Expert Networks: Answering the Whos, Whats, and Whens

If you haven’t worked with an expert network before, you may have some questions, and we’re more than happy to help answer all of them.

What is an Expert Network?

Expert networks are responsible for bridging the gap between clients interested in conducting research and experts that can act as respondents in that research and offer insights. The first expert network made its debut in 1998, and since then, the industry has continued to grow.

What Kinds of Research Can Expert Networks Help With?

There is an expert network for everyone, and the main factor that determines which you should work with is the type of research that you’re interested in conducting. While some expert networks can assist researchers with both their qualitative and quantitate needs, many specialize in only one or the other. For those that have qualitative capabilities, in-depth interviews and focus groups are methodologies that they commonly recruit respondents for. Alternatively, expert networks that focus on recruitment for quantitative research often recruit for surveys with variable sample sizes. 

Who Can Use an Expert Network?

To work with an expert network, the only thing you need is an interest in gaining insight. Expert networks serve a wide variety of clients. For example, at Zintro, we work with clients ranging from consulting firms looking to assess markets to medical device companies seeking insights for product development to investment firms conducting due diligence. Such a wide range of client types calls for expert networks that can supply respondents with both broad and niche expertise on any given topic. At Zintro, we’re capable of providing respondents with insights on topics as broad as technology to as narrow as YO7A and CDH23 gene mutations. 

How Does the Process Work?

The process for getting in touch with respondents remains somewhat consistent no matter the expert network you work with to conduct research, and it all starts with you. Begin by engaging with your chosen expert network and sharing as many details as possible about the project you’re working on, the kind and number of respondents you hope to speak with, whether you’d like to use a qualitative or quantitative methodology, and what your expectations are for things like the overall timeline, pricing, and the cadence of communication. At this stage, transparency is key, and a kickoff call with the team you’re working with can make the process all the more seamless and allow you to build a rapport with the expert network as a whole. After you’ve shared all of the initial details with the expert network, they will get to work recruiting. At Zintro, our teams often use a combination of sourcing respondents from our preexisting panel and custom recruiting, but other expert networks may have different recruiting practices. Once the team has recruited the respondents, they will present them to you, and you will have the chance to pick and choose those who best fit your project. From there, the research itself can take place, and the interviews or surveys will kick off. Once each expert has participated, the expert network typically handles their compensation, and you can begin the work to analyze the insights you gathered throughout the process.

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