How to write a research brief
Why is a brief important to a client?

• To communicate the requirements of the market research project so that your research partner can really understand what you want to find out and explore.
• To ensure that the client gains relevant and actionable insights from the project
• To ensure that everyone involved in the project is aware of the exact specification and objectives
• To ensure that the focus of the project is kept on track
• To inform your agency whether or not it is in a competitive situation

• Background information: to place the problem or opportunity being research into context. Your research agency should be able to provide you with additional supporting evidence.
• Objectives of the research: to define the exact nature of the research problem and what the client wishes to learn from the research. Many clients find it easier to write this in terms of a number of questions that they want answers to.
• Target: to specify which target group the client wishes to investigate, or ask for your agency's view on this.
• Constraints: to inform the agency of any constraints affecting the project, i.e. timeframe or budget. Make it clear if you have major reviews or updates so your agency can let you know early on if they can meet your requirements.
• The more detail you can think of at this stage the more efficient your research agency can be in providing you with a clear, well structured and costed proposal which will best meet your needs.

What to expect from a proposal
What is a research proposal?
The research proposal is a formal document that sets out how we will achieve the research objective and questions set out in the brief.

Structure
A research proposal should contain seven sections: "

• Objectives: summarising the client's overall objective in one clear hypothesis and may include a number of specific research questions.
• Background information and context: describing in more detail the section laid out in the brief. This section should demonstrate that your research agency understand fully the context of the research.
• Research approach: describing what format the research will take (i.e. quantitative or qualitative), with a structure and timeframe. Make sure this is provided at a detailed level so you really know what you will be getting for your money.
• Recruitment: describing the target group and how it will be accessed for the research
• Analyses and reporting: specifying how the information will be delivered to the client
• Schedule: setting out a timeframe for the project
• Costs: based on the budget specified by the client in the research brief, with clear descriptions of any additional or excluded costs.

Lulie Halstead is a full member of the Market Research Society, and Wine Intelligence works in accordance with the Market Research Society's Code of Conduct. For more information on this, see the Market Research Society's website at http://www.mrs.org.uk/