Research time and location represent the where and when questions of your 5W’s. While these may seem like fairly trivial logical matters, the time and place of your research can really have an impact on whether you are able to include the people you are hoping to have in your sample.
The timing, time commitment and location of your data collection may influence the type and number of people who are able to participate.
Consider the following:
TimE:
- Work days/times may be difficult for most people to attend, at the very least can you schedule your data collection on people’s lunch hour or at the end of a late starting work day?
- The length of time participation takes will impact whether people feel like participating.
- Ideally an interview should be less than an hour.
- Ideally focus groups should be approximately 90 mintues to 2 hours.
- Ideally world café should be half a day, but this will limit who is able to attend
- Some methods of data collection, like surveys or email interviews are more flexible for participants.
Location:
- Location can impact access and also impact trust building with participants.
- Using a location familiar to participants helps them to feel comfortable.
- Access for people with disabilities – including where appropriate availability of accessible materials (large print or ASL interpreters).
- Public locations may be more or less comfortable for people – scout locations before you choose one.
- Location may also be an issue of reputation. It may be better to choose a community location than a private company location; similarly, fancy or expensive locations could alienate some people.
- Interviews can also occur over telephone or an electronic medium like Skype or Zoom – when scheduling these, make sure you have a quiet place with minimal interruptions and ask your participants to use headphones when possible to avoid audio feedback.