From pigeons to prosecco

Arriving at a viewing facility in central London at 9am on a Friday does not usually prophesise the start of a good day. Suffice it to say on this occasion, a Hands-On Moderating Skills course, it did.

The tone for the day was set by the warm-up exercise, which involved getting descriptive about pigeons with my fellow trainees to get us thinking and feeling like respondents. Once suitably energised and engaged, we started with some off-the-cuff co-moderation, and found trying to listen and ask questions without a topic guide for six minutes tougher than expected.

The pre-lunch session was all about projective techniques, acting as respondents for our tutors: a rare chance to experience how it feels when someone asks you to close your eyes for a minute in a room full of strangers. After lunch, the moderation began. As with most training courses, time was an issue, but still the short time spent moderating in an actual facility was invaluable. A real highlight for me was the one-on-one feedback.

A great course all round, featuring an engaging and useful range of tasks and the chance to meet some really good people.

Adam Bellagha
Copyright © Association for Qualitative Research, 2015