Marketing Research & Social Communication

Lesson 3

Introduction to

Qualitative Research

Ray Poynter

1Ray Poynter, Marketing Research & Social Communication, 2015

Agenda

1. Reviewing last week

2. What is qualitative market research?

3. What are focus groups?

4. What are depth interviews?

5. Online qualitative research?

6. The qualitative paradigm?

7. Where does ethics fit into the picture?

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Lesson 1 – Big Picture1. Focusing on customers we help organisations

make better decisions

2. We– Create explanations

– Make predictions

– Help create the future

3. We draw on the social sciences (& other disciplines) and use quantitative and qualitative approaches

4. There is more to us than just surveys and focus groups

5. Data is an input, insight and action are outputs

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Lesson 2 – Big Picture

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1. Quantitative market research is about

describing things with numbers.

2. Surveys are the most common tool in

quantitative market research

3. We normally need to be able to generalise

from a sample to a population

4. Surveys need to use questions that people

are willing and able to answer

What is Qualitative Research?The essence of qualitative research is

“Why?”

Why do people:

– Say what they say?

– Do what they do?

– Believe what they believe?

It is about meaning, rather than

quantification

Focus Groups

• The most common technique in qualitative

market research

• The moderator and

– 6 people

– 8 people

– 10 people

– 12 people

• Typically 90 to 120 minutes

• Typically 4 to 8 groups

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} Depends on the country & topic

Focus Group

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Video : https://youtu.be/POF3m6ZNoiY

Depth Interviews

• The second most common qual method

• Moderator and one person

– Sometimes two people, paired depths (dyads)

• Typically 8 to 16 interviews

• Typically 30 to 90 minutes

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Depth Interviews

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https://youtu.be/cLpTRaRlXIE

Can We Believe What People Say?

• Not necessarily

– Which is one reason we have qualitative research

• Good qual does not report what people say

– It interprets what they mean

– And, the reasons they believe what they believe

– And, why they say what they say

• Tools include

– Body language, analysis of language, projective

techniques, and indirect questioning

What is the key to Qual Sampling?

Participants who are representative of types of people

– We are not looking for a mathematical match to the population

– Usually we want people who are typical of their ‘type’ or group

– E.g. 2 groups of housewives, 2 groups of married women who work, 2 groups of single working women (In say Chiba and Osaka)

Good recruitment is very important to good qual

Focus Groups or Depths?Focus Groups

– Where interaction is good

– Where members SHOULD influence each other

– To tap into experiences

– Example: Explore the problems with drying

clothes on wet and humid days

Depth Interviews

– Individual stories

– Where the differences are important

– Or where things are sensitive

– Example: How do people get into debt

Discussion GuideThe plan for what the moderator will do during a focus group or depth interview.

Model 1

1 Warm up2 Main section3 Review

Model 2

1 Ask “Who uses X?”2 Ask “Why use X?”3 Probe reasons for X4 Ask “What else used?”5 Ask “Why use others?”6 Show new product7 Ask “Who will buy?”8 Count who buys9 Ask “Why buy?”

What Business Needs

Does Qual Answer?

Quant:

– How many use X?

– Where do they use X?

– If I change the price what will happen to sales?

Qual:

– Why do people use X?

– Why do some people stay with X when the price

goes up and some people switch?

– What new ways could X be used in the future?

Can Qual be Conducted Online?

Yes, but, most qual research is still face-to-

face

Key areas are:

– Online focus groups

– Forums and discussions

– MROCs (market research online communities)

– Mobile diaries

– Smartphone ethnography

Looking at Your Survey Data

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Egg Time!

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But please do not eat it if you have an allergy to sugar!

Other Qual Methods

• Accompanied shops

• Usability labs

• Ethnography

• Smartphone diaries and ethnography

• Semiotics

• Online discussions

• MROCs – market research online communities

• Social media approaches

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Qualitative Analysis?

DATA

Words

NotesAudio

Pictures

VideoBody language

UsefulStory

Transcripts

Drawings

Social Media

The Stages of Analysis1. During fieldwork, develop and test ideas

2. Organise the data

3. Categorise the data, e.g. into themes/

codes/ ideas/ concepts

4. Explore patterns

5. Look at segments for differences (e.g. users

versus non-users, young versus old, etc)

6. Interpret the concepts, patterns and

difference

7. Report the story you have made

A Useful Explanation

• Qualitative research does not seek an

‘objective truth’

– Many qual researchers would reject the idea

that an objective truth even exists

• Qual seeks to explain what is happening,

why it is happening, and how it is happening

• Qual seeks to deliver a ‘Useful Explanation’

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Two Common Problems?

1. Reducing the data too much

– A powerful story needs the customers’ voices

to come through

– It should not just be the researcher’s voice

2. Not reducing the data enough

– Don’t just tell the client what people said

– It has to be interpreted

Dealing with Subjectivity

• Qualitative research is subjective

• We need to recognise subjectivity as part of the process

• We do NOT discover the story– We CREATE the story

• The quality of the research is made of

1. Understanding what respondents have shared

2. Creation of a useful story(useful to the client)

Tools for Analysis

• Paper, scissors, highlighter pens

• Office software, e.g. Word and

Excel

• Software to help, e.g. Nvivo

• Software for analysis, e.g.

Leximancer

The Validity of Qual

The validity is based on whether it is useful– Not on whether it is ‘true’ in a science sense

2 key indicators– Coherence: does the story make sense?

– Triangulation*

TriangulationTaking other information into account:

• Previous studies• Published information• Client knowledge

Ethics in Qualitative Research

1. Participation is voluntary

2. Informed consent

3. Do no harm

4. Clients need to know the extent to which

they can rely on the information

5. Think about the impact on 3rd parties

Especially with ethnography, images,

recordings, and passive data collection

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Big Picture

1. Qualitative research is about

understanding not measuring

2. The most common qualitative tool is the

focus group, followed by depth interviews

3. But, there are many more qualitative

methods

4. Qual does not seek an objective truth, it

seeks a useful explanation

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Before Next Lesson

1. Review chapters 2, 3, 4 of the textbook.

2. Complete the online task BEFORE 5th

May

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Questions?

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Quiz Lesson 3

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