UK Fieldwork Database Refreshed

UK-based online database FieldShare, which details market research interviewers and recruiters, has been 'spring-cleaned' to refresh and revalidate its listings for a new era of research.

The site was launched in 2001 by Saul Dobney of MR firm dobney.com , and provides free indexes for research agencies to find and contact interviewers, recruiters and supervisors. Dobney says that with the rise of online fieldwork, many of the 'sharp end' workers on the site who 'knock on doors or stop people in the street' have left the industry - but after a three-month project, all members in the directory have been verified and details updated so it can be used with confidence.

Dobney points out that the decline of face-to-face research is a concern among some researchers: 'Online research can miss out emotional connections that come from talking to someone directly, or be so distant that it is impossible to see how real reactions match with what a participant says... Specialist agencies continue to need to have access to good recruiters and good interviewers like those on the FieldShare directory.'

Web sites: www.fieldshare.net and www.dobney.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.