Beyond Meeting Screener Criteria – How to Vet Respondents for a Qualitative Research Session

A respondent database filled with high quality Respondents is one of the best resources for a successful qualitative research session, regardless of which type of qualitative research event (QRE) you are conducting (focus group, IDI, triad/dyad etc.) While of course they must meet the screener criteria, there is more that should be done to select higher quality Respondents for more impactful insights.

Hold a vetting Meeting. This typically takes less than 15 minutes, and it would be great to do one-on-one over Zoom/Teams so that you can get a sense of how the person presents themselves before they are even scheduled for a research session. This is something that should be done one time, preferably when the Respondent signs up for the database. This is also a good way to provide the Respondents with verbal information about your company and what they can expect from participating with you. In the meeting, look out for:

• Identification check: Have the Respondent hold up their ID to the screen with an unblurred background so that you can see that their information matches the information provided to you when they signed up to participate.
• How specific or vague are their answers?  Are they providing detailed responses or brief, one-worded answers?
• Attitude: Do they seem happy to be speaking with you? Or do they seem annoyed or angry? This same attitude often translates to their presence in the qualitative research session.
• Personality fit: Are they more reserved or more open to sharing? Do they need time to “warm up?” Do they seem very shy or nervous/hesitant to answer even basic questions?
• Ability to stay engaged in the conversation: Are they giving you their undivided attention? Do they seem distracted by their surroundings with no explanation? Are they looking off-screen for someone else to provide them with answers?

This step can rule out those who may meet the screener criteria but may not be a good contributor to qualitative discussions.

Add an open-ended question to the screener to see how thoughtful/articulate a Respondent is. RIVA uses “Briefly tell me something you enjoy doing in your free time” or “Briefly tell me one thing you are looking forward to doing this year” in our screeners. If a Respondent is unwilling or unable to answer this question, it is ok to end the conversation politely and thank them for their time.

For research projects that require specific expertise or usage of a product, it would be great to verify:

• Proof of product usage if recruiting users of a specific product: Either a photo of them with the product or a receipt indicating purchase of a product. If needed for the session itself, you may also request that the Respondent bring the product to the session or have it on hand for a virtual session.
• For industry or job-specific studies, ask some questions that only professionals in the field might know the answer to without having to Google it. For example, if the study is for computer programmers, you might want to ask something along the lines of “In Python, what is the difference between a shallow copy and a deep copy?”

Keep accurate records of Respondent participation. Utilize a system where the following is recorded for each person:

• Participation history: Date of research session, time, location, topic, amount of incentive paid, when they were paid
• Reliability: Did they participate in the session they were scheduled for? Did they cancel with a legitimate reason/provide documentation? Or, did they no show or cancel without providing a legitimate reason?
• Any issues or standout moments during the session itself: Were they an exceptional Respondent, forthcoming with information and provided helpful, detailed answers that can be utilized as quotations in reports? Or were they rude/disruptive? Overly dominate? Only provided answers when called on by the Moderator?

Prior to scheduling a Respondent for a session, it would be helpful to utilize this database to get a sense of their reliability/previous history with your company. RIVA has a policy where if someone no shows and does not follow up with us with a reason for missing the session, they are no longer eligible for future sessions with us.

Written by: Linda Mui