Qualitative Research

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Not measurements, but WORDS!
Instead of asking how many times someone
purchased an item, you ask "WHY...?"
Typically the samples are small, and not
"random"
 Most frequent uses
Understanding basic issues
why do people buy/use our product?
Pretesting ideas or questions
do people want a product that cleans their refrigerator?
Message testing
How do people like this ad?
Recommended to capture the basic feel of a problem
prior to conducting a more analytical study
Strengths
Good for examining feelings and motivations
Allows for complexity and depth of issues
Provides insights

Weaknesses
Cant extrapolate to the whole population
Volume of data
Complexity of analysis
Time-consuming nature of the clerical efforts require
 General approaches

Individual interviews
Nonstructured
Structured
Projective Techniques
Group interviews
Structured or unstructured
Focus groups
Observation
Depth Interviews
 What is an In-depth Interview?
A conversation on a given topic between a respondent
and an interviewer
Used to obtain detailed insights and personal thoughts
Flexible and unstructured, but usually with an interview guide
Purpose: to probe informants motivations, feelings, beliefs
Lasts about an hour
Interviewer creates relaxed, open environment
Wording of questions and order are determined by flow of conversation
Interview transcripts are analyzed for themes and connections between
themes
 In-depth Interviews Technique:
Laddering
Laddering
questioning progresses from product characteristics to user
characteristics
An example
Why do you like wide bodies?
Theyre more comfortable
Why is that important?
I can accomplish more
Why is that important?
I will feel good about myself
Advantages
Tendency to have a freer exchange
Can probe potentially complex motivations and behavior
Easier to attach a particular response to a respondent

Disadvantages
Qualified interviewers are expensive
Length and expense of interview often leads to small
sample
Subjectivity and fuzziness
 Projective Techniques
Projective techniques are unstructured and indirect
forms of questioning which encourage the
respondents to project their underlying
motivations, beliefs, attitudes or feelings regarding
the issues of concern.
Main Types of Projective Techniques
Word Association
asks the respondents to give the first word or phase that
comes to mind after the researcher presents a word or
phrase
Completion Test
asks the respondents to complete sentences, dialogs, or
stories, etc.
Picture Drawing and Interpretation
Third Person Techniques
Role Playing
 Example: Word Association
Results of a Word Association Test with Alternative
Brand Names for a New Fruit-Flavored Sparkling
Water Drink

Possible Brand Name Associated Words

Ormango Green, tart, jungle
Tropical Fruit Juice, sweet, island
Orange Sparkle Light, bubbly, cool
Paradise Passion Fruity, thick, heavy
 Example: Completion Test
Investigate teenagers attitudes to tea

Someone who drinks hot tea is ______________

Tea is good to drink when __________________
Making hot tea is _________________________
My friend thinks tea is _____________________
Story Completion Example: Department Store
Patronage Project
A man was shopping for a business suit in his favorite
department store. After spending 45 minutes and trying
several suits, he finally picked one he liked. As he was
proceeding to the checkout counter, he was approached
by the salesman, who said, Sir, at this time we have
higher quality suits which are on sale for the same price.
Would you like to see them?

What is the customers response? Why?

Sentence Completion Example: Department
Store Patronage Project
1. A person who shops at Sears is
___________________________________________
2. A person who receives a gift certificate good for
Zellers would be
______________________________________.

3. The Bay is most liked by

________________________.

4. When I think of shopping in a department store, I

___________________________________________
Another Projective Technique:
Shopping Lists -- Ask respondents about the
type of person who would buy a particular
group of products

Instructions to Subjects:
Read the shopping list below. Try to project
yourself into the situation as far as possible
until you can more or less characterize the
woman who bought the groceries. Then write a
brief description of her personality and
character. Whenever possible indicate what
factors influenced your judgment.
Advantages
May elicit responses that subjects would be unwilling or unable to
give if they knew the purpose of the study. non-threatening
Helpful when underlying motivations, beliefs and attitudes are
operating at a subconscious level.

Disadvantages
Require highly trained interviewers and
interpreters of results
Serious risk of misinterpreting.
Subjectivity
Is the psychological material uncovered related to
the topic or to the person?
FOCUS GROUPS
 Focus Groups
A loosely structured interview conducted by a trained
moderator among a small number of informants
simultaneously.
 Popularity of Focus Group
Percentage of
Companies Using

Frequently Use 56%

Sometimes Use 36%
Never Use 8%
 Focus Group Characteristics
8 - 12 members (usually paid)
homogeneous in terms of demographics and
socioeconomic factors but heterogeneous views
experience related to product or issue being
discussed
1 1/2 2 hour session
1-way mirror/client may sit behind
qualified moderator
conversation may be video and/or audiotaped
OR notes may be taken
Tiered viewing room with wrap-
around mirror offers multi-
perspective viewing.
Room is generously equipped
with outlets so laptop computers
can be utilized during session.
Strategically placed state-of-the-
art audio and video taping offer
unobstructed viewing.
Attached Conference Room offers
closed circuit television viewing
for additional 12-14 viewers.
 Common Applications of Focus
Groups
Understanding Consumers
perceptions, opinions, and behavior concerning products
and services

Product Planning
generating ideas about new products

Advertising
Develop creative concepts and copy material
 Key Issues
Focus groups are small numbers, not
random, not statistically valid
Focus groups are a lot of work
can get insights from focus groups that cant
get in other ways
Know their limits
Beware of power relations
 Process of Conducting
Focus Group Research
Planning

Recruiting

Moderation

Analysis and interpretation of the results

Advantages
Richness of data
Versatility
Ability to study special respondents
Children
Professionals (doctors, lawyers)
Direct involvement of managers (vividness)
Easily understandable
Flexibility in covering topics
May uncover unanticipated ideas that are important
Can define constructs of importance
Gives flesh and connectedness to real consumers/people
Can show them designs, have them try out prototypes
group synergy
Disadvantages
Lack of generalizability (small sample size)
High selection bias
Might be misused
focus group is not a replacement for quantitative research
Subject to Interpretation
Cost-per-respondent is high (compared to survey)
Results dependent on skill of moderator in running the
group and analysis
may be the response in the moment which may change over
time
strong personalities are a hazard
professional respondents
 Skills Required for Moderator
Observation
Interpersonal
Communication
Interpretive
 Guiding the discussion
know your objectives
dont try to do too much 2-4 major topics
is probably all
have an outline of how you want to proceed
be ready to be flexible if need be or to
rein in the discussion
Stick to the time limit
 Moderators role
encourage discussion
encourage them to talk with one another not you
bring in people who arent speaking
Reduce influence of people who dominate
Bring out a variety of viewpoints
keep on discussion track w/o stifling
allow silence
avoid premature closure
 Moderator, cont.
Ensure safety
Listen and regroup as needed
Do NOT act as a leader but DO keep the
discussion on topic
Preferably someone not connected with the topic
However, for some topics, really need someone who
understands topic, terminology
Use 2 people if possible one to guide, one to
take notes
 Introducing the process
Introduce purpose, sponsorship if applicable
Lay out guidelines, e.g. time
Be clear on the topic(s) of discussion
Make introductions
Specify that you are interested in thoughts
not decisions
 Observing and Recording
videotaping
audiotaping
note-taker
Has to be someone other than moderator
One-way mirrors
Take notes at the end of each focus group
session to identify important themes which
may structure future groups questions
Dont ignore the lone wolf -- exceptions
 Reporting
fast
synthesis of important issues
Key quotations useful but NOT a transcription
Though use a transcription to create report if at all possible
Transcripts, stories, etc. must be coded for over-arching themes
(example-- ad/employee study): major themes were accuracy, value-
congruence and effectiveness)
Analysts look for connections between themes as well (e.g. effective
ads resulted in expressions of pride in the company
Fuzzy numerical qualifications may be added, such as many,
few, most, widely, typically, occasionally
 Suggest opportunities and limitations
Examples:
The qualitative findings give reason for optimism about
market interest in the new product conceptWe
therefore recommend that the concept be further
developed and formal executions be tested.
The results of the study suggest that ad version #3 is
most promising because it elicited more enthusiastic
responses and because it appears to describe situations
under which consumers actually expect to use the
product...
Example of limitations section:
The reader is cautioned that the findings reported here
are qualitative, not quantitative in nature. The study
was designed to explore how respondents feel and
behave rather than to determine how many think or act
in specific ways. Therefore, the findings cannot serve
as a basis for statistical generalizations, but should
instead be viewed as working hypotheses, subject to
quantitative validation.
Respondents constitute a small nonrandom sample of
relevant consumers and are therefore not statistically
representative of the universe from which they have
been drawn.
 Focus Groups Vs. In-depth
Interview
Advantages of focus groups
relatively lower cost per person
stimulating effect from group interaction
vividness to managers

Advantages of in-depth interview

more information from each respondent
flexible with the use of physical stimuli
 Use of Focus Groups
Buick division of General Motors used focus groups to help
develop the Regal. Buick held 20 focus groups across the
country to determine what features customers wanted in a
car. The focus groups told GM they wanted a stylish car,
legitimate back seat, at least 20 miles per gallon, and 0 to 60
miles per hour acceleration in 11 seconds or less.
Based on the results, Buick engineers created clay
models of the car and mock-ups of the interior.
These were shown to other focus groups. The
respondents did not like the oversized bumpers and
the severe slope of the hood, but liked the four-disc
brakes and independent suspension.
Focus groups also helped refine the advertising campaign for
the Regal. Participants were asked which competing cars
most resembled Buick in image and features. The answer was
Oldsmobile, a sister GM division. In an effort to differentiate
the two, Buick was repositioned above Oldsmobile by
focusing on comfort and luxury features.
The tag line for the 1998 Regal, official car of the
Supercharged family, was based on focus group findings.
 Online Focus Groups
Chat Room Style
good for capturing top-of-mind reactions to
concepts, graphics, audio/video clips, web sites, etc.

Bulletin Style
good for eliciting more in-depth comments on
complex issues, as well as for allowing participation
by individuals who would be difficult to gather in
real time.

http://www.surveycompany.com/onlinesurveys/focusgroup.html
Advantages
Software controls for faster responders
Ability to show websites to participants
Clients lurk in chat room; can send questions to
moderator
Transcripts produced automatically
Individual responses can be tracked (cant in offline or
3-D focus group)
Many people are more open when NOT face to face
Friendlier, more humorous online
Distant participants
Convenient for participants
less costly than face-to-face groups
 Disadvantages
No body language (often part of analysis)
Harder to read emotions
Sampling issues (who is more likely to participate?)
Difficult to probe
Sometimes asynchronous (I.e. over several days)
The Internet approach to focus group relies on an individual's
ability to type effectively to participate fully
Cant show "external stimuli" to groups in order to obtain their
reactions
Hard for skilled moderator to utilize the group dynamics to
explore an issue
Comments likely to be short
problem of lag in responses
Lack of interaction, synergy
Easy for participants to NOT participate
 OBSERVATIONAL
RESEARCH
Watching what people do
The information must be observable
Helpful conditions:
the behavior is repetitive and of short duration

Approaches to observational research

Natural Versus Contrived Situations
Open Versus Disguised Observation
Structured Versus Unstructured
Human Versus Machine Observers
Main Observational Research Methods
Direct Observation
Contrived Observation
Mystery Shopper

Content Analysis
Analyzing written material into meaningful units, using
carefully applied rules
Physical Trace Measures
Garbology

Ethnographic Research
Behavior (Emotion) Recording Devices
 Discussion Example
Toothpaste manufactures have found consistently that if
they ask for detailed information on the frequency with
which people brush their teeth, and then make minimal
assumptions as to the quantity of toothpaste used on each
occasion, as well as spillage and failure to squeeze the tube
empty, the result is a serious overstatement of toothpaste
consumption.
How would you explain this phenomenon?
Would it be possible to design a study to overcome these
problems and obtain more accurate estimates of
consumption?
Advantages:

We see what people actually do

May avoid interviewer bias

Disadvantages:
No information on motives attitudes or intentions
Time-consuming and expensive
 Mystery Shoppers
Observational data about a store
Data about customer interactions
Telephone call
Purchase w/ little or no interaction
Purchase with conversation
Knowledge question about a product
 Human Observation
One Way Mirror Observations
Observing a group discussion as it unfolds
Shopper Patterns and Behavior
Tracing the flow of shoppers through the store
Content Analysis
Analysis of written material for insights into
strategy
 Humanistic Inquiry
Immersion
The researcher becomes part of the group
Audits
Examination and verification of product sale
retail audits: sale to final customer
wholesale audit: warehouses to retailers
 Machine observation
Traffic Counters
Time and flow in retail stores
Behavior Measurement
People Reader: reading habits
Physiological Measurement
EEG: electroencephalogram
GSR: galvanic skin response
Pupilometer: pupil dilation
Scanner Based
Store scanners read the UPC codes on products and produce
instantaneous information on sales