QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
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What is qualitative research?

• Is a term used loosely to refer to research
  whose findings are not subject to quantification
  or quantitative analysis.
• Qualitative research could be used to examine
  the attitudes, feelings and motivations of the
  heavy user, essentially how to communicate with
  them.

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Qualitative research VS quantitative research.
Qualitative Quantitative
Types of questions Probing Limited probing
Sample size Small Large
Amount of information from each respondent Substantial Varies
Requirements for administration Interviewer with special skills Interviewer with fewer skills or no interviewer
Type of analysis Subjective, interpretive Statistical, summation
Hardware Tape recorders, pictures, discussion guides Questionnaires, computer printout
Degree of explicability Low High
Researcher training Psychology, sociology, social psychology, Statistics, decision models, computer programming
Type of research Exploratory Descriptive o causal
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Why does the popularity of qualitative research
continue to grow?

1. Qualitative research is usually much cheaper than
   quantitative research.
2. There is no better way to understand the
   motivation and feelings of consumers.
3. It can improve the efficiency of quantitative
   research.

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• All marketing research is undertaken to increase
  the effectiveness of decision making. Qualitative
  research blends with quantitative measures to
  provide a more thorough understanding of consumer
  demand. Qualitative techniques involve
  open-ended questioning and probing

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Limitations of qualitative research

• One drawback relates to the fact that marketing
  successes and failures many times are based on
  small differences in attitudes or opinions about
  the marking mix, and qualitative research does
  not distinguish those small differences as well
  as large-scale quantitative research does.
• The second limitation is that they are not
  necessarily representative of the population of
  interest to the researcher.

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THE IMPORTANCE ON FOCUS GROUPS

• Focus group consists of 8 to 12 participants who
  are led by a moderator in the discussion on one
  particular topic or concept.
• The goal is to learn and understand what people
  have to say and why .
• The emphasis is on getting people to talk at
  length and in detail about the subject .
• The intent is to find out how they feel about
  the product, concept, idea or organization how
  it fits into their lives and their emotional
  involvement with it.

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Popularity of focus groups

• Focus groups allow the research to experience
  the emotional framework in which the product is
  begin used.
• In a sense, the researcher can go into a persons
  life and relieve with him or her all the
  satisfaction, dissatisfactions, rewards and
  frustration experienced when the product is taken
  home.

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Conducting focus groups
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Step 1. Prepare for the group

• Setting is often conference room, with a large
  one-way mirror built into one wall. Microphones
  are placed (usually on the ceiling) to record the
  discussion. Behind the mirror is the viewing
  room.
• Participants for focus group are recruited from a
  variety of sources. Two traditional procedures
  are mall-intercept interviewing and random
  telephone screening. Researches normally
  establish criteria for the group participants.

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STEP 2. Select a moderator

• Having qualified respondents and a good focus
  group moderator are the keys to a successful
  focus group.
• A focus group moderator needs two sets of skills.
• 1. The moderator must be able to conduct a
  group properly.
• 2. He or she must have good business skills
  in order to effectively interact with the client.

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STEP 2. Select a moderator

• Key attributes for conducting a focus group
  include the following
• Genuine interest in people, their behavior,
  emotions
• Acceptance for de differences in people.
• Good listening skills.
• Good observation skills.
• Good oral and written communication skills
• Objective

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STEP 2. Create a discussion guide.

• A discussion guide is a written outline of the
  topics to be covered during the session. Usually
  the guide is generated by the moderator based of
  the research objectives and client information
  needs. It serves as a checklist to ensure that
  all salient topics are covered and in the proper
  sequence.

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STEP 2. Create a discussion guide.

• The guide tents to lead the discussion though
  three stages
• Rapport is established, the rules group
  interactions are explained are objectives are
  given.
• The moderator attempts to provoke discussion.
• Is used summarizing significant conclusions and
  testing the limits of belief and commitment.

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STEP 3. Focus group length

• Many managers today prefer shorter (around an
  hour)focus groups. Yet the average group today is
  still about 90 minutes.
• The group length issue is not an insulated one,
  it is intertwined with a second key factor the
  number of the discussion guide.
• The managers should examine the interactions
  between the length of the focus group and the
  size of the discussion guide.

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STEP 4. Focus group report

• After the final of the group in a series is
  completed, there will be a moderator debriefing,
  sometimes called instant analysis.
• A formal focus group report is typically a
  PowerPoint presentation. The written report is
  nothing more than a copy of the PowerPoint slides.

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Benefits and Drawbacks of Focus Groups

• The benefits and drawbacks of qualitative
  research in general also apply to focus groups.
  But focus groups have some unique pros and cons
  that deserve mention.
• Advantages of Focus Groups The interactions
  among respondents can stimulate new ideas and
  thoughts that might not arise during one-on-one
  interviews. And group pressure can help challenge
  respondents to keep their thinking realistic.
  Energetic interactions among respondents also
  make it likely that observation of a group will
  provide firsthand consumer information to client
  observers in a shorter amount of time and in a
  more interesting way than will individual
  interviews.
• Another advantege focus groups offer is the
  opportunity to observe customers or prospects
  from behind a one-way mirror. In fact, there is
  growing use of focus groups to expose a broader
  range of employees to customer comments and
  views.
• One more advantege of focus grops is that they
  can be executed more quickly than many other
  research techniques. In addition, findings from
  groups tend to be easier to understand and to
  have a compelling immediacy and excitement. I
  can get up and show a client all the charts and
  graphs in the world, but it has nowhere near the
  impact of showing 8 or 10 customers sitting
  around a table and saying that the companys
  service isnt good. By Jean-Anne Mutter
  (director of marketing research at Ketchum
  Advertising).

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• Disadvanteges of Focus Groups Unfortunately,
  some of the stengths of focus groups also can
  become disadvantages. For example, the immediacy
  and apparent understandability of focus group
  findings can cause managers to be misled instead
  of informed. Mutter says, Even though youre
  only getting a very small slice, a focus group
  gives you a sense that you really understand the
  situation. She adds that focus groups can
  strongly appeal to peoples desire for quick,
  simple answers to problems, and i see a
  decreasing willingness to go with complexity and
  to put forth the effort needed to really think
  through the complex data that will be yielded by
  a quantitative study.
• Other disadvantages relate to the focus
  group process. For example, focus group
  recruiting may be a problem if the type of person
  recruited responds differently to the isues being
  discussed than do other target segments. White
  middle-class individuals, for example,
  participate in qualitative research in numbers
  disproportionate to their presence in the
  marketplace. Also, some focus group facilities
  create an impersonal feeling, making honest
  conversation unlikely. Corporate or formal
  setting with large boardroom tables and
  unattractive or plain decor may make it difficult
  for respondents to relax and share their
  feelings.
• Video Transmission of Focus Groups Live video
  transmissions of focus groups has occurred for
  the past 20 years. The advantage for researchers
  and clients is that not everyone has to travel to
  every focus group to participate. A survey found
  that users of video focus groups were typically
  quite pleased. Sixty-seven percent rated the
  experience excellent or good. Approximately 22
  percent of all U.S. focus groups involve video
  transmissions.

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Other Qualitative Methodologies

• Most of this chapter has been devoted to focus
  groups because of their pervasive use in
  marketing research. However, several other
  qualitative techniques are also used, albeit on a
  much more limited basis.

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Other Qualitative Methodologies

• Individual Depth Interviews (IDI) are relatively
  unstructured one-on-one interviews. The
  interviewer is thoroughly trained in the skill of
  probing and eliciting detailed answers to each
  question. IDIs are the second most popular form
  of qualitative research.
• Advantages of depth interviews over focus groups
  are as follows
• Group pressure is eliminated, so the respondent
  reveals more honest feelings, not necessarily
  those considered most acceptable among peers.
• The personal one-on-one situation gives the
  respondent the feeling of being the focus of
  attention- that his or her thoughts and feelings
  are important and truly wanted.
• The respondent attains a heightened state of
  awareness because he or she has constant
  interaction with the interviewer and there are no
  group members to hide behind.
• The longer time devoted to individual respondents
  encourages the revelation of new information.
• Respondents can be probed at length to reveal the
  feelings and motivations that underlie
  statements.
• Without the restrictions of cultivating a group
  process, new directions of questioning can be
  improvised more easily. Individual interviews
  allow greater flexibility to explore casual
  remarks and tangential issues, which may provide
  critical insights into the main issue.
• The closeness of the one-on-one relationship
  allows the interviewer to become more sensitive
  to nonverbal feedback.
• A singular viewpoint can be obtained from a
  respondent without influence from others.
• The interview can be conducted anywhere, in
  places other than a focus group facility.
• Depth interviews may be the only viable technique
  for situations in which a group approach would
  require that competitors be placed in the same
  room. For example, it might be very difficult to
  do a focus group on systems for preventing bad
  checks with managers from competing deparment
  stores or retaurants.

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• Disadvantages of depth interviews relative to
  focus groups are as follows
• The total cost of depth interviews can be more
  expensive than focus groups, but not on a cost
  per respondent minute.
• Depth interviews do not generally get the same
  degree of client involvement as focus groups. It
  is difficult to convince most client personnel to
  sith through multiple hours of depth interviews
  so as to benefit firsthand from the information.
• Because depth interviews are physically
  exhausting for the moderator, they do not cover
  as much ground in one day as do focus groups.
  Most moderators will not do more than four or
  five depth interviws in a day, wheras they can
  involuve 20 people in a day in two focus groups.
• Focus groups give the moderator an ability to
  leverage the dynamics of the group to obtain
  reactions that might not be generated in a
  one-on-one session.
• The success of any depth interview depends mainly
  on the skills of the interviewer. And classic
  applications of depth interviews include
• Communication checks such as (review of print,
  radio, or TV advertisements or other written
  materials)
• Sensory evaluations such as (reactions to varied
  formulations for deodorants or hand lotions)
• Exploratory research such as (defining baseline
  understanding or a product, service, or idea)
• New prduct development, prototype stage
• Packging or usage research as (when clients want
  to mirror personal experience and obtain key
  language descriptors)

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• A variation of the depth interview is
  called customer care research (CCR). The basic
  idea is to use depth iterviewing to understand to
  dynamic of the purchase process. The following
  seven questions are the basis for CCR
• What started you on the road to making this
  purchase?
• Why did you make this purchase now?
• What was the hardest part of this process? Was
  there any point where you got stuck?
• When and how did you decide the price was
  acceptable?
• Is there someone else with whom i should talk to
  get more of the story behind this purchase?
• If youve purschased this product before, how
  does the story of your last purchase differ from
  this one?
• At what point did you decide you trusted this
  organization and this person to work with in you
  best interests?
• Cost of Focus Groups versus IDI In a standard,
  eight-person, 90-minute focus group, there are
  nine people (eight participants plus moderator)
  sharing the floor. On average, therefore, each
  respondent is allotted 10 minutes of talk time
  across those 90 minutes (90 minutes divided by
  nine people).
• The cost of a focus group of this type is about
  6.000. That number includes every-thing
  recruiter, moderator, participant stipend, food,
  facility, report write-up, and the cost of
  getting a few observers to the event. Divide 80
  minutes of participant talk time (the moderator
  doesnt count) into the 6000 expense, and your
  cost per respondent minute in this case is 75
  (6000/80)
• If, however, a typical in-depth interview runs
  30 minutes and costs between 400 and 500
  (including recruiting, interviewing, participant
  stipend, and reporting), the cost per respondent
  minute is in the range of 16 to 25. The big
  difference results from the amount of time the
  respondent spends talking, which is typically
  about 20 to 25 of those 30 minutes in an in-depth
  phone interview.
• Thus, when considering the cost per respondent
  minute, in-depth interviews can provide much
  greater value. Of course, the quality of both the
  focus groups and the IDI determines the real
  value of the research.

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• Using Hermeneutics Some IDI researchers use a
  technique called hermeneutic research to achieve
  their goals. Hermeneutic research that focuses on
  interpretation through conversations.
• For example, a reseacher and consumer in
  conversation about why that individual purchased
  a high-end home theater system may discuss the
  reasons for making the purchase, such as holding
  movie parties, enjoying a stay-at-home luxury, or
  immersing one-self in sporting events. The
  researcher may interpret holding movie parties
  as a reason for purchase to mean that without the
  system, the consumer would not hold the parties
  at all, and so the researcher will return to the
  consumer for additional information. Upon
  reviewing the data and talking more, the
  researcher and consumer determine that why the
  item was purchased and why it is used (which may
  or may not be the same) are not as telling as how
  the product makes its owner feel. In this case,
  the owner may feel confident as an entertainer,
  more social, powerful, wealthy, relaxed, or
  rejuvenated. Talking and probing more about the
  use of the home theater, the researcher uncovers
  both new data and new issues to address or
  consider moving forward.
• Using the Delphi Method The Delphi Method is
  often used in new product development when firms
  are looking for creative new ideas to incorporate
  in products or services. In conclusion this
  method rounds of individual data collection from
  knowledegeable people results are summarized and
  returned to participants for further refinement.
• The purpose of anonymity in a Delphi study is to
  exclude group interaction, which can cause a
  number of problems, such as group conflict and
  individual dominance. Dlphi relies on a
  structured, indirect approach to group decision
  making that is, participants dont meet, relying
  instead on statistical aggregation of individual
  predictions and ideas.

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Projective Tests

• This is a technique for tapping respondents
  deepest feelings by having them project those
  feelings into an unstructured situation. These
  techniques are for penetrating a persons defense
  mechanisms to allow true feelings and attitudes
  to emerge.

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Why is projection important?

• Consumers may not tell us everything that
  influences them. Three obstacles stand in the
  way
• Respondents may be unconscious or unaware of a
  particular influence.
• They may be aware of an ingluence, but feel it is
  too personal or socially undesirable to admit
  (e.g. prestige image or racial bias).
• They may be aware that they perceive a product a
  particular way, but they may not bother to
  mention this because, in their view, it is not a
  logical, rational reason for buying or not buying
  the product. Some doctors. For example, are
  adamant that what they prescribe has nothing to
  do with the sound of a drugs name or the
  attractiveness of the manufacturers logo, and is
  based solely on decision-making factors such as
  research findings, clinical experience, and
  patient compliance.

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Most common forms of projective techniques

• But the most common forms of projective
  techniques used in marketing research are word
  association tests, sentence and story completion
  tests, cartoon tests, photo sorts, consumer
  drawings, storytelling, and third-person
  techniques. Other techniques, such as psychodrama
  tests and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT),
  have been popular in treating psychological
  disorders but of less help in marketing research.

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Word Association Tests

• This is a projective test in which the
  interviewer says a word and the respondent must
  mention the first thing that comes to mind.
• Word association tests are used to select brand
  names, advertising campaign themes, and sologans.

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Analogies

• Analogies draw a comparison between two items in
  terms of their similarities.
• For example, a researcher investigating consumers
  perceptions of Ford automobiles may ask Im
  going to read you a list of stores, and then id
  like you to tell me which of these is most
  similar to Ford cars. If possible, try to give
  the first answer that comes to mind. The stores
  are Neiman Marcus, Wal-Mart, Macys, JC Penney,
  Kmart, Nordstrom, Target, and Lord Taylor. As
  a follow-up, the researcher would then ask What
  is it about (Store X) that is most similar to
  Ford cars? How are the qualities of Ford cars
  similar to this store? This line of questioning
  induces the respondent to talk (indirectly) about
  his or her perceptions of Ford cars.
• The use of analogies in this instance is not to
  determine which store(s) people associate with
  Ford cars but rather to get people to talk about
  their perceptions of Ford cars in ways they might
  otherwise be unable to do.

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Personification

• This involves drawing a comparison between a
  product and a person.
• Thus we can appreciate as the person is if that
  people choose such kind of car.

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• Sentence and Story Completion Tests this is a
  projective tests in which respondents complete
  sentences or stories in their own words.
• Best Buy is
• The people who shop at Best Buy are
• Best Buy should really
• I dont understand why Best Buy doesnt
• Sentence and story completion tests have been
  considered by some researchers to be the most
  usefutl and reliable of all the projective tests.
  Decision Analyst is now offering both online
  sentence completion and online word association
  research to its clients.

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• Cartoon Tests consists of two characters with
  balloons. Similar to those seen in comic books.
  But more specifically its a test in which the
  respondent fills in the dialogue of one of two
  characters in a cartoon.
• Photo Sorts consumers express their feelings
  about brands by manipulating a specially
  developed photo deck depicting different types of
  people, from business executives to college
  students. Respondents connect the individuals in
  the photos with the brands they think they would
  use. Then photo sorts is a technique in which a
  respondent sorts photos of different types of
  people, identifying those people who she or he
  feels would use the specified product or service.

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• Consumer Drawings researchers somethimes ask
  consumers to draw what they are feeling or how
  they perceive an object. Then consumer drawings
  can unlock motivations or express perceptions.
• Storytelling this requires consumers to tell
  stories about their experiences. It is a search
  for subtle insights into consumer behavior. This
  technique can be known as metaphor technique.
• Third-Person Technique Perhaps the easiest
  projective technique to apply, other than word
  association, is this. Here the interviewer learns
  about respondents feelings by asking them to
  answer for a third party, such as your neighbor
  or most people.

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Future of Qualitative Research

• The rationale behind qualitative research tests
  is as follows
• The criteria employed and the evaluations made in
  most buying and usage decisions have emotional
  and subconscious content, which is an important
  determinant of buying and usage decisions.
• Such content is adequately and accurately
  verbalized by the respondent only through
  indirect communicative techniques.
• On the positive side, the use of focus groups
  will grow. Focus group research can provide data
  and insights not available through any other
  techniques. Low cost and ease of application will
  lend even greater impetus to use online focus
  groups. Finally, the qualitative-quantitative
  split will begin to close as adaptations and
  innovations allow researchers to enjoy the
  advantages of both approaches simultaneously.

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Thank you