first line research - online market research specialists

First Line has created and/or collaborated on the design of over 500 online surveys from over 40 different clients and this experience gives us clear insight into what works best online. We know how and when to challenge other people’s designs, and maintain that all surveys can benefit from some degree of refinement as they transition from print to screen. Visually we believe simple layouts are most intuitive for respondents and therefore preferable, but there is often a place for branding, interaction and extended functionality – all of which we are happy to recommend and/or incorporate as and when.

First Line use market leading, web-based, Confirmit Professional software as the flexible, secure and reliable base for all projects. We then overlay standard functionality with whatever bespoke code is required to make a particular design do what it needs to. In practice this means we can programme an almost endless range of functions, layouts and features. We understand that success often lies in realising complex designs, whilst keeping the survey interface clean and intuitive for the respondent and we use a number of web technologies and programming languages, as required, to achieve that goal.

Advanced programming allows us to create surveys in a multitude of forms. For example we have programmed many prospective diary studies, where the respondent accesses a personalised home page to enter new data and review their data collection history. For concept, advertising or attribute testing we often incorporate statistical techniques such as Max-Diff, conjoint or other designs. More qualitative-style applications have included the creation of bespoke whiteboards on which respondents express ideas through simple drawings. In short, most things are possible.

In the UK we have extensive access to 'opted-in' GPs, Secondary Care specialists and other healthcare professionals including an established oncology panel of 700+ clinical and medical oncologists including 100+ with a private practice. For consumer work in the UK and globally, and for healthcare work outside the UK, First Line partner with all the major online panel providers. We can negotiate competitive prices and source relevant sample direct, or we can work alongside a client’s chosen supplier, liaising on setup, management and delivery to take the strain out of fieldwork.

One reason clients return to First Line is our careful, communicative approach to project management. In part, this is driven by the hard fact that online survey design and programming takes no prisoners; small mistakes can be punished severely and so we like to spend time with clients making sure everything works as intended, questioning assumptions and suggesting refinements where appropriate. Another reason is that we are a small team of senior research professionals handling all project tasks personally and in-house, to deliberately promote consistent, high quality work. If we need to outsource elements such as translation or recruitment we make sure that you know who our partners are and how we are using them on the project.

Some projects call for a secure online, dashboard style, presentation of findings in real-time with bespoke levels of filtering, flexible cross-tabulation and hierarchical user access all built-in. Other times data is better exported to SPSS, crunched, and presented (either online or offline) as a comprehensive deck of tables. Whether it be one of these, an instant topline summary, a raw text file for processing client-side, a tailored PowerPoint report with personal commentary or something different again, we have the tools and expertise to deliver.