A practical toolkit by OF/BY/FOR ALL with Slover Linett aimed at making audience research easier.

Laura Cusick, Research Executive at thrive, the Belfast-based audience development agency guides as through what makes a great survey and how quantitative research can give you the insight you need.

Katie Anderson, Marketing Director at Warwick Arts Centre gave AMA conference 2013 delegates an outline of what they’ve been doing about bringing research into the day-to-day operation at Warwick Arts Centre over the last couple of years.

In 2009 Green Light Research won the UK qualitative research industry’s prestigious Prosper Riley-Smith Qualitative Effectiveness award. This case study provides an overview of their winning project. Centre Parcs were looking for in-depth research to ‘inform and direct the development of a Service Excellence Programme.’ Green Light worked with staff at all levels to define ... Read more

Keep up to speed with current industry debate on big data and research with this article by Colin Strong, Managing Director, GfK NOP Business & Technology. This article was first published by In Brief, the magazine of the Association of Qualitative Research.

Tash Walker, Partner and Co-Founder of research agency The Mix, argues in her article A bad case of research myopia that single approach research methodologies are not always the way to go. So, if you’re planning on investing in some primary research, particularly qualitative research, have a read. It might just make you stop and think ... Read more

This toolkit offers an ‘at a glance’ guide to the different types of questions you might include in a quantitative questionnaire. This toolkit is the sixth in a series of seven toolkits designed to provide an introduction to market research – whilst acting as a handy refresher for experienced marketers.

This is a brief guide to help you decide when to use quantitative research and when to use qualitative research.  This toolkit is the second in a series of seven toolkits designed to provide an introduction to market research – whilst acting as a handy refresher for experienced marketers.

Discover when it’s appropriate to carry out market research, how to get started, and how to make sure you’re doing it right. This introduction to market research covers core topics including why and when to do research; approaches to market research; desk research; qualitative and quantitative research; staying within best practice guidelines; devising a research programme, ... Read more

This guide shows how businesses use Twitter to market themselves and their work in Manchester, one of the most active Twitter communities in the country.  With clear illustrations of what the data on usage actually means, this analysis can help you to make sure you’re staying one step ahead of your competitors when using Twitter.

This seminar looks at how research can provide insight into audiences that will lead to robust business planning, more strategic marketing, and make your communications more effective. Taking Research, Why Bother? As it’s starting point It provides an overview of different research tools that can equip your organisation to engage with its public, and become ... Read more

There’s a lot to consider when you invest in externally commissioned research. This useful guide provides a checklist of things to think about, including the different research methods open to you, their uses and limitations and the insight you can expect from primary research. You’ll find examples of key considerations and challenges to take into ... Read more

This helpful guide explains how you can analyse and interpret the results of your visitor surveys. You’ll find advice on using different computer packages, how to clean and code data, methods to evaluate your data and how to report on your findings. Part 3 sets out some principles for analysing the survey and making sense of ... Read more

This helpful guide on undertaking marketing research explains how to successfully and professionally carry out a visitor survey. You’ll find information about different types of questionnaire, sampling methods, sample sizes, and how to disseminate a survey. Part 2 here looks at sampling size and methods, as well as how best to disseminate the questionnaires.

Part 1 of this helpful guide explains how to design an effective visitor survey. You’ll find advice and examples on survey design, how to select questions, what to consider with the wording of those questions and the overall format. Although a visitor survey cannot provide all your research needs, it is a good tool for getting a ... Read more

Guidelines to help you evaluate audience engagement activities, whether you have previous experience or not. The methods are based on social and market research. This is a practical guide to embedding evaluation within your engagement activity. It gives a brief explanation of the theory then takes you through such aspects as SMART objectives, selecting Key ... Read more

February 2015: New guidance on Data Protection is coming soon and information here will be updated as soon as possible This guide to desk research will help you to learn about the likes, attitudes, behaviours and attendance habits of your audience, where they come from, and how to target the people most likely to attend.