1. Marketing Research:Course 3
Qualitative Research
Why and when
Various approaches
Costs
Validity
© Jacques Nantel et HEC Montréal Hiver 2005

2. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Why ?
People are unwilling to give truthful answers to questions that invade their privacy, embarrass them or have a negative impact on their ego or status;
People may be unable to provide accurate answers to question that tap their subconscious;
A questionnaire doesn’t allow enough details to be obtained from the respondent.

3. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Classification
Qualitative Methods
Indirect
(Disguised)
Direct (Nondisguised)
Focus Group
In depth Interview
Projective Techniques
Expressive Techniques
Construction Techniques
Completion Techniques
Association Techniques

4. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Focus Group - Uses
Understanding consumers’ perceptions, preferences, and behaviour concerning a product category;
Obtaining impressions of new product concepts;
Generating new ideas about older products;
Developing creative concepts and copy material for advertisements;
Securing price impressions;
Obtaining preliminary consumer reaction to specific marketing programs.
The methodological applications include:
Defining a problem more precisely;
Generating alternative course of action;
Developing an approach to a problem;
Obtaining information helpful in structuring consumer questionnaires;
Generating hypotheses that can be tested quantitatively;
Interpreting previously obtained quantitative results.

5. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Focus Group – characteristics

6. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Focus Group – procedure
Define the decision problem
Define the MktResearch problem
Specify the objectives of Qualitative Research
State the objectives of the Focus Group
Write a screening questionnaire
Apply the questionnaire
Develop a moderator’s outline
Select a moderator
Conduct the Focus Group
Review tapes and analyse data
Plan follow-up research actions

7. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Focus Group vs Focus Group
Some Advantages:
Synergism – wide range of information, insight and ideas;
Snowballing – chain reaction;
Stimulation;
Security;
Spontaneity;
Flexibility;
Speed.

8. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Focus Group vs Focus Group
Some possible Disadvantages:
Misused – focus group can be misused and abused by considering the results as conclusive rather than exploratory;
Misjudge – focus group are particularly susceptible to client and researcher biases;
Moderation – the quality of the results depends heavily on the skills of the moderator;
Messy – difficult to code, analyse and interpret;
Misrepresentation

9. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Some other types of Focus Group
Two-way focus group – A target group listen and learn from a related group;
Dual-moderator focus group – One moderator is responsible for the smooth
flow of the session, and the other ensures that specific issues are discussed;
Duelling-moderator focus group – The moderators deliberately take opposite
positions;
Respondent-moderator focus group – participants play temporarily the role
of the moderator;
Client-participant focus group – client personnel take part of the discussion group;
Mini focus group – 4,5 respondents only.

10. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
In depth interview - uses
Detailed probing of the respondents (automobile purchase..);
Discussion of confidential, sensitive, or embarrassing topics (personal finances …);
Situations where strong social norms exist and where the respondent may be easily swayed by group response (attitude toward sexual minorities);
Detailed understanding of complicated behaviour (shopping);
Interviews with professional people (industrial marketing research);
Interviews with competitors who are unlikely to reveal the information in a group setting (travel agents’ perceptions of airline package travel programs);
Situations where the product consumption experience is sensory in nature, affecting mood states and emotions (perfumes).

11. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
In depth interview – characteristics

12. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
In Depth Interview vs In Depth Interview
Some Advantages:
Greater depth and insight than a focus group;
No social pressure;
Disadvantages: the same as in focus group.

13. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Projective techniques - uses
In situation where the required information is not accurately obtained by direct methods;
In measuring attitude about particular products, brands, packages,
advertisements;
3. Image analysis;
4. In situation where direct methods cannot accurately obtain the information.

14. “A man is least himself when he talks in his own person; when given a mask he will tell the truth.” --Oscar Wilde

15. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Projective techniques – short description
Association techniques – respondents are presented with a stimulus and are
asked to respond with the first thing they have in mind;
Word association – respondents are presented with a list of words, one at a
time. After each word they are asked to give the first word that comes to mind;
Completion techniques – respondents are required to fill in an incomplete
stimulus situation;
Sentence completion – respondents are presented with a number of incomplete
sentences and are asked to complete them;
Story completion – respondents are provided with a part of the story and are
required to give the conclusion in their own words.

16. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Projective techniques – short description
Construction techniques – respondents are required to construct a response in the
form of a story, dialogue, or description;
Picture response techniques – respondents are shown a picture and are asked to
tell a story describing it;
Cartoon tests – cartoon characters are shown in a specific situation related to the
problem. Respondents are asked to indicate the response that one of the character
gives to the others’ comment;

17. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Projective techniques – short description
Expressive techniques – respondents are presented with a verbal or visual
situation and asked to relate the feelings and attitudes of other people to the
situation;
Role playing – respondents are asked to play the role or to assume the
behaviour of someone else;
Third person technique – respondents are presented with a situation and to
express the belief and attitudes of a third person.

18. Sentence Completion
People who drink beer are _____________________
A man who drinks light beer is ___________________
Imported beer is most liked by ___________________
A woman will drink beer when____________________

19. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Projective Techniques vs Projective Techniques
Some Advantages:
They may elicit responses that subjects would be unwilling to give if they knew the purpose of the study;
They are helpful when underlying motivations, beliefs and attitudes are operating at a subconscious level.
Disadvantages: the same as in focus group.

20. Exploratory Research: Qualitative Methods
Summary