How our community of participants helped a wildlife charity

With spring in the air, it seems fitting to talk about a paid market research opportunity we had last year that was all about Mother Nature. This project was with a well-known wildlife and conservation charity, who wanted to make improvements to their membership offering and better safeguard the environment in the process.

Like the majority of opportunities that we host, we were asked to find a specific group of people to take part. In this case, the client wanted to speak with people of all ages and backgrounds, some from rural locations and others from cities, but all with a common interest in nature!

Throughout the study, participants were invited to a three-session-long research panel to test, trial, and critique existing elements of the charity’s membership platform, as well as suggest and discuss their own ideas on how it could be improved!

What is panel research?

From focus group discussions to online website testing, at PFR, we find people for a variety of different research types. This opportunity took place in the form of a panel study. This is where individuals are invited to take part, either in person or online, and give their feedback on a topic, product, or service across a number of rounds.

Like the participants chosen for this project, panel members usually belong to specific demographics or exhibit certain behaviours – like an interest in mother nature – which allows the researcher to gain insights from a spread of like-minded individuals.

And with repeated sessions for each panel, the more rounds you take part in, the more you’ll get paid!

Taking part in focus groups

This research study was made up of three online focus groups, each with the same group of participants. If you are unsure about taking part in group research, we are here to reassure you and confirm that there is nothing to fear.

A focus group is essentially a group discussion led by a moderator. The moderator’s job is to guide the group’s conversation around a specific subject, gathering the group’s feedback and compiling it into a report. You don’t need to have any specific professional experience or set of skills to take part in a paid focus group. You only need to be relatively comfortable expressing your opinion in front of people you don’t know.

During this project's sessions, participants worked in small groups of eight people and were invited to share their thoughts on the charity’s current membership offering, give feedback on existing ideas that charity representatives had put forward, as well as pitch their own ideas for what the charity’s new membership could provide.

As part of our recruitment efforts, our team also found an additional 10 participants who each made a short video of themselves to showcase the importance of nature in their lives. These short clips were then pieced together into a ten-minute montage that was shared with the panel during the sessions.

What happens after the research?

Knowing that your feedback is going towards making valuable changes is what makes being part of paid market research so valuable.

Like this panel study, many of the opportunities we work on are usually part of a much bigger picture. Often, what’s discussed or tested in the sessions is for the purpose of making much larger changes to a product or service that might be used on a national or even global scale.

Like all our research projects at PFR, your participation, feedback, and time do not go unrewarded. With a monetary incentive at the end of every session, you can give your opinion and get paid for it! While the amount and type of incentive you receive may vary from project to project, you’ll always be kept in the know from the moment you apply.

What our participants had to say

Over the three rounds, participants shared their feedback with the researcher, deliberated existing features of the charity’s membership, and put forward their own suggestions.

Vikram

"The session was very engaging and interactive. We spoke on various topics such as national trusts and charities in general. I felt really positive and happy that my contributions will be used by so many."

Tina

“I found the session to be thoughtfully developed. The facilitators were very friendly and easy-going and set up the session to flow in a natural way with the introduction and collaborative working. They made the participants feel empowered to provide our honest thoughts. It felt very empowering knowing my thoughts have contributed to the improvement of a service used by thousands of people.”

Ellie

“I really enjoyed the progression and the revisit to what we had done over multiple sessions. We were provided with examples and ideas of a new fundraising prospect [and] were given a safe space to share ideas within time of the meeting."

Get involved!

Whether it’s nature, technology, or business you’re passionate about, participating in research can be a great way to give your opinion on a variety of important topics and get paid in the process.

Sign up with us to hear about all kinds of paid research and testing sessions, or browse our opportunities to find the perfect opportunity for you.