The ultimate researcher checklist

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: