MKF5912 Marketing Research

Week 3 Mini-Task: Depth Interviews

FEEDBACK

Thanks for your mini-task discussions this week. I'm encouraged by the amount of
effort you have made in your weekly mini-tasks thus far this semester. Keep up the
great work!

In-depth interviews are an unstructured and direct technique of obtaining insights in

which a single respondent is probed by a skilled interviewer to uncover underlying
motivations, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes on a specific topic of inquiry. It attempts to
understand the nature and composition of the area being researched, rather than precise
measurement.

In depth interviews last about 30 minutes (but sometimes can be longer, even up to one
hour) and can provide the researchers with ample information. This data collection
approach allows the researcher to collect attitudinal and behavioural data from the
respondent in all time frames (past, present, future).

Once the interviewer has gained access to a potential respondent, the interviewer should
begin by explaining the purpose of the interview, showing what the respondent will get
out of taking part in the interview and explaining what the process will be like. This is
critical to the respondent recruitment strategy.

Probing is of critical importance in obtaining meaningful responses and uncovering

hidden issues. Probing can be done by asking general questions such as ‘Why do you
say that?’, ‘That’s interesting, can you tell me more?’ or ‘Would you like to add
anything else?’

The interview must conclude with the researcher thanking the respondent for their time.
It might also be useful to reassure the respondent about the ethics of the research and
provide them with contact details (e.g. website, hot-line) if they have any additional
questions regarding their participation in the research study.

Regards,
Stanislav

MKF5912 1 of 1 Department of Marketing