effective user research recruitment methods that work in India

1. 8 User Research Recruitment Methods that Work in India Kern Communications

2. Is the recruitment honest ? Recruitment is the most critical part of a usability test. The quality of the participant dictates the appropriateness of the research done. A wrong recruit will skew the report and mislead the research data. Every usability test has unique set of participant and one formula of recruitment does not work for all. The nature of study and the target profile dictates the type of methods to be used for recruitment. The research team at Kern takes utmost care during the recruitment phase. They take every usability test as a challenge and this has resulted in the diverse recruitment methods we have found that works in India. In this presentation we discuss all the recruitment methods that Kern has designed and perfected over years of running usability tests in India. Kern Communications

4. Social networks and forums on internet This works well for people who have access to internet. Most of the IT professionals do have access to internet. A good number of households too have internet connection. Many others access it through cyber cafes. The recruiter should host an online survey and use online forums and social networking sites to advertise it. Create a motivator email and embed the survey link within for the respondents to use it. 2 Kern Communications

5. Use Internal Database Use internal directory of users who may have participated in earlier research or have expressed interest to participate in future studies. TIP: Update the database after each research study. 3 Kern Communications

6. Cold Calls from online phone directories This type of recruitment method should be used when you have to recruit rare profiles with complex mix of characteristics or to compliment other methods. This can also be used when the recruitment has to finish in a very short period. The recruiter will need to fetch contact details from online directories and call each suitable person. While on the call, the recruiter should be equipped with a script for the phone screening and make very quick and detailed notes about the participant. Review all the responses and filter the best matched profiles. Call them for the second round of screening and work on a suitable date and time for the test session. It is important at this point to emphasis the compensation they will receive for participating. 4 Kern Communications

7. Hit the streets This type of recruitment is used to find users who do not use internet or when the study demands certain profiles who cannot be contacted by other methods of recruitment. To start with the recruiter should learn about the topology of the city of recruitment and select the most suitable place s to hit the street. This location can be decided based on the type of profile one is looking for. Should it be a busy market place, school area or where one would find many senior citizens? The is trick is to observe a person and approach him. The conversation should start with an introduction about oneself and then about the study. Fill the screener with them and share your business card. This builds in trust that you come from a reputed company/organization and that their information is in safe hands. Before you end the conversation, check for the completeness of the screener. Let them know that you will call them within 1-2 working days. 5 Kern Communications

8. Posters at public places Posters are very effective to catch public attention at local departmental stores, coffee shops or at public places. Design a decent size attractive poster, with basic details of type of profile you are looking for. Indicate the cash one will receive for participating. This usually works as good motivation for people to contact you on reading this. 6 Kern Communications

9. Distribute screeners at various checkpoints This method is best suited when you have to recruit large number of target participants within a short period. For this make a print version of your online survey and tie-up with various retail outlets where targeted profiles are most likely to visit. Motivate the shop owner, to distribute these to his customers. Fix a drop box in each of these outlets where the customers can drop their filled surveys. The team should on a daily basis collect the filled surveys. 7 Kern Communications

10. Fliers at retail outlets Design an attractive flier, with basic details of type of profile you are looking for. Indicate the cash one will receive for participating. This usually works as good motivation for people to contact you on reading this. Tie up with local retail shops and leave these fliers at their counters. Ask them to encourage their customers to carry one with them, or to slip one flier in each of the shopping bags. 8 Kern Communications

11. Kern Communications Usability Testing in India User Research in India User Interface Design 210 B, Swapnalok Complex Sarojini Devi Road, Secunderabad 500 003 INDIA p +91 40 40171313 e [email_address] w www.kern-comm.com