Qualitative Research Methods

Qualitative Research Methods

• Qualitative research differs from quantitative research in its approach
• The study of qualitative research is a long-standing practice, frequently predating quantitative techniques
• The validity of qualitative data is frequently questioned
• Qualitative research methodologies employ various techniques throughout a project, used in both data collection and data analysis
• Decision-making uses qualitative research in a variety of ways

Learning Objectives

• Qualitative research differs from quantitative research
• The controversy surrounding qualitative research
• Types of decision-making that utilize qualitative methods
• Varieties of qualitative research methods

Topics of Discussion

• What is qualitative research
• Qualitative versus quantitative research
• The process of qualitative research
• Qualitative research methodologies
• Combining qualitative methodologies

What is Qualitative Research?

• Qualitative research involves interpretive techniques
• Goals of qualitative research are description, decoding, translation, and understanding meaning
• It focuses on the meaning of phenomena, rather than their frequency in the social world

The Controversy

• Qualitative research methodologies have roots in a variety of disciplines
• Qualitative methods, like anthropology, lingustics, sociology, and psychology have been available longer than quantitative approaches in the 19th century
• Managers are concerned about the trustworthiness of qualitative data and demand careful methodology
• Employing literature searches to improve questions
• Implementing methods in natural settings, rather than controlled labs
• Creating questions that explore exceptions to established rules or theories are used to address this

The Process of Qualitative Research

• Developing a qualitative project is similar to a general research process
• Three key distinctions impact the process:
  • Level of question development in the research process
  • Researcher preparation prior to the experience
  • Data used to form the experience
• Creative mental exercises are used to surface participants' understandings
  • Showing products and mediums
  • Providing visual stimuli like pictures
  • Asking participants to draw experiences

Exhibit 7-3 Qualitative Research and the Research Process

• Shows a visual representation of the process of qualitative research
• Includes steps like: exploration, clarifying the research question, defining the problem, refining the question, research proposal, research design, data collection design, sampling and recruiting, discussions and pretesting, data collection and preparation, exploration, and pretasking, insight development, interpretation of data, debriefing.
• A link between these steps leads to management reporting and decision-making.

Exhibit 7-4 Formulating the Qualitative Research Question

• Steps involved in developing a qualitative research question, including exploring literature and expert interviews and defining the problem via interview questions
• This includes determining new product categories, market expertise and customer profiles, and competitor analysis
• Defining the research question(s) is the last step in this process

Sampling

• Qualitative research emphasizes continued sampling until new insights stop coming in
• Sample sizes are usually small
• Techniques like multiple focus groups or in-depth interviews are common

Interviewing

• Primary data collection technique in qualitative methodologies
• Interviews vary based on: number of people, interview structure, interviewer proximity to the participant, and the number of interviews occurring
• Researchers may involve one, a few, multiple, or large numbers of people
• Unstructured, semi-structured, and structured interviewing approaches are common

Projective Techniques

• Used because researchers often seek hidden meanings
• Techniques include:
  • Word or picture association: matching items
  • Sentence completion
  • Cartoons or empty balloons: filling in dialog
  • Thematic apperception test: describing images

Projective Techniques (continued)

• Personification: imagining as aliens
• Authority figures: assigning characteristics to objects
• Ambiguities and paradoxes
• Brand mapping
• Metaphor elicitation

Individual Depth Interviews (IDIs)

• An interview methodology featuring a single interviewer and participant
• Interviews vary in length, depending on the topic
• Interviewees can use technology advanced materials to increase interaction

Group Interviews

• Collects data from multiple participants
• May include dyads, triads, min groups, small groups (focus groups), or super groups (up to 20 people)

Focus Groups

• Coined by R. K. Merton and used to gather general background on topics, stimulate research questions, give context to quantitative results, generate ideas for programs, and highlight areas of opportunity
• Focus groups involve a moderator, and typically range from 6 to 10 participants.
• Focus groups can be for 90 minutes to 2 hours

Recording, Analyzing, and Reporting Group Interviews

• Strategies for recording include using paper, personal notepads, video and audiotapes.
• Data collected can be transcribed or analyzed using moderators' notes.

Case Studies

• A powerful research method combining interviews, record analysis, and observation
• Information like brochures, annual reports, sales receipts, and newspaper articles can be helpful for this

Action Research

• Designed to assess complex practical problems, identifying when no known solution exists
• Starts with a problem, a potential solution, implementation, assessment, and re-evaluation if needed
• Addressing issues via problem solving, corrective actions, observation, and assessment, is at the heart of this

Merging Qualitative and Quantitative Methodologies

• Triangulation: the combining of various qualitative and quantitative methods
• Four common strategies include simultaneous, ongoing waves, following sequential stages, or preceeding qualitative with quantitative stages