Research clinic: Recontact Questions

My client has asked us to go back to some respondents to ask for more information. Can we do this?

In accordance with rule B11 of the MRS Code of Conduct, a follow-up interview with a respondent can be carried out only if the respondent’s permission has been obtained at the previous interview. A follow up interview includes any further collection of information from a respondent as a consequence of participating in a previous interview, excluding back-checking for quality control. Therefore if further clarification is needed from respondents, if a question has been missed or a routing error has been subsequently detected, respondents can only be recontacted if their permission has already been sought and received.

Our questionnaires have a standard question which asks “May we contact you for future research?” Is this sufficient to allow re-contact?

No. This is really a panel building question. The question as phrased asks about other projects to occur at some unspecified time in the future. Additionally it has the effect of creating an opt-out for all future projects which means for persons answering ‘no’ to this question you will have to take steps to ensure that you do not contact them again.

Recontact questions should not be standardised but rather reflect what the researcher and client envisage as possible reasons for the recontact to occur. Could there be a second wave to this project? What if a question was missed? What if resulting information is unclear? What if you would like to explore a particular issue further?

Whatever choice of words is made, respondents agreeing to recontact should be fully informed of the purpose of the recontact and who it will be made by.

Find out more:

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