Working
in market research provides an opportunity to find out about a huge range of
products and services and sectors. This variety helps us to stay fresh for each
new project and provides continuous education for us and for the clients with
whom we work. Whilst we relish all areas of our work, it can feel even more
rewarding when a project is so closely in tune with ‘real life’ and indeed with
improving the products and services provided for ‘real people’.
Over
the years we have worked on projects involved with alcohol dependency, with
smoking cessation, with teenage sexual health and with specific health issues
like stroke, diabetes and cancer care. These
projects are not only rewarding in themselves, they also teach us about aspects
of some people's lives we as individuals had not previously appreciated nor
understood.
Most
recently, two projects, one about adoption and one about foster care,
introduced us to worlds we had not been a part of before and worlds inhabited
by caring people, many of whom we felt privileged to meet. Many invited us into
their homes and told us their experiences, giving us an honest glimpse into a mind-set,
an attitude, a way of life.
Their
situations were different, their stories were often very moving and the insight
we gained have helped our clients move forward in their quest to improve their
offer and the promotion of these real life services for real people.
The
fieldwork for such projects is obviously very important in terms of how
interviews are conducted and ensuring participants are handled with sensitivity
and with respect. But the debriefs for these pieces of work are also crucial in
ensuring that the research is not only understood but is also delivered in an
empathetic fashion.
A
couple of years ago we were involved in a piece of work on post natal
depression, the debrief on which saw some members of our audience moved to
tears when they heard about the people we had interviewed and the tales they
had to tell. Again in our debrief on foster care, one client commented that she
felt the work had been ‘beautifully presented’ and another said that the
messages delivered were ‘clearly heartfelt’.
We
thrive on the continuing education which working in qualitative research can
provide. This all plays forward, meaning every new brief, for any industry, is
approached from a perspective of everything we have learnt before. Techniques,
empathy and understanding can only improve with every single project, and
that's what we pride ourselves on delivering.
Fostering
Fortnight, which is running until this Friday, gave us the chance to reflect on
what we have learnt during our work on foster care, and then on our work in other
related sectors. Real life, real people, real understanding.
