Sponsor Impact report Meeting people where they are Research with seldom heard and niche populations people who have historically not been heard from, misunderstood, or, in the case of niche research, have something uncommon in common requires creative, flexible approaches and a willingness to immerse. Rob Gray reports R eaching the right people at the right time is a crucial tenet of good research practice. But over the years, the research industry has sometimes struggled, and often come up short, when seeking to understand and include the views of niche and seldom-heard groups. In this report, we explore various challenges around identifying the right people in the first place and highlight some creative approaches taken by practitioners. Before we get on to that, however, a couple of points regarding terminology. To begin with, the rise of the phrase seldom heard. Until recently, the sector generally talked about the struggle to engage with hard to reach audiences. Increasingly, the language has been reframed as seldom heard, rightly placing the onus for inclusion on the researcher and the research buyer, not the participant. Second, although seldom-heard and niche participants may share some characteristics and challenges, they are not the same thing. Niche is where a research project specifically wants to speak to people who have something in common, and the thing they have in common is particularly uncommon. For example, this might be high-net-worth individuals, people who have a very specific job title, or people currently attending university. When talking about niche audiences, it normally means that the entire basis of your research project is speaking to these people so you know that your total sample is made up of people who have an uncommon characteristic in common. The cost of recruiting and interviewing niche participants is often higher. Seldom heard is different, in that these groups are often not represented, even in a project looking to speak to a representative sample (such as nationally representative nat rep research). Examples are people from certain ethnic backgrounds or with disabilities. These people are seldom heard, because even a project that claims to be representative of the nation as a whole is probably not including quotas on ethnicity, physical disability, mental health conditions, etc, meaning these people dont get a voice. That can be a failing, as Cobalt Sky managing director Rebecca Cole, who chairs the MRS Representation in Research steering group, points out. She highlights a case study from the group that it has called the commercial benefits study. This took a traditional omnibus survey and ran an A/B test with the same study, but one using traditional or non-inclusive quotas, and one running with fully comprehensive quotas as suggested as best practice, explains Cole. We were able to demonstrate what insights are being missed by not doing the latter, while also myth-busting a lot of commonly held concerns: it will cost more, take longer, the sample isnt available. Strangers to research Shazia Ali, founder of qualitative specialist Mint Research, recalls being approached for a project for which she was told recruitment was proving tricky. The potential participants were an audience for whom research wasnt familiar and English wasnt a first language. Ali considered this an opportunity to navigate the whole process in a different way. Before asking someone else to share, we first have to open up ourselves, says Ali. Its something we are hearing more and more about, particularly when understanding great leadership skills. Recognising and respecting peoples vulnerabilities is important to gain trust. Ali reached out to the potential participants beforehand, to introduce herself. She shared her full name and spoke in the language of their choice where she could. Some asked about her family background 20 Impact ISSUE 44 2023_pp20-27_Report.indd 20 07/12/2023 14:52