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
• Can’t 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
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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?”
“They’re 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
Ormango
Tropical Fruit
Orange Sparkle
Paradise Passion
Associated Words
Green, tart, jungle
Juice, sweet, island
Light, bubbly, cool
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 customer’s 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
Zeller’s 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
Sometimes Use
Never Use
56%
36%
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 wraparound mirror offers multiperspective viewing.
Room is generously equipped
with outlets so laptop computers
can be utilized during session.
Strategically placed state-of-theart 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 can’t
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
• don’t 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
Moderator’s role
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encourage discussion
encourage them to talk with one another not you
bring in people who aren’t 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
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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
• Don’t 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 concept…We
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 (can’t 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
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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
Can’t 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