Case Study
Clothing & Nature Stories
The Researcher
Jennifer is a doctoral candidate at Prescott College, pursuing a PhD in Sustainability Education. She is doing her dissertation on how women demonstrate their ecological and consumer identities through storytelling.
The Challenge
Jennifer felt overwhelmed by the challenge of finding participants and worried it might delay her dissertation. She was reluctant to reach out to groups she belonged to or to people she knew personally, and she wanted to avoid recruiting students from her university.
Participant Criteria
- Has a connection to nature
- Has a connection to their clothing
- Will share photographs or drawings of nature
- Will share photographs or drawings of garments
- 3+ people who've spent less than 5 hours in nature weekly
- 3+ people who've spent 5-10 hours in nature weekly
- 3+ people who've spent more than 10 hours in nature weekly
- 3+ people whose most cherished garment that is still worn regularly is less than 5 years old
- 3+ people whose most cherished garment that is still worn regularly is 5-10 years old
- 3+ people whose most cherished garment that is still worn regularly is more than 10 years old
- Gender identity: Female
- Age: 18+
- Location: Las Vegas metropolitan area
- English proficiency: Advanced or Native
Study Details
- Format In-depth interview
- Interview duration 60 minutes
- Venue Zoom video conference
- Number of participants 10
- Incentive ⭐ $75 gift card ⭐
The Solution
Qualitative met with Jennifer to discuss her research study and sent her a proposal for participant recruitment. After she decided to move forward with Qualitative, we guided her in setting up her account and creating a participant screener that minimized response bias. We then simulated recruitment and came back to Jennifer with a quote for participant recruitment.
Jennifer paid the invoice for participant recruitment and by the next day, participants were appearing in Jennifer's project in Qualitative, ready to be scheduled for interviews. The majority of the participants completed their interview at the scheduled time. One participant requested to be rescheduled and completed their interview after being rescheduled. Jennifer conducted all 10 interviews over 3 days.
The Outcome
By the end of the study, Qualitative had recruited 10 women with a strong connection to clothing and nature. 6 of the participants spent 5-10 hours in nature weekly, 2 of the participants spent more than 10 hours, and 2 of the participants spent less than 10 hours. The most cherished item of clothing that was still worn regularly was 5-10 years old for 5 of the participants, more than 10 years old for 4 of the participants, and less than 5 years old for 1 of the participants. All participants were residents of the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
The Feedback
When I began my research study, I had no idea how I would find participants. Then I discovered Qualitative, and they took all the stress out of recruiting — making the process quick and easy. Their scheduling platform was seamless and user-friendly, which not only saved me time but also made my research process feel more polished and professional. Neal was incredibly involved and always available, ensuring every participant was properly vetted and showed up. He genuinely cared that I got what I needed and that each session made a meaningful contribution.
Jennifer Inaba
PhD Researcher
Prescott College
See Jennifer's verified review on G2.com