Face to face research
Surveys Depth Interviews Recruitment Focus Groups
We have a range of interviewing experience and interviewers with different
skill sets. Some are experienced to deal with more complex face to face
interviews such as conducting pre-recruited interviews with people on
sensitive topics. Some are experienced in conducting business to business
depth interviews and focus groups at executive level, others have experience
of working with people with mental and physical disabilities.
Quantitative surveys
We all enjoy meeting the public where ever they are and who ever they are. We also use a mobile research studio in the form of a fitted out silver double bus. We have used this at agricultural shows to research farmers and in 'park and ride' car parks to explore how council services are experienced by city residents.
Our face to face survey interviewers work as a team and have been seen at events, in-stores, in high streets and in parks. Although we are located in Northamptonshire, the team has conducted surveys in the streets of Guildford, Croydon, Milton Keynes, Manchester, Northampton, Nottingham, Sheffield and Leicester - sometimes as part of a whistle-stop surveying tour of the UK. We use handheld survey devices (such as PDAs and smart phones) to input the data at the time of interview and this is sent directly to our survey analysis software. For more in-depth interviews we resort to pen and paper surveys.
Some of our interviewers and recruiters have an enhanced CRB check for interviewing children and vulnerable adults. Our team are disability aware and have undertaken many projects with people with disabilities (both physical and mental health issues). One of our interviewers is a dual sensory loss communicator who undertakes interviews with people who have hearing impairment.
Qualitative depth interviews & focus groups
Our in-depth interviews have been conducted in-home, in workplaces, or at other neutral locations which a respondent prefers to be interviewed such as in cafes or parks.
We also undertake focus group facilitation typically with groups of up to 12 people. We hold focus groups in places that are fitting with the project objectives and the types of participants involved, in work places, within pubs, hotels, night clubs and schools and also in more traditional market research viewing studios.
Our style of conducting focus groups is through facilitation - facilitating people to access their feelings, their perceptions, their attitudes and their behaviours. We use projective techniques in order to help participants to access their subconscious in order to provide deeper, more insightful findings for our clients.
Based on the results of the research we undertake, we recommend and facilitate programmes of change and innovation strategies for our clients.
Training and supervision of staff and volunteers to undertake surveys for their organisations
We also provide interview skills training. This has proved popular for organisations wanting to involve their staff and/or volunteers in the research process. We can also provide supervision and project management services for staff and volunteer interviewing teams.
Some examples...
- Focus groups using Silver Dialogue's mobile research studio to explore ways in which a Council can improve customer satisfaction
- Intercept interviews with visitors to national heritage sites to discuss ways they would prefer to undertake visitor surveys
- Focus groups with parents of young children to discuss potential print campaigns to encourage parents to take up careers in childcare
- Community consultations with parents from 'harder to reach' communities - including street and school playground interviews
- Focus groups with children & young people to talk about how and why their parents engage with their schools
- Workshops with business leaders to identify ways in which regional business services could be optimised
- Street interviews with the public to gauge their perceptions & opinions on new logo designs for a well known charity
- Focus groups with hard-core fans of an annual international event to develop the TV ad campaign for the next year
- Street interviews across the UK to assess perceptions of consumer packaging, in support of a trademark legal case
- Focus groups with employees whose jobs are at risk, to assess the temperature of the organisation & find ways to facilitate organisational transformation