Qualitative Research Methods

• Qualitative research stems from social sciences such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology.
• Methods allow for thorough investigation and questioning of respondents based on their answers.
• Researchers aim to grasp the motivations and emotions of participants.
• Understanding audience decision-making is key in market research.

Definition

• Qualitative research is a market research method focused on gathering data through open conversations.
• Focus is on understanding what people think and why they think that way.
• Example: A convenience store noticed more male customers and used interviews to discover women felt there were not suitable items.

Types

• Designed to reveal the behavior and perception of a target audience on a specific topic.
• Includes in-depth interviews, focus groups, ethnographic research, content analysis, and case study research.
• Qualitative methods yield descriptive results, from which inferences are easily drawn.
• Originates in social and behavioral research.
• Online methods have enhanced communication and descriptive analysis.

One-on-one Interview

• Common qualitative research method involving personal one-on-one interviews.
• It is a purely conversational method allowing for detailed responses from the respondent.
• Gathers precise insights into people's beliefs and motivations.
• Experienced researchers ask the right questions to gather meaningful data.
• Follow-up questions help get more information.
• Can be conducted face-to-face or via phone, lasting from 30 minutes to 2 hours or more.
• Face-to-face interviews allow for reading body language.

Focus Groups

• Focus groups are a qualitative data collection method involving a limited number of respondents (6-10) from the target market.
• Main focus is to answer "why," "what," and "how" questions.
• Focus groups can be conducted online via surveys.
• More expensive compared to other online qualitative methods.
• Used to explain complex processes, test new products, and research new concepts.

Ethnographic Research

• Ethnographic research is an in-depth observational research method.
• It studies people in their natural environment.
• Requires researchers to adapt to target audiences' environments.
• Geographical constraints can be an issue when collecting data.
• Aims to understand cultures, challenges, motivations, and settings.
• Researchers experience natural settings firsthand, rather than relying on interviews.
• Can last from days to years via in-depth observation and data collection.
• It is a challenging, time-consuming, and relies on the researcher's expertise.

Case Study Research

• Used for explaining an organization or an entity.
• Used in education, social sciences, and similar fields.
• Simplest ways of conducting research.
• Involves deep understanding of data collection methods.

Record Keeping

• This method uses existing/reliable documents and similar information sources for new research..
• Similar to going to a library, to gather relevant data.

Process of Observation

• The process uses subjective methodologies to gather systematic information/data
• Relies on using subjective methodologies to gather data.
• Primarily used to equate quality differences.
• Deals with sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing.
• Focuses no on measurements or numbers, but characteristics.

Qualitative data collection

• Collects non-numeric data to explore how decisions are made and provide detailed insights.
• The collected data should be holistic, rich, nuanced, and carefully analyzed.

Data Collection

• Researchers generate huge amounts of qualitative data.
• Data collection varies.
• Qualitative data collection method, such as a focus group or one-to-one discussion, may involve handwritten notes or video recordings.
• Recordings should be transcribed before data analysis.
• Seasoned researcher can spend 8-10 hours transcribing an interview, creating 20-30 pages of dialogues.
• Researchers maintain separate folders to organize data.
• Running "field notes" are helpful for maintaining comments, environmental contexts, nonverbal cues, and environmental analysis for comparison while transcribing audio.
• Notes should be informal, and secured like video recordings or audio tapes.

Qualitative data analysis

• Includes notes, videos, audio recordings, images, and text documents.
• Text analysis is a frequently used method.
• Text analysis is a data analysis method that analyzes the social life of participants in the research study and decode the words and actions.
• Images within research are analyzed for context and inferences.
• Analysis of social media has become very widespread.

Characteristics

• Collects data where participants experience issues or research problems.
• Involves real-time data rarely requiring participants to leave geographic location.
• Multiple data forms are gathered (interviews, observations, and documents), rather than relying on a single source.
• It solves complex issues by breaking them down into understandable inferences.
• People can build trust on the researcher.

Case Study

• A bookstore owner interviews loyal patrons from an online community to improve sales/customer outreach.
• The interview revealed that there were books were suited for adults/not enough options from children/teenagers.
• The bookstore owner was able to keep different books for different age categories, improving sales and customer outreach.
• These research method examples can serve as the basis to indulge in further quantitative research, providing resolutions.

When To Use

• Capture accurate, in-depth insights and "factual data".
• Developing a new product or generating an idea.
• Strengthen marketing strategy.
• Understand customer reactions to marketing campaigns and other communications.
• Understand market demographics, segments, and customer care groups.
• Gather perception data

Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research

• Vary in analytical objectives, types of questions asked, types of data collection instruments, forms of data produced, and degree of flexibility.
• Qualitative research focuses on describing individual experiences and beliefs,
• Quantitative research focuses on describing the characteristics of a population.
• Qualitative researchers ask open-ended questions.
• Quantitative researchers ask closed-ended questions.
• Qualitative utilizes semi-structured methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups, and participant observation.
• Quantitative utilizes highly structured methods such as structured observation using questionnaires and surveys.
• Qualitative research produces descriptive data.
• Quantitative research produces numerical data.
• In qualitative research, participant responses affect future questions.
• In quantitative research participant responses do not influence or determine questions.

Qualitative research gathers data through open conversations to understand people's thoughts and motivations. It includes methods like interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic studies. This approach provides descriptive results, aiding in understanding target audience behavior and perceptions.