Enhanced COVID-19 In-Person Research Guidelines

City Research’s priority continues to be the health and safety of our clients, partners, and staff members and as such we have implemented the following guidelines to conduct in-person studies responsibly.  We continue to monitor recommendations from the CDC, WDEC and Rock County Department of Health guidelines and the changing status of the pandemic and will re-evaluate precautions as needed.

Health and Safety Precautions For In-Person Studies

PHYSICAL DISTANCING

  • Physical distancing is being implemented during all research projects
  • Floor signs have been installed to remind visitors of the requirement for physical distancing
  • Where it is feasible to create a one-way system, we will implement a one-way respondent flow
  • Acrylic screens have been installed at our reception area as a protective barrier for check-in and ID verification
  • Respondent reception/lobby areas have been expanded/reconfigured to ensure appropriate distancing
  • All research rooms have been configured to ensure distancing between respondents and the moderator
  • Group sizes are being limited to 4-8 people, depending on room size and configuration
  • Where more respondents are required, we can rearrange seating into non-traditional configuration or book two rooms and arrange viewing via monitors

FOOD

  • All food and beverages will be individually packaged
  • Individual client meals will be served as delivered
  • For studies requiring food to be served, we will provide individually-wrapped sandwiches or boxed meals
  • Candy dishes/treat baskets have been removed from facility reception areas and client lounges
  • Tablecloths, napkins, and linens have been removed and replaced with disposals products
  • Any studies involving food will be risk-assessed

FACILITY CLEANING & HYGIENE

  • Our facility is electrostatically disinfected and cleaned in between all research projects
  • Each room is cleaned and wiped down between sessions, focusing on high-touch areas such as
  • chairs, tables and door handles
  • Our facility has been stocked with additional hand soap, hand sanitizer, tissues, and disinfectant wipes
  • Notepads, pens, etc. will not be reused
  • Magazines, paper pamphlets, or other paper materials have been removed from all facilities visitor spaces

TEMPERATURE TAKING

We are conducting temperature check on arrival for all research participants. Where a person’s temperature is raised above 37.8° C / 100.4° F or higher, they will be not be permitted entry.

OUR STAFF

  • Wearing masks is required of our employees and any contractors
  • Our staff will respect and oversee 6ft physical distancing
  • We will continue to promote regular and thorough hand-washing
  • We will continue to promote good respiratory hygiene
  • If staff display even the most minor COVID-19 symptom, they must stay at home, and we will apply CDC guidelines as a minimum and implement our own stringent restrictions on when employees can return to an office if he/she has been exposed or potentially exposed to the virus

OUR VISITORS

Clients

  • Clients are required to wear masks in common areas of the facility.
  • We are providing disposable bags in which to store the mask when not being worn.
  • Clients will need to request during study planning if they want respondents to wear masks during interview sessions/groups
  • If the client requires a traditional room set up, we can only accommodate 8 respondents + moderator
  • If the client needs more than 8 respondents + moderator, then tables and seating arrangements may need to be changed to follow the physical distancing guidelines
  • We require 30 minutes between group sessions to allow for extra time for check-out and cleaning (wipe down tables, chair arms, and door handles)
  • We are limiting the number of clients attending sessions to 5 without prior approval
  • With prior planning, the number of viewing clients may be increased with viewing via monitors
  • We will need to pre-order individual client meals

Respondents

  • We will stagger the arrival time of respondents as much as possible
  • We have adapted our check-in/check-out procedures to accommodate physical distancing of respondents. We’ve secured additional space adjacent to our office to expand our waiting area to extend physical distancing
  • Respondents will be required to wear masks in common areas
  • We will provide a disposable bag in which to store the mask when not being worn
  • Enhanced rescreening will occur in accordance with CDC guidelines and client requests relating to mask/no mask during the interview/discussion
  • Respondent reception seating will be set up for physical distancing
  • Respondents will be encouraged to bring and use their own pen
  • Additional screening questions will continue to be included in all screeners for in-person/in-facility projects
  • Any respondent with any symptoms of or similar to COVID-19 will be screened out. If a respondent has come into contact with someone who has been exposed to the virus, he/she is disqualified from in-person research
  • Respondents are required to wear masks in our reception areas. They are also required to agree to remove the mask during discussions unless requested to retain them
  • Respondents are advised that on arrival, they need to agree to have their temperature taken

and that it is 37.8° C / 100.4° F or higher, they will be not be permitted to enter the facility

COVID-19 General Release of Liability

Upon arrival at the City Research facility, we are asking respondents to sign a COVID-19 general release of liability in accordance with Insights Association guidelines. Respondents have the opportunity to review the release of liability during the recruiting process in advance of arrival. The full release of liability document is available for review upon request.