Checks in 2021
This year, instead of research quality checks in the usual format — a check on one particular completed project — the SIMAR inspection group is holding interviews with the fieldwork staff of the research agencies. The procedures each agency uses in running research projects are discussed, and points are gathered for further discussion and resolution within the expert groups.
The reason is partly that new research quality standards came into force at the beginning of the year, so the implementation of the new rules in the agencies’ processes and procedures is being examined and discussed, and partly that over the past year and a half the way agencies work has changed somewhat because of the pandemic. It is therefore useful to exchange experience and gather best practice in running research projects.
Among the matters addressed are documenting any departures from the original brief during a project (Technical information about a research project provided to clients), verifying respondents’ identity in online qualitative research (the Standard for qualitative research), snowballing in online quantitative research (the Standard for quantitative online research) and sharing a database of people who refuse to take part in telephone research (the Standard for telephone interviewing – CATI).
