Beyond traditional surveys: Expanding the academic research toolkit

By Ivan Chen, Head of Sales – Data & Insights, Pureprofile

Online surveys remain an essential part of academic research, but not every research question can be answered through a single cross-sectional study.

As research questions become more complex, academics are increasingly looking to longitudinal designs, deeper participant profiling, qualitative research and complementary data sources to build a more complete understanding of behaviours, attitudes and experiences.

In the final edition of our academic research series, we explore how researchers can think beyond the traditional survey and combine different approaches to generate richer, more robust insights.

Following participants over time

For many research questions, understanding how people change can be just as important as understanding where they are today.

Longitudinal research allows academics to reconnect with participants across multiple waves, making it possible to examine changes in attitudes, behaviours and experiences over time.

Pureprofile can support longitudinal research by recruiting participants from our panel and facilitating recontact across subsequent waves. This can be particularly valuable for research examining behavioural change, policy impacts, health and wellbeing, consumer behaviour or other topics where outcomes develop over time.

When planning longitudinal research, researchers should consider expected attrition between waves and recruit a sufficiently large initial sample to protect the required final sample size.

Going deeper with participant profiling

Sometimes the challenge isn’t simply reaching a large sample. It’s reaching the right people.

Detailed screening and profiling can help researchers identify specific or hard-to-reach audiences based on demographic characteristics, behaviours, experiences and other eligibility criteria.

For more specialised research, a short recruitment screener can also be used to identify eligible participants before inviting them into a broader quantitative study or subsequent qualitative research.

This provides researchers with greater flexibility when the population of interest cannot be identified through standard demographic targeting alone.

Combining quantitative and qualitative research

Quantitative and qualitative methodologies don’t need to exist separately.

A large-scale survey can help researchers understand what is happening and how prevalent it is, while qualitative research can provide greater context around why it is happening and how participants experience it.

For example, researchers might:

• Conduct an online survey to identify broader patterns across a population, then recruit selected participants for in-depth interviews.
• Begin with qualitative interviews to explore a topic and use those findings to inform the development of a larger quantitative study.
• Recruit participants into both components of a mixed-method study based on specific characteristics or survey responses.

Pureprofile can support the recruitment and screening of participants for both quantitative and qualitative research, allowing academics to build complementary methodologies around the needs of their research question.

Exploring passive and complementary data

Research is also increasingly moving beyond information participants explicitly provide through questionnaires.

Where appropriate consent, privacy and research protocols are in place, passive or complementary data collection can provide additional behavioural context alongside self-reported survey responses.

Depending on the research design and technology being used, this might involve researchers combining survey responses with other forms of behavioural or observational data collected outside the traditional questionnaire.

The important consideration is not simply whether more data can be collected, but whether each additional data source contributes meaningfully to answering the research question.

Common academic research questions

Can I recontact the same participants for multiple waves?
Yes. Studies can be designed around participant recontact for longitudinal research. We recommend discussing the number of waves, timing and required final sample size with us early so expected attrition can be considered when determining the initial recruitment target.

Can I recruit participants for interviews or other qualitative research?
Yes. Pureprofile can screen and recruit eligible participants from our panel for qualitative research, including in-depth interviews, with participant contact information provided where appropriate consent and data-handling arrangements are in place.

What if my target audience is very specific?
We can assess feasibility against the complete eligibility criteria before fieldwork. For particularly niche audiences, a dedicated recruitment screener may be appropriate.

Can the same participants take part in both quantitative and qualitative stages?
Potentially, yes. Participants can be asked whether they consent to being recontacted for subsequent research activities, allowing researchers to design sequential mixed-method studies.

I’m not sure which methodology is best for my research question.
This is often worth discussing before finalising the research design. Understanding the target population, required sample, research objectives, timing and methodology allows us to advise on feasibility and the most appropriate recruitment approach.

Build your research around the question, not the methodology

There is no single methodology that suits every research question.

For some studies, a nationally representative online survey may be exactly what is required. For others, the strongest design may involve multiple waves, specialist recruitment, qualitative follow-up or a combination of different data sources.

The opportunity is to start with the research question and build the methodology around it.

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