A co-worker of mine (Greg) was looking for a woman that hadn’t been in the study for years. I generated a possible address for her and Greg was off. When he pulled up to the address, he saw an older guy working on the front garden. Greg said “Hello” to the guy as he walked up to the front door. The guy gave a grunt and kept working. Greg knocked a couple times. No answer. As he started to knock a third time the guy stopped working.
“There’s nobody home,” the guy snarled.
“I’m trying to get ahold of Julie Ferguson,” Greg said.
“There’s nobody here by that name,” the guy barked as he went back to the garden.
Greg paused and started to walk back to the car. Then Greg turned to the guy.
“What kind of flowers are those?” Greg asked.
The guy stopped and glared. Then he dropped the tough guy routine.
“These are a rare kind of Magnolia,” the guy responded.
“I do gardening too,” Greg stated. “They look good.”
“Thanks.”
Greg turned to walk towards the car.
“Julie doesn’t live here, but her mom lives in the upstairs apartment,” the guy shouts to him.
Greg left a card and spoke with the mother the next day. She got the message to Julie, who lived an hour away. We performed a phone interview shortly after.
If Greg would have turned and walked away, how much more time would he have spent trying to find Julie? A lot. Especially since we had no idea she lived out of town.
If you call a number and it’s disconnected, don’t give up on it. The number may be temporarily disconnected because of an unpaid bill. Once it’s paid, you’re gold.
Research isn’t prison, but it can be drab. It doesn’t have to be. You can be professional and abide by all the rules while still having some life in your project. If a research participant enters your study and enjoys the overall experience, they will likely come back, or make it easier for you to bring them back. But if it’s all business and no life, it’s a harder sell. So here are some ways to make their first experience more enjoyable:
1. Don’t be a robot.
You may be in research, but you are a person. Show it. Have a conversation about something other than the research. One time I had a new client in and he wouldn’t give me any contact information. I set the locator form aside and commented on the Denver Bronco hat he had on. I told him it was too bad that the Minnesota Vikings were going to kick their butt this year. He laughed and started razzing me back. We both had a good chuckle over it. Then I went back to the locator form, and he would have told me if he wore womens’ underwear. The banter took less than one minute.
Also, if someone asks you how you’re doing, tell them. If you’re tired, say it. Remember, you’re a human being.
2. Make them laugh Even if you don’t have a funnybone in your body, you can still make them laugh. Just put something funny on your desk or wall. Maybe something like this.
If you get people laughing, they will associate you with something positive. Hence, it’s easier to get them in.
Note: There are a lot of funny research clients out there, so if you run across one, you have permission to laugh also.
3. Nip Uneasiness in the Bud This is easy. Just ask them if they have any concerns. Make sure you let them know you won’t be offended. Many of the clients I did this with stated their concern about confidentiality. Knowing this, I would point to the locked cabinet where we stored the information. Then I would go through the confidentiality agreement with them. It worked every time.
The sooner you incorporate music (life) into your research, the sooner your clients will stop and listen. And keep them coming back for more.
If anybody has any other funny pictures we can put up on an office desk, comment with it.
In 1999, I was hired to find over 900 drug addicts from a study that occurred several years prior. Soon after I dove into the contact info, I realized that most of the identifying information we had was false and scant, at best. Remember that this population tends to distrust “The Man,” and they often lump research studies into this category.
Some of the profiles looked like this:
James
2/12/64
White
Male
Broadway & First
Imperial City, USA
123-45-7548 (false)
Here are some ways these research participants withheld or lied about their contact information.
1. Date of Birth was accurate.
With the few instances where this wasn’t the case, the search for the real identity was much more time-consuming. Thank God they didn’t think DOB’s were a big deal.
2. Nearly all Social Security Numbers were false.
But all were very close to the accurate number.
ex. given – 999-77-6666 / real – 998-77-6667
These false SSN’s were crucial in confirming the real identity of participants. It would be a monumental coincidence if someone with the same DOB, lived in the same city, and gave a SSN this close, and not be the client who gave this information.
3. Majority of first names were accurate.
If they weren’t, they used middle names or family members names.
4. Majority of last names were inaccurate or withheld. If you thought you would be thrown in jail for doing this research, you would probably go this route too.
5. Real addresses were always on the block of the address given (if not accurate). Still a great lead. If you’re nice, neighbors may drop a clue or two.
In some future posts, I’ll talk about the internet methods I used to get the accurate information. More importantly, I’ll talk about ways to avoid getting bad information in the first place.
It’s been almost 10 years since I started in the research tracking business, and the internet kicked some tail then. Now it’s almost overwhelming. You can spend an endless amount of time and money searching for people on the net. I have a list of internet services that I will provide in future posts, but here’s the one place that has remained a constant for me:
Merlin data
This website offers a lot of different public records services at varying prices, but the basic Links to America search has been a lifesaver in my work. It costs $1 a search, which is very reasonable. The price of gathering this information on your own would multiply that in a hurry. There are other services that offer monthly subscriptions, but it’s a waste of money if it’s a slow month. I prefer spending money when I need to. A couple notes about Merlin:
You need to apply for a membership, which includes providing a license from your work and describing what you will use the information for. They usually turn it around within 24 hours.
Some databases offer the “no results = no charge” scenario, but others (Links to America) will charge you even though no results were found.
They provide free tutorials on using the site, so take advantage of them.
A warning – there is a lot of information on the internet about most of us. So be ready for this. But there are strict rules regarding the private information, which companies like Merlin are required to follow.
There is a difference. No matter what the strategy, if you perform it the wrong way, success will allude you. It may anyways, but it’s better to not go for the guaranteed loser.
For instance, many researchers recommend making phone calls. Absolutely. But how you talk to the person answering the phone will make or break you. Let’s start with this:
So let’s take the telemarketer and put him in the follow-up research world:
Researcher: Hello! How are you today? - Click
or
Researcher: Hi, my name is Ben Van Hunnik from the University and we are working on a research – Click
or
Researcher: Is Mr. Hum- Hump- Hummmperdinn- Click
Here’s what I suggest:
Researcher: Is Bill there?
You sound like somebody who knows Bill. And you do, at least from an organizational point of view. If they ask who you are, tell them within the realm of confidentiality.
People may feel it best to ask something like this:
“May I speak withBill?”
Could work. But acquaintances usually don’t need permission to speak to Bill. Plus, it sounds too much like “May I speak with you a moment?“, which has been used as a buffer for bad news. When working on follow-up, you don’t want people to think you’re bringing bad news, or annoying them for that matter.
Several years ago I had the opportunity to present at NIDA’a “Recruitment, Retention and Return for Follow-up” conference with Birgit Danila (UCLA), who helped write “Staying in Touch,” the tracking manual that started at all. Her knowledge and experience were a great stepping stone for me. I’d actually seen the manual before I met Birgit. It gives numerous strategies for tracking prevention research participants. Check it out and use it.
With No Attrition, I aim to add to this great resource by discussing the recommended attitudes and procedures behind the strategies discussed in the manual, along with new strategies of my own. I firmly believe that how you perform a strategy will determine your follow-up success as much as the strategy itself. If you don’t believe me, keep a look out for my next post.
I wanted to start by giving you a heads up about my style and philosophy when it comes to No Attrition and follow-up research in general. So here we go…
1. I will rub some of you the wrong way. I made a commitment to offer advice that will bring the most success in research follow-up, including a change of attitude, work habits, and approach to people. My experience is that some researchers don’t want to hear this because they have a ton of education. Having a stellar education is necessary for running a research project, but the most important factor in successful follow-up is experience with people, not books. I think this scene from Good Will Hunting gets at what I mean.
You do research with people. People come into the study, and people come back for follow-up.
2. If your attitude is that you can’t, you won’t. At every training I did, there was always a “can’t” person. For every strategy I suggested (not required) they would go to great lengths to explain why you can’t utilize it. IRB won’t like it, violation of confidentiality, not enough staff time, not enough money, ninjas will pounce on you if you do it, etc. One person refuted calling, writing and going by their address. OOOOOK, telepathy? Good luck with that.
Just for the record, I believe IRB’s, confidentiality and the other factors are of the utmost importance for the safety of your clients and the validity of your research. (If I didn’t believe this, I wouldn’t have lasted 7 hours, let alone 7 years in research) The point is you need to focus on the many strategies you can utilize within those restrictions, and there are many.
If my advice is taken as more work, as opposed to more opportunity for success, there’s going to be problems. The attitude will guarantee failure. The funny thing is that it’s not my job, my funding, or my research reputation on the line. It’s yours.
And your work is too important to focus on what you can’t do.
3. Researchers are marketers. I’m sure you love hearing this! But it’s true. You market your project to get funding and client enrollment, but it doesn’t end there. You have to market the return for follow-up to your research participants. Whether you like it or not, human beings are selfish animals. They do what they want, not what they should. So I will be including marketing concepts and putting them in the research world. You’ve been warned.
4. My research background can be applied to any research project involving human participants. I spent all of my time in prevention research (7 years) working with hardcore drug users. So I may mention strategies and stories that you may think only applies to this specific type of research. This is not the case.
The underlying idea or belief is just as important as the specific strategy. For instance, I suggest that prevention researchers find out where and when their clients buy drugs. When you know where someone might be, finding them is easier. So how would that apply to a cancer research subject in her mid-50’s who lives in the Hamptons? Find out where and when she has coffee, or whatever she likes to do. (You might think this is unnecessary because you have her phone number and you’ll just call and she’ll answer, but what if she doesn’t? Expect the unexpected.)
5. I love this stuff.
I seriously thought I was addicted to doing follow-up work. Finding someone who didn’t think they could be found was an amazing feeling for me. I felt it was a game to find these people, and I hated losing. A big part of winning is preparation. Have you ever heard the idea of “getting inside the head of the opponent?” It’s not just an idea. It will be the key to tracking your research subjects and as a result, a low attrition rate.
Thanks again for coming along for the ride. Please comment and respond!
