Not a problem when you know how: research amongst Britain's one in twelve ethnic minority individuals
June 2005
- Christine Roberts from the Central Office of Information (COI), the Government's centre of excellence in marketing communications, spoke about best practice in commissioning ethnic minority research and how to choose an agency.
- Rose Addison from Connect Research & Consultancy shared some of the practical considerations of what to do (and not to do) when undertaking ethnic minority research.
Faced with the challenges of accessing and understanding the ethnic minority groups that make up an increasingly large proportion of the UK's population, most of us wouldn't know our Gujuratis from our Ghanaians, at least in terms of research approach. Christine Roberts, whose job at the COI includes advising any publicly funded body on conducting inclusive research, blows away some of the myths of researching ethnic minority groups, from using the correct terminology to making sure your agency really is prepared for the challenges ahead. "It's really not that easy" she warns. "What are you going to do in a focus group if someone doesn't speak English for example?"
This is where Rose Addision and Connect can help. A network of recruiters, moderators and interviewers across the range of Britain's racial and faith groups gives Connect the understanding needed to get close to ethnic minority respondents, she enthuses. And it's not only getting the respondents and conducting the groups - in the respondents' first language/local slang/patois - that's important. Context can make all the difference in interpreting findings.
How many generations has your respondent been in the UK? Can you mix men and women or old and young people in your group, and will they still speak openly if you do? Will a community influential such as the Imam or pastor help you with recruitment? Are your focus group participants angry, or is it a cultural norm to be more animated than the moderator is used to? Could your questions be misunderstood by people whose first language isn't English? What political issues do you need to be aware of in how your respondents identify themselves? How homogenous are Muslim or mixed race respondents?
Overwhelmed by the range of issues to take into account, R-Netters broke out into discussion groups to battle through how they would go about commissioning a research project involving ethnic minorities. Lively discussion ensued, and the speakers allowed us to pick their brains over drinks after the formal presentations were over.
Read the full presentations (PDF 1.2MB, PDF Help)
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