We’re looking for parents in the North, Midlands or Yorkshire to take part in online focus groups next week

[JustineBMumsnet]

The past 10 months have brought turmoil and change both nationally and to many individuals. To ensure that mums’ voices are being heard, Mumsnet has partnered with independent research agency BritainThinks to conduct research to understand how mums are feeling and to understand their hopes and worries for themselves and their families.

We’re looking for Mumsnet users with at least one child in the North, Midlands or South East to take part in a video based online focus group for BritainThinks between Tuesday 2nd - Thursday 4th February, running in the evening.

We are interested to hear your views and opinions and so you would not need to prepare anything in advance of the session. You would be paid £40 as a thank you for your time, which would be paid via bank transfer after the session.

If you’re interested in taking part, please click here to sign up.

Please note we're looking for specific mixes of demographics to take part in each group - if you've signed up already and haven't been contacted, this will be why.

Some more information on the project from BritainThinks can be found here, and you can find BritainThinks’ privacy policy here.

Thanks!
MNHQ

[BIWI]

I assume you mean mums with a child at home?

[binkyblinky]

Registered my interest

[InMySpareTime]

Signed up

[Cismyfatarse]

North of Britain or North of England?

[JanuaryChill]

It would have been helpful to be told up front that you might be recorded and reporters may be present....

[BaconAndAvocado]

@JanuaryChill

It would have been helpful to be told up front that you might be recorded and reporters may be present....

I agree.
I opted out because of this.

[BugPlaster]

@JanuaryChill

It would have been helpful to be told up front that you might be recorded and reporters may be present....

But recording will not be published - making this clear for anyone who skim reads this post and is put off. Only first name, location and quote may be used by a reporter as I understand it.

[BIWI]

All market research is recorded - either video or audio, sometimes both. That's not an issue (at least not for me) because market research agencies have to follow a strict code of practice re confidentiality - Market Research Society as well as GDPR. But I'm astounded that a journalist might be sitting in too - there's no way that won't influence the things that participants say, or the way in which they respond to questions.

This makes me wonder just how genuine this is - is it real research or is it just a PR exercise?

(ex market researcher here)

[BIWI]

Having re-read the OP I can see that this is research being done to write/create articles or though pieces for BritainThinks. Hence the presence of a journalist.

Be aware, then, anyone that takes part - there will be an agenda behind this. They will be looking for a certain angle.

[herecomesthsun]

What is Britain Thinks?

[BIWI]

BritainThinks

[StealthRoast]

I’ve registered.

[BIWI]

I hope @JustineBMumsnet and @JustineMumsnet that BritainThinks are going to put to good use the insight that they glean from MNetters and not participate in another offensive and crass campaign such as they did back in 2010

Some of us here have long memories ...

[StoneColdBitch]

£40 for 90 minutes?! That works out to about a third of my usual hourly rate. No thanks.

[MiddlesexGirl]

Lucky you. Minimum wage is £8.72 per hour so £40 for 90 minutes seems quite generous to me.

[StoneColdBitch]

Sorry if I was tone-deaf, @MiddlesexGirl. It feels to me like the rate offered may skew the demographic taking part, but I didn't mean to be goady.

[fluffygreenmonsterhoody]

Is this north of Britain or north of England? Presuming that it’s for north of Britain as it’s from an org called BritainThinks?

[mogloveseggs]

I'm torn. The cash would be very useful. But it seems a bit iffy.

[lljkk]

Why those regions... given it's a video conf., why not anywhere in UK/GB.England?

I'll take £40 to impersonate StColdBitch!!

[BIWI]

@lljkk because they'll be wanting to get views/opinions of people that are representative of different areas of the country. Just as they will, I guess, try and recruit a spread of different ages.

[Bloodypunkrockers]

North, midlands or south east of where

I'm in the north of Britain, but the midlands of Scotland. Where do I fit in?

[JustineBMumsnet]

Hi all, apologies for any confusion surrounding who we're looking for! It's Mumsnet users in the North, Midlands or South East of England.

[TheMostHappy]

Registered

[JustineBMumsnet]

Thanks all for commenting on the thread, we've seen a few queries pop up so here's some clarification:

• This project is about hearing how the events of the past 10 months since Covid hit have impacted Mums in different areas of England. It's an exploratory piece of work, which is why the OP is quite vague (sorry!).
• BritainThinks adheres to the Market Research Society (MRS) Code of Conduct and if you're selected, your details will be used for the purposes of research only.
• If a journalist is present for the group/s, this would be to observe rather than to participate in the discussion. The questions related to this in the sign up survey are to ensure that you're only invited to take part in research that you're comfortable with.
• If you're invited to take part BritainThinks will ask you to share explicit consent before doing so.

[JustineMumsnet]

@BIWI

I hope *@JustineBMumsnet and @JustineMumsnet* that BritainThinks are going to put to good use the insight that they glean from MNetters and not participate in another offensive and crass campaign such as they did back in 2010

Some of us here have long memories ...

It's not the same Britain Thinks BIWI! That was run by Garry Lace and this BritainThinks was founded after the Career Women Bad Mothers campaign. All very different people