qualitative techniques in market reasearch

8/4/2019 Qualitative techniques in Market Reasearch

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Business Research Methods

Qualitative Techniques


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Qualitative versus Quantitative

Research Purpose

Exploratory versus descriptive and conclusive

Small versus large samples

Broad range of questioning versus

structured questions

Subjective interpretation versus statistical

analysis


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Qualitative Research Methods

Direct ( Nondisguised)---Focus Groups

---Depth Interviews Indirect ( Disguised )

---Projective Techniques


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Focus Groups

It is a group of individuals selected and

assembled by researchers to discuss &comment on ( from personal experience)

the topic that is the subject of research.

It helps in getting several perspectives aboutthe same topic

It helps in understanding what makes

people tick & what is going on in their mindthat cannot be obtained through survey data


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Focus Group Interviews

Unstructured

Free flowing

Group interview

Relaxed informal

atmosphere

Start with broad topicand focus in on

specific issues


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Group Composition

6 to 10 people

Relatively

homogeneous

Similar lifestyles and

experiences


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Outline for a Focus Group

Establish a rapport

Begin with broad topic

Focus in on specific topic

Generate discussion and interaction

Discussions for about 2 hours

Responses are recorded through

---manual notes

---audio recording

--video recording


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The Moderator

Develops rapport -

helps people relax

Interacts

Listens to what people

have to say

Everyone gets achance to speak


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The Focus Group Moderator

Maintains loose control and focuses

discussion

Stimulates spontaneous responses


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Advantages of Focus Groups

Synergism: Wider range of information, insights & ideas because ofgroup

Snowballing: One persons comments triggers chain reaction

Stimulation: General level of excitement over the topic increases inthe group

Security: Feeling of security in homogeneous group increaseswillingness to express ideas

Spontaneity: Since specific questions are not to be answeredresponses are spontaneous & unconventional

Serendipity: Ideas arise out of the blue in a group

Specialization: Use of a specialized moderator is justified for a group

Scientific Scrutiny : Data collection process can be witnessed &recorded

Structure: Provides for flexibility in topics covered & depth oftreatment

Speed: Interviewing a large number of people at the same time makes

data collection & analysis faster


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Disadvantages of Focus Groups

Misuse: FGD results used as replacement forsurvey data: FGDs probe attitudes & motivations &

not their frequency in population

Misinterpretation: Difficult to decide on responses

to be generalized resulting in interviewer's bias

Poor management of group dynamics: Difficult to

find moderator with skills ,insights &experience

Messy: unstructured answers pose difficulties in

coding analyzing & interpreting responses


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Advantages of Online

Focus Groups Fast

Inexpensive

Bring together many participants from

wide-spread geographical areas

Respondent anonymity

Transcript automatically recorded


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Disadvantages of Online

Focus Groups Less group interaction

Absence of tactile stimulation

Absence of facial expression and body

language

Moderators job is different


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Depth Interviews

A direct personal interview in which asingle respondent is probed by a highly

skilled interviewer

It helps in uncovering underlying

motivations, attitudes & beliefs on a topic

It serves as a prelude to a more analytical

questionnaire design for quantitative

research


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Depth Interviews

Three Types depending on guidanceextended by the interviewer

Unstructured ( Natural conversation)

Semistructured (Check list prepared) Standardised open ended( Uses a proper

Questionnaire)


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Laddering

Investigating attitude towards airlines among male middlemanagers

Attribute such as wide body aircraft was probed

Why ? I can get more work done---I accomplish more---Ifeel good about myself

Laddering indicated-advanced seat reservation,wide body aircraft& first class cabin seating( Productcharacteristics)

Work done on flight, sense of accomplishment, higher selfesteem (User characteristics)

Ad campaign like You are the Boss" which bolsters selfesteem for managers


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Depth Interview Techniques:

LadderingIn laddering, the line of questioning proceeds from

product characteristics to user characteristics. This

technique allows the researcher to tap into the

consumer's network of meanings.

Wide body aircrafts (product characteristic)

I can get more work done

I accomplish more

I feel good about myself (user characteristic)

Advertising theme: You will feel good about yourself when flyingour airline. You're The Boss.


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Hidden Issue Questioning

It tries to probe into hidden issues and items like

daydreams, anxieties, fascinations & hopes inpeoples lives

What would you do if you get Rs 10 crores? How do

you see yourself as a celebrity? Are typicalquestions

It probes into respondents attitude towards work,

leisure, home etc


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Depth Interview Techniques:

Hidden Issue QuestioningIn hidden issue questioning, the focus is not on socially

shared values but rather on personal sore spots; not on

general lifestyles but on deeply felt personal concerns.

fantasies, work lives, and social lives

historic, elite, masculine-camaraderie, competitive

activities

Advertising theme: communicate aggressiveness, high

status, and competitive heritage of the airline.


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Hidden Issue Questioning

Male middle managers were questioned about

fantasies, work lives, social lives to identify hiddenlife issues

----Answers indicated glamorous, historic, elite.

masculine events, like Grand Prix car racing. Lufthansa Airlines featuring World War I type Red

Baron spokesperson communicating

aggressiveness, high status &competitive heritage


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Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von

Richthofen (2 May 189221 April 1918),

widely known as the Red Baron, was aGerman fighter pilot with the Imperial

German Army Air Service

(Luftstreitkrfte) during World War I. Heis considered the ace-of-aces of that war,

being officially credited with 80 air combat

victories, more than any other pilot.


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Grand Prix motor racing has its roots in organised

automobile racing that began in France as far back as1894. It quickly evolved from a simple road race from one

town to the next, to endurance tests for car and driver.

Innovation and the drive of competition soon saw speeds

exceeding 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), but because theraces were held on open roads there were frequent

accidents with the resulting fatalities of both drivers and

spectators.

Grand Prix motor racing eventually evolved into formula

racing, and Formula One can be seen as its direct

descendant. Each event of the Formula One World

Championships is still called a Grand Prix. Formula One is

still referred to as Grand Prix racin .


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Advantages&Disadvantages of Depth Interviews

Advantages

Attributes responses directly to respondents There is no social pressure to conform to group response

resulting in explorations of attitudes

Informal atmosphere facilitate discussion of sensitive

questions

Disadvantage

Difficult & expensive to get skilled interviewer

Quality of results depends on skills of interviewer

Cost limits interviews to be conducted


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A man is least himself when he talks

in his own person; when given a maskhe will tell the truth.

--Oscar Wilde


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Projective Techniques

It is an unstructured & indirect form of

questioning that encourages the respondents

to project their motivations ,beliefs

,attitudes or feelings regarding the issues of

concern Respondents are asked to interpret

behaviour of others which indirectly

projects their own feelings Scenarios for response are deliberately kept

ambiguous for better projection of feelings


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Projective Techniques

Association techniques

Completion techniques

Construction techniques

Expressive techniques

Sociometry


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Association techniques Association techniques :Respondents are presented with a

stimulus and are asked to reveal the first thing that comes totheir mind

Word Association : Most popular association technique

Respondents are presented with a list of brands ,one at atime .After each brand they are asked to give the first word

that comes to their mind Analysis is done by calculating

-Frequency of words found in response

-time elapsed before response

-number of non respondents

Used in consumer research for discovering brand image


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FEDEx

Colgate

Detol


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Word Association Examples

For COURIER

Service

FEDEx

DTDC

DHL

FIRST FLIGHT


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Word Association Examples

For CHEESE Kraft

Cheddar

Amul

Mother Dairy


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Completion Techniques

A projective technique that requires a respondent to

complete an incomplete stimulus situation :

Sentence Or Story

Sentence Completion : respondents are presented

with a number of incomplete sentences & asked to

complete them.

They are asked to use the first phrase that comes to

their mind which helps in tracing their attitudes,thought process & feelings

C l ti T h i


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Completion TechniquesIn Sentence completion, respondents are given incomplete sentenceand asked to complete them. Generally, they are asked to use the firs

word or phrase that comes to mind.

A person who shops at Lifestyle is ______________________

McDonalds is most liked by _________________________

When I think of shopping in a department store, I ________

A variation of sentence completion is paragraph completion, in whicthe respondent completes a paragraph beginning with the stimulusphrase.


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Construction Techniques

A projective technique in which respondent is asked

to construct his response in the form of a story,dialogue or description: Picture or Cartoon

Picture response technique: Respondent is shown apicture & asked to tell a story describing it.

Its roots lie in Thematic Apperception Test whichconsists of a series of pictures which are to beinterpreted in the form of stories

Cartoon characters are shown in specific situationrelated to the problem. The respondents are asked to

indicate dialogue that one cartoon character mightmake in response to the given comments of anothercharacter

Several need patterns and personality characteristics

can be traced through these tests


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Thematic Apperception Test

T.A.T.


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A Cartoon Test

Lets see if we can

pick up some

house wares atSears

Sears


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Expressive Techniques

A projective technique in which respondent

is asked to play the role or assumebehaviour of someone else.

Respondent is given a verbal or visual

situation & asked to play the role of specificcharacter like sales executive, manager orpolitical leader or even brands

The way in which respondent copes withthe situation reveal a lot about hispersonality


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Sociometry

A method devised by Jacob Moreno for assessing

group structure It is a mathematical study of psychological

properties of population

It is based on the fact that people make choices in

interpersonal relationships Whenever people are in a group they choosewhere to sit or whom to speak to

Sociometry studies pattern of affection & loyaltythat bind some group members more closely thanothers

It can be applied to situations involving study ofgroup behaviour in business research

Advantages&Disadvantages of Projective


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Advantages&Disadvantages of Projective

Techniques

Advantages

Since respondent is aloof of the purpose of the studyit elicits responses which are not possible by directmethods

Data collected is rich & accurate

Useful for exploratory research to gain initialinsights

Disadvanages

Requires trained & skillfull interviewers who aredifficult to find

It is expensive & difficult to administer

Getting subjects for role playing is difficult

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qualitative techniques in market reasearch

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