Kathy Seymour

We offer a range of research and evaluation services and employ methods such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, observational studies, social media analysis, mobile ethnography, and the analysis of existing data (such as data from surveys already administered, transcripts of interviews already undertaken, etc.).

We also offer consultancy services such as advice on questionnaire design, research and evaluation strategies and recruiting for research projects. The analysis of free text data (such as comments from open-ended survey questions) is also a service we offer and we do this analysis manually (i.e. by our researchers reading and coding each comment) rather than using software as we find this provides a more accurate reflection of the topics mentioned and the sentiment with which they are discussed.

As experienced evaluators we also offer process and impact evaluations for clients who are introducing or have introduced new programmes or initiatives, we can evaluate both the implementation and impact of such initiatives. We are also highly experienced at undertaking evaluations based on the theory of change approach.

While we work with a wide range of clients including those in healthcare settings, local councils, charities, community organisations and private businesses, we specialise in educational research and evaluation and work with schools, colleges, universities and other educational settings. Our research provides insights into the opinions of staff, students, parents and other stakeholders. We undertake consultations to help guide our clients in developing improvement strategies and testing new ideas and initiatives. As fully trained and highly experienced theory of change evaluators, we can also undertake both process and impact evaluations to assess the effectiveness and impacts of programmes and initiatives. Our research and evaluation services cover the full research cycle, from designing the research strategy and instruments through to reporting and presenting the findings – or we can undertake any element/stage of the research in isolation (e.g. just the fieldwork, or just the analysis).

We also specialise in analysing free text data, such as the comments made in response to the open-ended questions in surveys. We offer this service to a wide range of clients and our analysis outputs range from a simple table showing the topics mentioned and the number and percentage of respondents who mentioned each, through to a detailed written report on the comments.

Our team are all fully qualified researchers and evaluators and as well as our core team, we have a range of trusted freelance associates with skills in market research, statistics, qualitative methods, etc., which we can call upon to boost our team as and when needed. As Director, Kathy Seymour oversees all projects and she has worked in a range of research posts prior to forming Seymour Research in 2012, including research roles at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and the University of Nottingham. Kathy has a Master’s degree in social research methods and a PhD in education.