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"

Qualitative Research Qualitative Researchers study “things” (people and their thoughts) in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.

Qualitative Research Qualitative research involves the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical materials - case study, personal experience, introspective, life story, interview, observational, historical, interactional, and visual texts-that describe routine and problematic moments and meanings in individuals lives. Deploy a wide range of interconnected methods, hoping always to get a better fix on the subject matter at hand.

Popularity of Qualitative Research Usually much cheaper than quantitative research No better way than qualitative research to understand in-depth the motivations and feelings of consumers Qualitative research can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of quantitative research

Qualitative Research as a Process Theory Method Analysis All three interconnect to define the qualitative research process

Theoretical Approach Deductive Deductive Theoretical Approach Seek to use existing theory to shape the approach which you adopt to the qualitative research process and to aspects of data analysis Analytical Procedures Pattern Matching Involves predicting a pattern of outcomes based on theoretical propositions to explain what you expect to find Explanation Building Involves attempting to build an explanation while collecting and analysing the data, rather than testing a predicted explanation as in pattern matching

Inductive Approach Inductive Theoretical Approach Seek to build up a theory which is adequately grounded in a number of relevant cases. Referred to as Interpretative and Grounded Theory Art of Interpretation Field Text: Consists of field notes and documents from the field Research Text: Notes and interpretations based on the filed text Working interpretative document: Writers initial attempt to make sense out of what he has learned Public Text: The final tale of the Field

Analysis Qualitative Data: An Approach Categorisation Unitising data Recognising relationships and developing the categories you are using to facilitate this Developing and testing hypotheses to reach conclusion

Interactive Nature of the Qualitative Process Data collection, data analysis and the development and verification of relationships and conclusion are all interrelated and interactive set of processes Allows researcher to recognise important themes, patterns and relationships as you collect data Allows you to re-categorise existing data to see whether themes and patterns and relationships exist in the data already collected Allows you to adjust your future data collection approach to see whether they exist in other cases

Most frequent uses Understanding basic issues why do people do certain activities? Pretesting ideas or questions Message testing How do people like this idea? Recommended to capture the basic feel of a problem prior to conducting a more analytical study

Strengths Weaknesses 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 Group interviews Observation Nonstructured Structured Group interviews Structured or unstructured Focus groups Observation

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 Behavior (Emotion) Recording Devices Advantages: Disadvantages: We see what people actually do May avoid interviewer bias No information on motives attitudes or intentions Time-consuming and expensive

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

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 questioning progresses from general characteristics to individual characteristics An example “Why do you like wide body vehicles?” “They’re more comfortable” “Why is that important?” “I can accomplish more” “I will feel good about myself”

Advantages Disadvantages 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”

Qualitative v.'s Quantitative