Research clinic: Recontact Questions

When should re-contact questions be asked?

Re-contact questions should be asked no later than the end of the previous interview. For re-contact requests that relate to the current Qualitative project, it is common to advise respondents at recruitment that they may/will be invited to participate in a follow-up interview or re-convened group after a certain period of time. ‘At-recruitment’ requests help to make sure that respondents know what they are committing themselves to and also that they will be available when required. When using small sample sizes, early agreement is usually best. However, under the Code, the actual re-contact question does not have to be asked at recruitment and may even be better left to the end of the first group or interview so that respondents may make a fully informed decision about their continued or future participation. All such re-contact requests should however be clear about when the next contact will be made and by whom.

For re-contact requests that relate to other unspecified future research projects, the open-ended nature of this request must be made clear to the respondents.

What rules cover that relationship between recruiters and respondents?

The rules of the MRS Code of Conduct exist primarily to protect the interests of respondents and are not designed to regulate the relationship between recruiters and their researcher clients.

Recruiters may often be concerned about client researchers re-contacting respondents that the recruiters have recruited. As a matter of law, respondents are free to decide to whom they give their personal details, and if they are asked for contact information by researchers, they are free to do provide this information. If recruiters wish to prevent researchers from re-contacting respondents, for existing or future studies, without prior agreement or financial compensation, they must agree appropriate terms with their researcher clients at the start of the project.

In accordance with rule B5 of the Code of Conduct members are required to take reasonable steps to ensure that the rights and responsibilities of themselves and clients are governed by a written contract and/or internal commissioning contract. (Thus, recruiters who wish to control the future contact of respondents whom they have recruited should consider adding such a clause to their terms of business.)

Find out more:

MRS Code of Conduct
Conducting research with children and young people - guidelines and FAQs
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