As a researcher the one element during a research project which causes me to worry the most is recruiting participants. Are we going to be able to recruit participants for the study? I suppose this is to do with the fact that it is virtually out of my control. How do I minimise my level of worry / stress:

1. Work with a good participant recruitment agency
2. Speak with the recruitment agency even before you have won the project to get their input in terms of the difficulty or ease of recruiting participants from market segment ‘x’ will be
3. Work closely with the client to develop the screener
4. Allow enough time in the project timetable
5. I can’t emphasise point 4.0 enough ‘allow enough time in the project timetable to recruit participants’

Interesting article Digital Ethnography – the next wave in understanding the consumer experience by Dave Masten and Tim Plowman.

An interesting film from the BBC about creating a film using an iPhone (and all of the associated gadgets and software). Pretty good!

Mr Tappy for filming mobile device usability

EthOS iOS Walkthrough

An interesting presentation by Christina Wasson.

Death To Personas! Long Live Personas! An interesting presentation from Elizabeth Bacon and Steve Calde.

A new mobile research platform Ethos – Ethnographic Observation System developed by Siamack Salari and his team. Find out more about the app.

“EPIC is the premier international gathering on the current and future practice of ethnography in the business world.”

The EPIC (the ethnographic praxis in industry) conference this year is being held Savannah College of Art and Design, USA between October 14th and 17th 2012. Speakers will be announced shortly. Watch this space.

To find out about some of the previous EPIC conferences visit their website.