Over the years I’ve done lots of projects on sensitive subjects, and with hard to reach groups. They can be really challenging and emotionally draining sessions, but they are my favourite kinds of research to do. Here is what I’ve learnt about how to get research right in this area…

Respondent care before, during and after

Before
It’s more important than ever that respondents understand the purpose of the research and what’s involved. I recommend that the researcher contacts (by phone or letter or email) the respondent before the session to personally confirm the session and let the respondent know what they can expect of the session, and what will be done with the information they provide. Some respondents just won’t work in a group (they are too emotionally raw, or locked into their experience) so this pre-check is also a good way to establish if the respondent will benefit from coming to the group.

During
Sessions on sensitive subjects take longer in general than normal research and respondents need time and space to have their say. A standard 1.5 hour group’s worth of discussion can easily take 3 hours. I recommend booking in one session of around 2 – 2.5 hours (nothing back to back) and inviting no more than 5 people to a group – as everyone will want to have their say. NB groups with older respondents (70+) always take much longer than standard groups – so this rule applies on any topic that involves Senior respondents.

After
Think about the respondent, and how they’re going to feel after the session. It’s well worth following up with them. COPD carers that took part in a bulletin board session with me were clearly in need of some support and help, so I looked up local support groups and directed them to this after the session. I also developed a check list for Asthma sufferers after a co-creation session with Boots (checked and approved by them) after participants revealed their need for more knowledge.

Go to them

Making life easier for the respondent is incredibly important, so interviewing them in their own home is the right thing to do. It’s really important, however, to consider personal safety here too.

Separate out the sexes

Men and women do seem to have a very different way of processing illness, ageing and emotionally sensitive issues, so it’s worth sticking to single sex groups.

Let respondents have their say

Respondents can really want to share their experiences so that others can benefit from them. It’s therefore worth considering Co-creation methods so that respondents can share face to face with clients. It’s also good to give respondents the opportunity to say things to camera (making it very clear this is optional), and it’s worth thinking of anonymous ways for respondents to share too – audio clips, emails, on-line forums etc

On-line, email and phone methods

These are fantastic ways of getting in touch with respondents who might be hard to reach or can’t get to research. I really recommend just simply having email conversations with some target groups. At Claro, Fiona Smalley and I emailed different groups of women about sensitive subject areas (like STDs) and we got an amazing degree of detail because the interview wasn’t face to face. It’s easier too to craft questions on sensitive subjects for the researcher on email…

Better stimulus

It’s even more important than ever to give lots of thought to stimulus – big type print, straight forward language, sensitivity are extremely important. However, respondents are also often very engaged and focused on the issues and can spend a lot longer than usual exploring stimulus, so it’s worth sending it out as a pre-task for respondents to absorb and think about before they take part in the interview

Better questioning and analysis techniques

Use very careful techniques to make sure that responses to research are realistic and not ‘well intended’. When talking about helping people, donating, charity work, or what is needed, respondents can imagine the best possible of worlds where people are generous, have time to spare, are not caught up in every day life. It’s therefore essential to ‘reality check’ at the research and analysis stages. For example asking people to focus on what they’ve got on tomorrow or today and seeing how the idea would fit into a real world schedule (for example) can help ground responses. Sharing the objective that money needs to be spent wisely, this idea needs to work hard, also helps to take off the ‘halo’ that can sometimes appear when researching ideas around helping people.

Fearless moderation

It’s a real skill to moderate well on sensitive subject issues. Key tips: give everyone the right not to answer, ask simple and clear questions, don’t be frightened to ask personal questions, but do so respectfully, fully explain the role of the moderator (your time constraints and the fact that everyone in the group needs their say), be there for respondents – show compassion and emotion, avoid giving advice, but follow up and point people in the direction of experts afterwards, report back to the client on key negative experiences and give them a chance to follow up, but maintain respondent confidentiality

Specialist recruitment

Some agencies are set up to do health and sensitive subject recruitment. I’ve always been impressed with Acumen and their health team – they have great contacts (predominantly in the Manchester area) and they understand how to get sensitive subject research right