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Section 2 Key principles of quality in research and consultation

2.04 Ensure methods used are fit for purpose

It may be tempting to use “off the shelf” research packages that produce standardised questionnaires, to use existing surveys produced for an earlier research exercise or to use approaches marketed by contractors. All of these may have a superficial appeal of a readily available methodology. However, by definition they are prescriptive. Off-the-shelf surveys marketed by contractors are unlikely to have a focus on use as they are not designed for use in the specific, local context. Surveys are often designed to provide standardised information to measure comparative performance and change over time and they may be difficult to adapt for other research exercises. For example, it may be difficult to make changes to a questionnaire or to the wording of individual questions and this will reduce the quality and relevance of data collected in this way. As a result, they offer few advantages over a bespoke survey design.

Practice point

• The methods used should be fit for the intended purpose, appropriate to the context in which they are used and well executed.

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