Recruiting professionals for qualitative research can be challenging.

Many sources and platforms are available in the market for recruiting qualitative-research participants. And, recently, we've noticed a surge in the number of "source-it-yourself" platforms, which businesses use to self-recruit.

However, that approach can be risky. A recent interaction with a prospective client raised a pertinent question: How do we verify the authenticity of participants and ensure they are genuine in their responses and they have relevant experience for the study at hand?

This article will share some effective tips for recruiting high-quality technology professionals for qualitative research.

The Challenges of Recruiting for Evolving Tech Roles

Recruitment challenges in technology-related research extend beyond the rising popularity of source-it-yourself platforms.

Technology professionals are constantly evolving, and their roles and responsibilities are becoming more complex. That creates "hybrid" roles that blend functions between IT and Business, often presenting a recruiting challenge.

One example is the emergence of "citizen developers." Asking citizen developers whether they align more with IT or the business can lead to a "well, it depends" response, making sourcing and recruiting even more complicated.

Because of the evolving nature of the tech industry, traditional recruitment methods may not always be sufficient to ensure high-quality and highly qualified participants. Although professional panels and recruiting firms prequalify and verify applicants' profiles, the screener criteria is what drives the key qualifiers. However, even the most expertly crafted screener can require additional follow-up and due diligence.

Effective Tactics for Qualitative Research Candidate Screening

Finding the most eligible candidates for a study can be challenging, but it's not impossible. To requalify the prequalified, implement the following approaches.

1. Online Search

Check the candidate's online presence, company website, and social media to get a better understanding of the candidate before scheduling or interviewing them.

2. Self-Assessment

Use proficiency questions (e.g., skill, expertise), responsibility allocations (e.g., percent of time spent on a given task), and scales such as "more IT or business" or "more strategic or tactical" to assess candidates who don't neatly fit into traditional categories.

Read Full Article Here.