RESEARCH & EVIDENCE
Qualitative research
Understand experience, meaning and context. Use interviews, focus groups, observation or document analysis to investigate how people understand a problem and navigate it. Qualitative research can explain mechanisms and experiences that a numeric measure alone may miss.
Start with the decision you need to make.
Use interviews, focus groups, observation or document analysis to investigate how people understand a problem and navigate it. Qualitative research can explain mechanisms and experiences that a numeric measure alone may miss.
This service is for organizations and professionals who need a clearly scoped qualitative research assignment, either independently or within a wider programme.
Questions the assignment can address
- What decision should this assignment inform?
- What information is available, and what needs to be collected or built?
- Which constraints affect the methodology, timeline or implementation?
- How will the agreed outputs be reviewed and accepted?
How we approach the work
Align purposive recruitment with the question. Document coding decisions and examine contradictory accounts as well as common themes. Protect identities in quotes and reporting, and avoid treating the frequency of a theme as a population prevalence estimate.
The assignment can be delivered as a focused project or connected to a wider research, data or technology engagement. The proposal identifies what is included, the information your team needs to provide and the dependencies that could affect delivery. If the available evidence cannot support the requested conclusion, the scope should change before the work proceeds.
What your team receives
The scope defines the exact output, format and review criteria for each deliverable. Depending on the assignment, these can include:
- Recruitment and topic guide
- Transcripts or structured notes
- Coding framework
- Thematic findings with contextual interpretation
From brief to delivery
Share the requirement, intended users, existing information, deadline and any procurement instructions. We clarify the decision the work must support and agree the methodology or technical approach before execution. The proposal sets out the scope, workplan, review points, responsibilities and commercial terms.
During delivery, questions and dependencies are made visible so your team can resolve the decisions that need client input. Quality checks are built into the assignment rather than saved for a final presentation. Handover explains how to use the outputs, the limitations that remain and any support included in the engagement.
Planning an international assignment
For work spanning countries or distributed teams, agree the geographic scope, working language, collaboration hours and access requirements at the outset. Research recruitment, local field access, hosting locations and data-transfer arrangements may affect the delivery plan. These are confirmed for the assignment; the availability of a service page does not imply a physical office in every market.
What to send with your enquiry
- The problem, intended decision and people who will use the output.
- Existing reports, instruments, datasets or system documentation that can be shared appropriately.
- Required deliverables, formats, deadline and review process.
- Location, languages, data-access constraints and procurement requirements.
- A budget range, if available, and whether support after handover is required.
Can this be commissioned as a standalone assignment?
Yes. The scope can cover a specific output or connect to a wider programme. Share the material you already have and the work still required; the proposal will distinguish included tasks from dependencies and optional support.
How are the timeline and budget determined?
They depend on the scope, methods, access, volumes and delivery requirements. Provide your deadline and any budget parameters with the brief so the initial review can identify feasible options and material trade-offs.
Who owns the outputs and working files?
Ownership, licensing, permitted reuse, confidentiality and handover formats are agreed in the engagement terms. Identify any requirements for source code, scripts, raw data or editable files during scoping.
Let’s get to work
What does your organization
need to get done?
Tell us the challenge, send the TOR or describe the outcome you need. We’ll help define the right research, data, AI or digital capability to move it forward.