During the Covid Pandemic in 2020 Alex Merlin Consultancy Ltd was called upon to help by the Deputy Dean of a large UK based University to assist with data gathering for a survey which would now have to be conducted over the telephone rather than in the planned face to face workshops.
The project was carried out Nationwide from a list they provided of Tradesmen and Women and we were able to complete surveys for them and ask a whole array of questions to assist with their Research Project.
In a little over 8 weeks all the surveys had been completed and it lead to a much higher results list than they expected along with very detailed answers which enabled them to complete their Research from a wide enough pool of results.
Testimonial:
‘I'm an academic and was preparing to launch a short research project in the UK in early 2020, with face to face focus groups planned for the empirical data collection – then Covid19 hit and we were all locked down. Needing an alternative in a very short space of time, Alex Merlin Consultancy came to our rescue and were, frankly, amazing!
After we reached out, Liz was able to quickly pick up the project and rapidly became a vital member of our research team. Her expertise was invaluable in assisting us in translating our focus group plans into an interview question script, creating a data collection tool that could be delivered effectively over the phone, with no loss of data quality to the project. Her background in psychology was invaluable here, and she was able to advise as to what worked well/doesn't work within her specialist space of telecoms.
She then carried out the interviews via phone for us, mobilising a snowball sampling technique with a level of skill that meant we reached our required sample size incredibly quickly. Her data capture was exceptional, and her ability to understand the whole research process and our aims was incredibly helpful throughout.
Overall, Liz was highly professional, incredibly efficient and demonstrated exceptional levels of both diligence and skill. Without her input this project would simply not have met its deadlines successfully. Her efforts made an invaluable contribution to the peer-reviewed research paper that subsequently presented this project in an international journal, further evidencing the quality of her work.
I highly recommend Alex Merlin Consultancy, and Liz especially, for this kind of academic research work. Liz is able to engage people in a way that makes them want to get involved and contribute – something not always so easy in research – and delivers to the highest standards required by academia. I would even recommend building Alex Merlin Consultancy into your project funding costs from the very start, to make sure you have the best support and data collection team in place for your next research project!’
Dr Fred Sherratt
Anglia Ruskin University
In 2022 Alex Merlin Consultancy Ltd assisted a Professor from a large UK based University in calling and speaking to Senior Leaders within Manufacturing companies across the UK to encourage them to complete an online survey they had been emailed.
Alex Merlin Consultancy Ltd was able to co-ordinate the sending of the emailed questionnaire surveys with their calls resulting in a much higher up tick in responses and in 3 months had increased the results from the previous year from 32 completed to over 115.
It enabled the Professor to use all the responses gained for their Research allowing for a much broader spectrum of results with which to prove their hypotheses.
Testimonial:
‘We recently engaged Alex Merlin Consultancy Ltd to assist in increasing the numbers of completed online surveys we were able to secure from Manufacturing firms across the UK for a project for Anglia Ruskin University. Liz quickly established what we would need to manage the project and also helped in the creation of the marketing materials and emails to send out. She then was able to manage that side of the process for us - from sending out the details to following up with calls and was successful in bringing our total surveys completed rapidly up from what had been achieved previously. In a short space of a few months over 85 were completed. Liz also seamlessly became very much part of the research team leading us to implement changes she volunteered to improve the clarity of the questionnaire. We improved our own skills and strategies by working with her; if I had not seen collecting questionnaire data as a specific area of expertise, I do now!
I can recommend contacting Liz and her team at Alex Merlin Consultancy Ltd to assist with projects of this nature where a mixture of telephone and email work can give an impressive result in a short space of time. Liz can be relied upon to provide your research team with a professional ‘front of shop’. ‘
Professor Chris Ivory
Director of the IMPact Research Centre
Anglia Ruskin University
Alex Merlin Consultancy Ltd is a specialist telephone based organisation which can adapt to different requirements from Universities to assist in gathering data and conducting surveys in a number of ways to assist with research projects.
To find out more please contact us for a no-obligation discussion.
Tel: 01691 437237
Email: info@alexmerlin.co.uk