Editorial guidelines for contributors

Research Live accepts editorial pitches, as well as providing sponsored branded content and advertising opportunities.

Research Live is focused primarily on news, opinion and features, and runs a daily and weekly newsletter.

If you are interested in submitting an article or contributing to features, you should contact the editorial team in the first instance to outline your idea, and we will then advise whether or not we are interested in the idea in principle. If an idea is taken forward, the editorial team will provide details of word count and any editorial guidelines.

We are a very small team and we strive to respond to requests in a timely manner but it is not always possible.

Contact Alex Pout for more information on sponsored branded content and advertising opportunities: alex.pout@mrs.org.uk

Our editorial contact details are:
Head of editorial – Katie McQuater: katie.mcquater@mrs.org.uk
Deputy editor – Liam Kay-McClean: liam.kay@mrs.org.uk


OPINION 

For opinion articles on Research Live, generally speaking, we are interested in:

• Perspectives on how the insights industry is evolving – e.g. changes in approach, new methodologies or other developments that push boundaries in the industry
  
• Content that explores the people-led side of the business – how issues such as hybrid working affect researchers in particular, for example
• Perspectives on unhealthy or unwelcome developments or things that require
  change (e.g. why the industry needs to celebrate its successes)
• Advice for researchers e.g. how researchers can work with experts
• Topical pieces looking at the role insight/data will play in addressing a specifictrending issue
• Any relevant perspectives on adjacent issues impacting the research sector, e.g.tech giants, media, privacy

We welcome article proposals and ideas from both supply- and client-side individuals, but we are particularly keen on hearing from authors from groups not typically represented in industry publications.

Opinion pitches should include a synopsis of a few sentences. This synopsis should succinctly set out what the proposed article would cover and the crux of your argument.

It should also include the name and job title of the individual who has written the article, for any byline.

Editorial articles should be industry focused and not promote a specific product or company.

Submitted articles will be edited by the editorial team, and may or may not be published, depending on the quality of what is submitted, whether it meets editorial standards, what is in the news cycle and our list of editorial priorities at any given moment.

FEATURES/GENERAL IDEAS

We do not work to a forward features list. Please look at research-live.com to understand the sorts of articles we publish.

We are interested in hearing about research work that is innovative, unique or has achieved strong resonance within a client organisation. If you are contacting us to highlight a research project in an article, you should include details of methodology as well as research findings.

Pitches that refer to research results but do not include details of methodology will not be considered.

We are always particularly keen to hear about international research projects, work employing innovative approaches with seldom-heard audiences, and research that has had a demonstrable impact on a client organisation’s strategy.

We predominantly look to interview client-side insights professionals about how they approach research strategically, but we also regularly feature contributions from agencies, depending on the subject matter.

If you have a general idea and you are not sure where it fits, email the editorial team in the first instance.

NEWS

For news, send us press releases on subjects including (but not limited to): new
products; new hires; changes to senior teams; trends in the industry, economy,
consumer behaviour or society; industry initiatives; financial results; and mergers and acquisitions. Press releases should include quotes from someone senior at the company.

If the press release is about a new hire, please include a headshot, a brief outline of their new role and job title, some background on their previous role and a quote from a senior person at your company about the new hire.