Working as a summer intern for New Orleans Perspectives was an incredible experience that allowed me to engage with so many different people across Louisiana.
Originally when I joined, I did not realize how diverse the recruitment database would by. Many of the projects I worked on searched for diverse participants from different locations. By recruiting within New Orleans and beyond we can build a focus group with varying perspectives, allowing us to access the opinions from different regions.
Another thing that surprised me when I joined New Orleans Perspectives was the abundance of individuals interested in taking our surveys and participating in our focus groups. Our opportunities seemed to stir up a lot of excitement for people and often when individuals were unable to attend focus groups they would give us referrals for other potential people to recruit.
Additionally, many people filled out the form on our website to display their interest in participating in groups giving me a widespread list to reach out to. During phone calls, many people recognized the name of our organization and were thrilled to get an opportunity to share their perspectives. In the beginning I thought less people would be interested but I was immediately proved wrong once the majority of the people I contacted ended up going through the screener with me to see if they were eligible for our focus group.
A main takeaway I learned from the internship is that the market research conducted at New Orleans Perspectives values the opinions coming from all people. The studies they perform include a wide range of participants and their goal is to accumulate a diverse group of perspectives. The company strongly cherishes the opinions coming from all members of the community. From assessing age to annual income, the screeners hope to gather people that represent the entire population to give everyone the equal opportunity to share their perspective.
Isabella M. Arnold
Tulane University, Class of 2025