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An Introduction to Qualitative Research

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What is Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is designed to reveal a target audience’s

range of behaviour and the perceptions that drive it with

reference to specific topics or issues. It uses in-depth studies of small groups of people to guide and support the construction of

hypotheses. The results of Qualitative research are descriptive

rather than predictive.

Qualitative research methods originated in the social and behavioural sciences: sociology, anthropology and psychology.

Today, Qualitative methods in the field of marketing research

include in-depth interviews with individuals, group discussions

(from two to ten participants is typical); diary and journal exercises; and in-context observations. Sessions may be

conducted in person, by telephone, via videoconferencing and

via the Internet.

Source: http://www.qrca.org/?page=whatisQualitativeresearch

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Why Qualitative Research Works

Several unique aspects of Qualitative research contribute to rich, insightful results:

Synergy among respondents, as they build on each other’s comments and

ideas.

The dynamic nature of the interview or group discussion process, which

engages respondents more actively than is possible in more structured

survey.

The opportunity to probe ("Help me understand why you feel that way")

enabling the researcher to reach beyond initial responses and rationales.

The opportunity to observe, record and interpret non-verbal communication

(i.e., body language, voice intonation) as part of a respondent’s feedback,

which is valuable during interviews or discussions, and during analysis.

The opportunity to engage respondents in "play" such as projective

techniques and exercises, overcoming the self-consciousness that can

inhibit spontaneous reactions and comments.

Source: http://www.qrca.org/?page=whatisQualitativeresearch

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Qualitative Research

In-depth Understanding Attitudes & Behavior

Flexible interview structure- which may change in response to

growing understanding

Data base form various sources- verbal exchange between

consumers, observation, non verbal communication, reaction to

various techniques

Discussion / Interview Guide

Done on a relatively smaller Scale

Very often the Researcher is the Moderator

Qualitative Research answers questions related ‘why’ & ‘how’ but cannot answer the question ‘how many’

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5 Steps to be followed in Qualitative Research

The ‘right’ respondent – homogeneity in terms of gender, age ,

lifestage, usership( user/ lapsed user/ non-user) of product/

brand

Discussion / Interview Guide – based on Objectives

Skilled Moderation

Inclusion of appropriate projective/enabling techniques that is

required by the research study

Analysis/ Interpretation

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Qualitative Research

There is no one definite way of looking at an object

E.g the Taj Mahal in the pictures above

Similarly, Qualitative Research gives us many different ways of looking at an issue

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Qualitative Research should be used carefully

Qualitative researchers explore the many possible ways in

which consumers see things as long as

Objectives are defined clearly

Target consumer is identified well

Design is chosen properly (Focus Groups, In-depth Interviews

etc.)

This provides new Insights – ways in which the consumer looks at

things through their reality (different perspectives)

E.g. – A view of the sunset will be beautiful for some but for a

few it may be depressing as the day is getting over

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Qualitative Research –

understanding the consumer in

depth to provide new Insights to

differentiate from other brands

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e.g. Understanding Youth

Needed to understand the Youth to

reveal insights in terms of their

- Aspirations

- Fears

- Anxieties

- Mental make up - Relationships / friends / family

- Values

Many interesting insights emerged out of this

study, one of these was used in this ad

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One of the Insights revealed ….Importance of Friends among Youth

• Fear of being alone – ‘belonging’

• Friends very important – very valued

• Part of many groups

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…..used for ads like….

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Qualitative research is used for various purposes for

evaluations of concepts & ads and also used for

market understanding & resolving certain tricky

marketing issues

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Good for evaluations of concepts and ads

Testing of concepts and ads contribute to the bulk of

Qualitative research in India and outside India. They are the

bread and butter of the Qualitative research agency

QADR - Quick And Dirty Research - done by advertising agencies

and clients to get a “feel” of the issue at hand - and also to cover their backside at the next presentation

Market exploration studies usually as a pre-cursor to a

Quantitative Usage & Attitudes Studies are also quite regular

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Good for evaluations of concepts and ads and also ……

Qualitative is also used for:

Diagnostics

Observations

Used for

Triggers & Barriers Studies

Input to Quantitative Studies

Profiling Studies – to help profile segments and bring consumers alive

A lot of times only Qualitative can answer or resolve business issues –

the whys cannot be very often answered by Quantitative Studies

Increasingly Qualitative is used as a tool for getting Consumer Insights

which are used in INNOVATION & New product development

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Exploratory study

Find more when not much is known typically in a nascent

market

Sometimes used to better design a larger marketing research

study

The objective of exploratory research a lot of times is to gather

preliminary information that will help define problems and

suggest hypotheses

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e.g. Cement Study

Went with the objective of exploring cement

market in small towns – met people who had built

or were in the process of building a house

What we found out that the consumer was highly involved

and not only wanted a product but a service

The consumer was confused with ‘Quality

Authoritative information source – making buying easier

Pain point - spillage and suggestions for anti-spillage

Exploratory study

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Diagnostic Study

Most often it is used when a product or service fails after being

in the market for sometime

It is also used when a product does well in some geographical

regions but not in some others

It is sometimes used when a product gets unusual success or

when a competitive product / brand does very well

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Diagnostic Study

A Beer shampoo was launched for Males but did not take off

A market research study revealed

youngsters had apprehensions about getting ‘beer’

shampoo at home (social taboo)

Associations to ‘beer’ was negative / barrier to getting it

home

Product had ‘unique smell’ which was not accepted

It was seen only as a conditioner – associations with beer

Was seen as a frivolous product – benefits not clear

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Brand image Study

Why do a Brand Image Study?

Know strength of brand vis-a vis competition –( brand

associations, brand perceptions, users/non users experience with the brand/ competitive brand , consumer- brand

relationship) e.g. Airtel, Vodafone, Idea in the context of Jio

launch

Know its position in the consumers mind – e.g. Nano was launched as an affordable car but consumers perceived it as a

‘cheap’ car

Input to Brand or Line extension – Adidas from shoes to fashion

as Adidas was more than ‘shoes’ in the consumers mind

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Consumer Insights which are used in INNOVATION

An Innovation Session helps to create…

new products, brand extensions

names, packaging, promotions

positioning for new and existing brands

ideas for advertising concepts

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Methods in Qualitative Research

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Focus Groups A lot of information in a short

span of time

Good for gauging perceptions / brand image

‘Group Interaction Effect’ leads to richer data – one persons experience or feeling ‘Spark of’ other thoughts

Allows a client to observe what different consumers are saying ( see ‘real’ consumers)

In-depth Interviews Very useful for Individual level

information

Esp. in understanding decision-making process or purchase process – e.g. Investments, Consumer Durables

Very intimate and personal information can be got

Useful in situations where you cannot get a respondent to a Group – e.g. Senior executives, Shop Keepers

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Most Commonly Used Methods – Focus Groups & In-depth Interviews

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Other most used techniques

Friendship Groups

Observation + Depth Interviews

Ethnography

Homework (Diary, Picture Diary)

Accompanied Shopping

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Lets see a couple of examples

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e.g. Observation + In-depth Interview

Some Findings …..

For the Coffee Study – observation gave Insights into coffee making - No real difference perceived

between instant & brewed coffee - Coffee has to look appealing - Sprinkling coffee powder and

creating Foam - Self Indulging

Research Objectives

To understand coffee drinking

in the Eastern part of India

Understanding Instant vs

Brewed coffee

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Accompanied Shopping + Interview / FGD

Research Objectives

Understanding shoppers experience

to modern retail

Understanding their delights and

pain points

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Some Findings ….. • Modern retail not seen to be suitable for daily shopping

1. Too much effort- dressing up and going

2. Time consuming

3. Also barriers like

convenience – ‘doorstep delivery’(milk, fruits, ‘puja flowers’)

Not cost effective

All under

one roof ‘Save time’

Variety,

hence

choice

Outing

‘Masti’

Fun/

enjoying

Relaxing Entertain

-ment

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Field Work – Heart of the Activity

Moderating is a professional activity done by a

trained person and not just chatting with a bunch

of strangers!

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SKILLS AND ROLE OF THE MODERATOR

Listening &

Observing

MODERATOR

facilitator

- Guiding not dominating

- 2 way communication with the group

bonding

- trust

- empathy

- confidence builder

but minimal self

disclosure

ability to

- guide

- suspend judgement

genuinely

like people

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How to Write a Discussion Guide (1)

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A guide is a roadmap ,not a questionnaire

Debate is around issues/ topics not questions

Divide the guide into clear sections

Label them

Describe what the objective of each section is and

Describe what you are trying to get out of each section

Timing

Adjust to

Cultural differences

Client expectations

Experience of the moderator

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How to Write a Discussion Guide (2)

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A guide needs to be flexible

Needs to allow you to adjust

directions, topics as you go

along

Be prepared to go off the

guide

Invent techniques as you go

From broad (context) to

narrow (specific as brand details or concepts)

General

Specific

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Phases in a group

Mourning

(Winding up

Remarks to

cue end of the

discussion

Performing (Group ready

to do task

oriented

activities)

Norming

(Group

working

in harmony)

Storming

(Distribution

of Power

& Control)

Forming

(Warming up)

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FORMING

need for inclusion: feel part of the group

ritualised warm up with exchanges of personal but non

threatening information

(May occur before entering the discussion

room)

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STORMING

distribution of power and control

who will be leader

how much will I take

control

who will talk the most

will they all co-operate

who will try to dominate

who will opt out

who will rebel, play-up

Dominant

respondents

Irrelevant chatter

Frozen polite

responses

Chaotic all

talking at once

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NORMING

group unconsciously figuring out how to work in

harmony

more trusting

has found ways of sharing and co-operating

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Task-oriented co-operative activity constructive activity

(ideal time for projective work) as respondents are ready to

work as a group

PERFORMING

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MOURNING

Allow time for group to register the ending

• recap their experience in the group

• ask • any final remarks

• left something important unsaid

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RECOGNISING BODY LANGUAGE

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POSITIVE / INVOLVED BUT NOT SURE

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CONFUSED BUT THINKING ABOUT IT …

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OPENING UP

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BOREDOM

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DISINTEREST

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REJECTION !

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Projective techniques – What are Projective Techniques And

Reasons for using them?

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What are Projective techniques used for

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Traditional Need

When we know things might be suppressed

When the subject is sensitive or complex

Easing communication

When language is difficult: e.g. trying to explain a taste or a feeling

Raising awareness

Making an everyday, boring thing more interesting/things which are taken for granted e.g. the washing process or cleaning lavatories

Encouraging creativity

Helping people to think outside the box towards developing products, brands, concepts

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Examples Verbal Projective Techniques

User Imagery

enables personal identification

projects others’ usage

Personification

The brand, product, service becomes a person

Planet / World

What would be there and why

Story Telling

Situations, personifications, snippets about the brand/service

product

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houses

landscape

music

people

moods

Green, Tuscany style

Cottages, aristocratic style,

white/sand coloured

enjoy life, intellectual,

enjoy art, lawyer, surgeon

tranquil enjoyment, cheerful,

energetic, inspired

classic, jazz,

younger: ‘lounge’

I

N

T

R

O

V

E

R

T

High appreciation Qualitativeity of the finer things in life

with respect for product craftsmanship & symbolism and status

Brand World e.g. Moet & Chandon Champagne

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Examples Non Verbal Projective Techniques

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Collage

Picture Association

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I am not sure I’ll be able to handle her. Maybe very aggressive and dominant

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Qualitative Analysis is an involved process

which requires experience

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What gets analysed

Sometimes recruitment questionnaires

Interview/group records

transcripts, notes, tapes, etc.

Respondent produced materials

collages, bubbles, role play, other projective materials, etc.

Field notes and observation records

Client’s knowledge, beliefs, definitions and intentions

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A four or more part process

What do respondents

each feel and mean?

Sifting, differentiating, separating,

ordering the data

What patterns emerge

What do they mean

What does it mean in relation to

client issues

Interpretation - Level 1

Interpretation - Level 2

Interpretation - Level 3

Analysis

But it’s really all continuous: where does analysis end and interpretation begin?

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Team sessions

The purpose in analysis is sifting, sorting and making sense of

consumer insight as it relates to the client’s objective

How is it done? – Work in teams as well as

individual level

Individual Content Analysis

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Qualitative Research

Reliability – also applicable to Qualitative Research

Neutrality, Rigour and Trustworthiness are to be the essential criteria for Quality

Consistency in findings from different methods used in

Qualitative Research lead to reliability

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The input to the outputs

Existing patterns,

theories, models

which make sense

of or describe

the external

World e.g. kapferers

brand

identity prism

Observations- non

verbal, body

language

Responses to

projective techniques

used-collages, bubbles,

role play, other projective materials, etc

Client’s

Objectives/

Hypothesis The

outputs

Interview/group

records

transcripts,

notes, listening

to audio tapes,

watching DVDs

etc.