pm when respondents are tired. This has definitely improved focus levels and the quality of input from respondents.

Increased Inclusivity

This is not only in terms of being able to include those with mobility or long-term health issues who might ordinarily find it difficult to access research facilities, but also different professions and personality types. There are some people that wouldn’t haven’t signed up to do research before – fitting it in after a day at the office or taking time off work wasn’t an option.

For some the focus group or formal facility setting can also be daunting and often louder voices dominate. With online research people are in the comfort of their home and there is a greater awareness of conversational etiquette.

Greater Control & Visibility

This is for everyone – the moderator, respondents and the clients observing. As the moderator you can manage the waiting room, let people in and even communicate with them privately during the group if there is an issue. The chat function is very useful for gathering private responses and being able to see them without everyone sharing verbally. You can also save the chat at the end without having to collect scrappy bits of paper people might have written on.

Sharing stimulus on screen also ensures everyone is focused on and looking at the same thing. This is particularly useful for the clients who might ordinarily be behind a mirror and find it difficult to see and follow what is being responded to. Clients also have a better view of the respondents and their facial expressions compared to what they see through a one-way mirror.

Cost & Time Effective

There are times when speaking to someone in person really does elevate the output, for example in-home ethnographic interviews – the context of their home and how they behave in it adds insight that could not be gathered verbally. But speaking to people in faceless facilities and hotel meeting rooms up and down the country adds very little apart from cost and travel time. We’ve been able to keep costs lean for clients and reduce out carbon footprint.

All in all we’ve found online research adds flexibility, is far more efficient and the quality of engagement is very high. There might be the assumption that older respondents find the technology challenging, but we’ve successfully run online research with a broad range of demographics. We recently ran two projects speaking to 70+ year olds and everyone had adapted quickly, taking part with confidence.