There’s an art to interviewing, and there’s an art to interrogating. One is great, one is only great if you’re working in the Police force or for MI5. At Acumen, we’ve been around the block enough times to know that how a question is asked often matters more than what’s on the page.
So, let’s talk about where researchers can go wrong, and how the best ones get it right.
This interviewer clings to the guide like it’s the only thing keeping them afloat. Every question is asked in order, word for word, no deviation, no follow-up, no real conversation.
The participant says something gold, and instead of diving deeper, we get:
“Okay, next question…”
It’s robotic. It’s rigid. And it kills rapport.
Fix: The topic guide is a map, not a satnav. You’re allowed to explore, detour and backtrack if it leads to something meaningful. Trust yourself. You’re a human, not a robot. We hope…
We get it, you’re on a schedule.
But cutting someone off mid-sentence because you’re chasing the next question? That’s a one-way ticket to surface-level insight.
Participants need space to think, explain, and feel heard. If they sense they’re being rushed, they’ll shut down or keep it safe.
Fix: Pause. Let silence do some work. Sometimes the most valuable insights come just after someone says, “I’m not sure if this is relevant, but…”
“Would you say that service was difficult to access and caused distress?”
Yikes. That’s not a question, it’s a verdict.
Leading questions don’t just skew data, they bulldoze nuance. They push people toward a narrative that might not reflect their true experience.
Fix: Strip your assumptions. Ask: “Can you tell me about your experience accessing that service?” and then shut up. Let them fill in the blanks.
Ah, the accidental oversharer. A participant says, “I struggled with the side effects,” and the interviewer jumps in with, “Oh my gosh, I had the exact same thing with my medication! Mine made me feel so tired…”
Suddenly, it’s less insight-gathering and more therapy group.
Fix: Empathy is brilliant, over-identification is not. Validate, reflect, but don’t steal the spotlight. It’s their story, not yours.
Focused solely on “covering the guide,” this interviewer thinks success is asking every single question. Doesn’t matter if the answers are rushed, confused, or contradictory – if all 12 questions are ticked, job done.
Spoiler: Job not done.
Fix: Quality over quantity. If one question unlocks 15 minutes of useful insight, let it breathe. The best interviews feel like a natural conversation, not an exam.
At Acumen, we train our moderators to:
And we always debrief.
Because every good interview raises more questions and helps us refine how we ask the next.
A great interview gets under the surface. It doesn’t just collect answers, it collects meaning. It gives people the space to be real, and it gives clients insights that aren’t just data points, but decisions-in-the-making.
Bad interviews can lead to flat insights, fuzzy findings, and frustrating follow-ups. But when interviewing is done right? It’s magic. It’s human. And it’s where the real value lives.
The Fuller Research Group is abuzz with movement and energy. Following Research Opinions’ recent opportunity to march with the Market Research Society at their debut London Pride appearance, there is some real momentum behind the LGBTQ+ collective now with everyone wanting to get involved.
There have been a lot of behind-the-scenes discussions as to how we can be more inclusive in a customer facing industry and we’ve already seen changes implemented at the ground level. From asking for pronouns as a standard, to pushing to use non-binary inclusive language and questions in our research, every little helps – especially considering the distance yet to go.
There is a lot of talk of needing to change the status-quo but not enough action; steps like these are incredibly important to educate and change the unconscious bias people have approaching trans and queer identities.
In line with Manchester Pride this month, we organised an LGBTQ+ charity bake sale which took place on Thursday 21st August in our Chapel Street office. This has been contributed to from all sides of the company, and it’s been so nice to see how everyone has come together for this.
All the proceeds have gone to the LGBT foundation which provides crucial support and resources to the LGBTQ+ community in and around Manchester. The money raised at the bake sale was matched by FRG with a donation to Medical Aid for Palestinians, which supports vital medical relief efforts for the people affected by the ongoing atrocities in Gaza.
Links to both charities can be found here:
It’s warming to see the amount of traction and interest the collective has gotten internally here at the Fuller Research Group. From our ‘Senior Queers’ all the way to each and every ally, it’s important we all stand up and be counted in making a difference to queer lives and to challenge the outdated bigotry that we’d all rather see behind us.
Written by Oscar Butler, Recruitment Specialist at Research Opinions
Let’s be honest. Screeners don’t get much love.
They’re not as glamorous as campaign presentations. They don’t have the magical allure of insights. But ask any seasoned fieldworker and they’ll tell you: a screener can make or break a project.
At Acumen, our screeners aren’t just another tick box, they’re carefully written, frequently refined, and full of the type of questions that are going to separate the wheat from the “you clearly googled that just now.”
A screener is the gateway of your research. It’s the series of questions that help us identify who qualifies for a study, and just as importantly, who doesn’t!
It’s more than just ticking boxes. It’s about knowing what to ask, how to ask it, and when to raise a sceptical eyebrow.
Screeners are used to sniff out:
So, now we know what a screener is and why we’re using it, let’s talk about the difference between a good screener, and a great one.
Good: “Do you have asthma?”
Great: “Can you name the inhaler you currently use, how often you use it, and what colour it is?”
Good: “Are you a GP?”
Great: “Roughly how many patients do you see per week with chronic pain? And which treatments are you prescribing most frequently?”
Good: “Are you available on Tuesday at 2pm?”
Great: “If selected, would you be willing to speak for 60 minutes via Zoom and complete a short pre-task the day before?”
Every question should give us something: clarity, confidence, or cause for concern. That’s how we find the right participants and keep projects bulletproof.
But screeners aren’t just for filtering, they also help set expectations for the participants, support fairness and save time. It’s a multi tasking hero, a researcher, recruiter and quality control officer all in one!
But.. Why should you, as a client, care?
Simply put, insights are only as good as the people giving them.
All too often screeners are treated like admin; an eye roll and pass it straight to the junior member of the team. But the reality is, a strong screener can protect a study and a bad screener can ruin it before it even begins.
At Acumen, we obsess over our screeners. We write them with input from strategists, moderators, recruiters, and even the client themselves. We test, refine, and tweak until it’s watertight.
Because to us, a screener isn’t just a first step. It’s the foundation of everything that follows.
So next time a screener lands in your inbox, don’t glaze over. That humble Word doc is doing the heavy lifting. And when it’s done right, it’s magic.
At Acumen, we’re not interested in performative pride, or pride-washing during June. We believe inclusivity should be part of the everyday, not just the calendar moments.
That’s why we’re proud to support the launch of our very own LGBTQ+ Collective, a grassroots, team-led initiative designed to make our workplace safer, braver, and better for everyone.
We caught up with Rachel Pound, the brains behind the idea to dig into what sparked it, what it hopes to achieve, and why it matters to the work we do, not just in our offices, but in the wider world of fieldwork too.
What inspired the creation of the LGBTQ+ Collective?
Generally, I wanted there to be something structured and visible that supported LGBTQ+ people in work and something that people knew existed right from the beginning of starting to work at this company. This idea was shaped by a couple of moments, over the last few months that led to the LGBTQ+ Collective.
Inside work, I felt encouraged by the words said by SLT at the last All Company meeting, about really showing up for the staff this year, and by the ideas behind the new Culture Book and beyond. Outside of work, I was motivated to get the LGBTQ+ Collective started at this specific time period because of the recent UK Supreme Court ruling around the legal definition of ‘women’ contributing to increased transphobia in the UK. The timing of this felt even more important to give people a chance to speak up about how we can make sure work is more inclusive and is a safe working environment.
What are the main goals of the Collective, both short-term and long-term?
A mix of some easy fixes, and some bigger long term challenges to face! Here are some things I had in mind:
How do you hope it will help improve inclusivity in the day-to-day work life?
The LGBTQ+ Collective will hopefully encourage people to speak up on topics they otherwise may have felt they weren’t able to. This works for LGBTQ+ people who, for example, weren’t clear on LBGTQ+ friendly company policies but also allies who, for example, weren’t confident on inclusive language.
It’s also a chance for us to be consistently forward thinking in our workplace but also with our recruitment practices. Our aim is to hear the opinions of as many different people as possible, so the more inclusive our practices are, the more chance we have to hear from everyone. This makes recruitment more successful, of higher quality, and more interesting!
The LGBTQ+ Collective is still in its early days, but like all good ideas at Acumen, it’s built on action, not just intention. By creating space for open conversations, challenging the status quo, and championing diverse voices from the inside out, we’re shaping a workplace (and an industry) where everyone has a seat at the table.
Because better fieldwork starts with better people work. And we’re just getting started. 🌈
Fieldwork doesn’t come with a manual. But this comes pretty close.
Starting out in research is exciting but let’s be honest, it can also feel like you’ve been dropped into the middle of a study with a half-written brief, ten stakeholders, and no firm plan of what you need to do next.
Whether you’re fresh to fieldwork, switching sides from client to agency, or suddenly finding yourself in charge of organising a study group, there’s a lot to think about.
And a lot you’re expected to just know.
That’s where we come in.
At Acumen, we’ve worked with researchers of every flavour, agency side, brand side, freelance, and everything in between. We’ve seen the common slip ups, the forgotten details, and the “wish someone had reminded me to check this” moments. So, we put them all in one place.
Introducing: the New Researcher Checklist, your downloadable, tick box-able, fieldwork sanity-saver.
It’s not a textbook. It’s not a lecture. It’s just the practical stuff you actually need to check before starting your study. Think of it as a confidence boost in checklist form.
This isn’t just about making your life easier (although it will). It’s about making your projects smoother, faster, and better. When the logistics run like clockwork, your brain’s freed up to do the good stuff, like digging into insights and asking the big, juicy questions.
So if you’re a researcher who:
Then this checklist is for you.
Download the free checklist now!
Helpful stuff, from the fieldwork people who’ve seen it all.
We’re going to hold your hand when we say this, but fieldwork isn’t just about getting the numbers. Although we are nerds for a tidy spreadsheet. It’s about people, and not just the people paying for the research, but the people actually taking part in it.
Here’s the bit that you might forget. Every research session, every single survey, every “just one last question” is a brand interaction. Which means, that your fieldwork is working two jobs, it’s data collection as well as a PR exercise. Crazy, huh?
You’re not just collecting data. You’re creating an impression.
When participants walk away thinking “that was alright actually” it’s a win win. The first win is for the quality of the data (we’ll talk about that more in a sec), and the other is for the halo effect around your brand. Because people talk. Whether it’s on WhatsApp to their friends or TikTok to the whole wide world, it all adds up, and it all matters.
If someone is bored to tears or feels ignored during your study, they’re not going to give you thoughtful answers, they’ll rush, guess and mentally check out. And that’s not just bad news for your data, it’s bad news for the people trying to make sense of it later!
But on the flipside, when participants have a great time and feel valued and the process is almost enjoyable(!) they engage with the study. They open up and tell you what they really think, and that’s the gold dust.
Most of the time fieldwork is the first time someone will engage with your brand in a meaningful way. So why should it be treated as a formality? It’s like turning up to your first date late, in yesterday’s joggers, and then forgetting their name.
When we take on projects, we treat our participants like they’re the client, because then that participant walks away feeling seen, heard and maybe even a bit flattered, and that good feeling reflects right back on you.
At Acumen, we treat every project like the participant is the client. Because if we do our job right, that participant walks away feeling seen, heard, and maybe even a little bit flattered. And that good feeling? It reflects right back on you.
So what does the Acumen experience look like?
Funnily enough, it all starts with being human. Communicating in a way that participants know what they’re signing up for, and most importantly why! We don’t send robotic emails, or cryptic invites, we’re straight forward and straight talking. Must be the Northerners in us!
We always remember that participants are the ones doing us a favour, not the other way round. So we make sure that we keep things snappy. We don’t want our participants to feel like they’ve gone back to school and are in a slow, boring exam.
Another thing we try to make sure of during any study is that the tech works seamlessly. Noone wants to be downloading 18 plugins, restart their laptop 4 times, go through 7 different authenticators then get stuck in waiting room purgatory.
We bang on about the next thing a lot, but one of the key elements to our success is our team. Skilled moderators make people feel comfortable, not like lab rats. It’s about real warmth, curiosity and knowing when to dig deeper without making it weird. We give them bonus points for humour and knowing how to use Gen-Z slang. What does “rizz” even mean anyway?
When people think incentives, they just think of the cash. Although that definitely helps, there’s also a peace of work to do around clarity, speed and fairness. Participants should never have to release their inner Liam Neeson to chase down a voucher.
The takeaway from all the above, is that participants remember how you made them feel, were they listened to? Were they treated with care? Importantly, did they leave thinking “Yep, I’d definitely do that again.” When we get this right, we build goodwill, which in turn builds good PR, and that’s powerful stuff.
Let’s wrap it up.
Fieldwork isn’t just research, it’s PR wrapped in a lab coat. Every interaction with participants are brushstrokes in the bigger picture of how your brand is thought of. Whether it’s the slick sign up, or the warm conversation, or at it’s most transactional, the quick payment with zero fuss, it all adds up. People remember how you made them feel, and it sticks,
Great fieldwork means great data, that’s a given. But it also means people walk away thinking “I like this brand” and in today’s noisy, cynical consumer-led world that kind of impression is worth its weight in gold.
So if you want your research to feel as good as it functions, you know who to call. Acumen’s fieldwork is designed to make participants smile, and make your brand look quietly brilliant whilst we’re at it.
We’re so proud to announce that a project we supported has been named Best Business Impact Winner at the 2025 BOBI Awards!
Led by Perrigo and RedLeaf Research, “Changing the Conversation” tackled a complex and critical challenge, namely, understanding the real conversations happening in pharmacies around pain relief and sleep aids, particularly those containing codeine and diphenhydramine.
The insights uncovered were powerful, highlighting clear gaps in knowledge and confidence. These findings then directly shaped two training programmes and influenced a shift in how healthcare professionals are educated.
The result? Better support for pharmacists, more informed recommendations, and a measurable uplift in sales.
Acumen Fieldwork was proud to play a supporting role in this project, working alongside M3 Global and Wills Data. Our focus was on delivering high quality, real-world fieldwork to help uncover the insights that made all the difference.
This award is a fantastic example of how collaboration, research, and fieldwork come together to create meaningful business outcomes.
Huge congratulations to the teams at Perrigo and RedLeaf, we’re proud to have been part of it.
Some exciting news to start our day!
This morning, we received exciting news that Rachel Pound, Senior Recruitment Specialist at our sister company, Research Opinions, had been shortlisted for the AQR Parker Prize for Emerging Talent 2025 🎉
This special award is sponsored by the family, friends and colleagues of the late Ken Parker, a true legend in the market research world.
We’re so proud of Rachel, it’s such a well-deserved recognition for someone who puts so much heart, care and absolute brilliance into her work.
The finalists will be announced after 3rd June, and the winner will be revealed at the AQR’s AGM and Summer Party on 25th June.
It’s a wonderful achievement just to be shortlisted… but we’ve got everything crossed for you, Rachel!
At Acumen, we don’t think the best healthcare research starts with a clipboard or a questionnaire. It starts with a conversation.
It starts at a kitchen table, where a carer opens up to us about the daily challenges of managing a loved one’s chronic condition.
It starts on a video call, where a patient, with their camera slightly askew, talks candidly about what living with their diagnosis really feels like.
For over 20 years, we’ve been privileged to hear these stories. And it’s these authentic, human experiences that drive every piece of healthcare research we deliver.
When you work in healthcare research, you quickly realise: it’s never just about data. It’s about people. Real people, living real lives, often facing incredible challenges.
That’s why Acumen’s healthcare team approach every project with sensitivity, empathy and the highest professional standards. All our recruiters are BHBIA accredited, trained in adverse event reporting and legal and ethical guidelines, but more than that, they genuinely care about the individuals they’re speaking to.
We understand that building trust isn’t optional. It’s essential. Whether we’re organising an in hospital usability study, an at home interview, or a health economics survey, we ensure every participant feels heard, respected, and valued.
Our panel of 250,000 healthcare professionals and users is a fantastic resource, if we do say so ourselves.
But what really sets Acumen apart is our community-first approach. We’ve spent two decades building trusted partnerships with charities, organisations and local networks, meaning we can reach the audiences others can’t, and reach them in the right way.
When you need a consultant cardiologist for a cutting-edge device study, or a group of carers managing rare conditions for an in-depth diary project, you need more than just a list of names.
You need a partner who knows how to listen, engage, and deliver.
Every story we hear, every insight we gather, feeds into something bigger. It helps healthcare innovators create better products. It informs policy. It shapes the future of care.
At Acumen, we’re proud to be the bridge between these human stories and the organisations striving to make healthcare better for everyone.
