When conducting studies with lab respondents it is best to create the target groups in terms of respondents’ training and/or responsibilities rather than job title.

In conjunction with one of our recruitment partners, it was found that titles varied widely within the lab department, thus making it difficult to target certain titles specifically. Heads/ chiefs of pathology and histology are almost exclusively doctors by training, but this may not be their primary title. Those who considered themselves pathologists may also be heads or chiefs as a secondary role; this influences their decision-making influence.

Lab managers and directors, on the other hand, are a bit more difficult to classify in the US and UK, with the following general takeaways:

-      USA:

• Pathology lab director are typically MDs by training, but pathology lab managers may or may not have a medical background.
• Histology lab directors and managers have a technologist background, more often than not.

-      UK

• Pathology lab directors and managers are normally either medical doctors or technologists by background.
• UK histology lab directors and managers are similar to USA respondents with respect to their technologist background.

-      Germany & Italy

• Pathology and histology lab directors as well as managers are almost exclusively medical doctors by background, indicating that the training in these countries tends to be different than USA or UK.

In the pathology lab environment, personnel tend to take on various responsibilities that may fall in or out of their primary job title. To accurately target these respondents, it is imperative to look at training, responsibilities, and/or decision-making influence for stratification of targets.

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