Last updated on 25 June 2019

© 2019 M3 USA Corporation. All rights reserved.| www.M3GlobalResearch.com

M3 GLOBAL RESEARCH CASE STUDY

Bulletin Board Studies

THERAPEUTIC AREA

Treatment of late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) patients

STAKEHOLDERS RECRUITED

Neurologists

METHODOLOGY

Online bulletin board with prework assignment

COUNTRY

United States

About Bulletin Board Studies

Business Objective

Much like the traditional cork board of the past, online bulletin board research serves as a catalyst for conversation, a hub of information gathering and sharing. This interactive, qualitative approach assembles people virtually to facilitate data collection through interactive discussion among participants and a moderator. Bulletin board research respondents visit a site on their own time over a course of several days or weeks. Participants can read discussion transcripts, respond to questions, post insights, and retrieve or send fi les.

The advantages of conducting online bulletin board studies are numerous. Such studies allow researchers to gather opinions from participants across a wide geographic area or with varying levels of availability regardless of their time zone or work schedules. Participants can sign-in and respond to one another and the moderator when their time allows. In turn, the moderator can drive conversation, probe for deeper insight when necessary, and engage less responsive participants. With its multiple levels of interaction, bulletin board research o� en produces more in-depth data similar to that of an in-person focus group.

M3 Global Research worked with a leading professional services fi rm on behalf of their life sciences client. The aim of the research study was to understand how neurologists treat late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD) patients. Pompe disease, a rare, progressive, metabolic disorder, aff ects skeletal muscles, and if le� untreated,

leads to disability and/or respiratory failure. The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), estimates 1-in-40,000 babies is born with the disease in the United States. M3 Global Research was tasked with surveying US neurologists for the project.

Last updated on 25 June 2019

© 2019 M3 USA Corporation. All rights reserved.| www.M3GlobalResearch.com

M3 GLOBAL RESEARCH CASE STUDY | Bulletin Board Studies

The M3 Global Research Solution

Results for Success

One of the major challenges of this project was the tight timeline. The recruitment phase was to be completed in just one-and-a-half weeks. The process involved identifying qualifi ed respondents and ensuring they completed a pre-survey assignment before participating in the online bulletin board research.

The other challenge was that the project required the M3 team to recruit for a specialty with traditionally low response rates. Coupling that with the short timeline made this project uniquely challenging.

The M3 project management team collaborated with the client in a kick-off meeting to outline the details, determine the scope, and reinforce the rapid nature of the study. To meet the requirements of the study, M3 Global Research reached out to its proprietary panel of physicians.

Given the nature of the study, the M3 recruitment team ensured that the screening criteria and prework assignment were clearly communicated to participants

so as not to cause confusion, create additional questions, or delay the completion of the research.

Any neurologists, who had initially agreed to participate in the study but who later became unresponsive, received follow up communication prompting them to take the next step in the process. Participants also received regular reminders encouraging them to complete the study within the given timeframe.

With a strategic approach that included multiple touch points, the M3 team not only achieved the desired N size of neurologists that the client needed but was able to recruit additional study participants within a specialty with traditionally low response rates.

Challenges