1. Qualitative Research

2. 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"

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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

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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. General approaches Individual interviews Group interviews Observation
Nonstructured
Structured
Group interviews
Structured or unstructured
Focus groups
Observation

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Depth Interviews

19. 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

20. 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”

21. 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”

22. Qualitative v.'s Quantitative