RESEARCH METHODOLOGY IN POLITICAL SCIENCE 46-73 (2) (1).pdf

behaviour. It seeks to encapsulate the behaviour, experiences and feelings of Participang in their own terms and context; for example, when conduc.ting research on children, an informality and child-friendly atmosphere is vital, Consldermlg fgatures such as the decoration of the room with appropriat...

behaviour. It seeks to encapsulate the behaviour, experiences and feelings of Participang in their own terms and context; for example, when conduc.ting research on children, an informality and child-friendly atmosphere is vital, Consldermlg fgatures such as the decoration of the room with appropriately themed posters. Qualitative research is baseq on at least two intellectual traditions. The first and perhaps most important is the set of ideas and associated methods from the broad area of depth psychology. This movement was concerned with the less conscioys aspects of the human psyche. It led to a development of methods to gain access to individuals’ subconscious and/or unconscious levels. So, while individuals may present 5 superficial explanation of events to themselves or to others, these methods sought to dig deeper and penetrate the superficial. The second tradition is the set of ideas and associated methods from sociology, social psychology and social anthropology, and the disciplines of ethnography, linguistics and semiology. The emphases here are upon holistic understanding of the world-view of people. The researcher is expected to ‘enter’ the hearts and minds of those they are researching, to develop an empathy with their experiences and feelings. Both traditions have a concern with developing means of communication between the researcher and those being researched. There can be much interaction between the two broad traditions, which in pragmatic terms allows a wide and rich array of techniques and interpretations of collected data. Qualitative research is a significant contributor to the marketing research industry, accounting for substantial expenditure and is growing. In commercial terms, it is billioneuro-plus global industry. However, it is not just a matter of business value. Qualitative thinking has had a profound effect upon marketing and the marketing research industry as a whole. Rationale for Using Qualitative Research It is not always possible, or desirable, to use structured quantitative techniques to obtain information from participants or to observe them. Thus, there are several reasons to use qualitative techniques. « Example (a) First get the language right, then tell them a story: Teenagers immediately recognise a communication in their language and are very quick to judge whether advertisers have got it right. They see ads and like them, reject them ignore them or, in many cases, discuss them. Teenagers are so fluent it ‘marketing speak’ because marketing and advertisin g are perceived by them % be the kind of work which can be creative, interesting and acceptable. They discuss with one another the advertising which they perceive to be targeting them. Pelgram Walters International conducted a study called Global Village. The main contention of the study was that teenagers around the world have a common language, which speaks to them in the filmed advertising medium. Part of the study consisted of focus group discussions of 12-18 year olds. Pepsi’s Next Generation advertisement was criticised by more media-literate teenage markets for stereotyping teens and misunderstanding who they are. The ad was a montage of very hip skateboarding teens, male teens wearing make-up, perhaps implying that Pepsi is for the next generation which looks thus. The main complaint was ‘we don't look like that’, the teens saying that they were not all the same as one another. By aligning the brand image with these extreme images, the commercial was less appealing to mainstream teen consumers. These reasons, either individually or in any combination, explain why certain marketing researchers adopt a particular approach to how they conduct research, analyse data and interpret their findings. Preferences and/or experience of the researcher. Some researchers are more oriented and temperamentally suited to do this type of work. Just as some researchers enjoy the challenge of using statistical techniques, there are researchers who enjoy the challenges of qualitative techniques and the interpretation of diverse types of data. Such researchers have been trained in particular disciplines and philosophies that traditionally make use of qualitative research designs and techniques. Preferences and/or experience of the research user. Some decision-makers are more oriented to receiving support in a qualitative manner. This orientation could come from their training but it could also be due to the type of marketing decisions they have to take. Decision-makers working in a creative environment of advertising copy or the development of brand ‘personalities’, for example, may have a greater preference for data that will feed such ‘artistic’ decisions. In the following example, consider how decision- makers would get to understand and represent the language used do not fully by teenagers. Consider also the implications for a brand if marketers understand the language and values of their target markets. give truthful Sensitive information. Participants may be unwilling to answer or to or have a them, ss embarra privacy, their answers to certain questions that invade relate to sanitary products negative impact on their ego or status. Questions that issues. In industrial and contraception are examples of personally sensitive performance and plans are marketing research, questions that relate to corporate examples of commercially sensitive issues. Techniques that build up an amount of rapport and trust, that allow gentle probing in a manner that suits individug] participants, can help researchers get close to participants, and may allow sensitiye data to be elicited. Subconscious feelings. Participants may be unable to provide accurate answers to questions that tap their subconscious. The values, emotional drives and motivations residing at the subconscious level are disguised from the outer world by rationalisation and other ego defences. For example, a person may have purchased an expensive sports car to overcome feelings of inferiority. But if asked ‘Why did you purchase this sports car?’ that person may say ‘I got a great deal’, ‘My old car was falling apart’, or ‘I need to impress my customers and clients.’ The participants do not have to put words to their deeper emotional drives until researchers approach them! In tapping into those deeper emotional drives, qualitative research can take a path that evolves and is right for the participant. Complex phenomena. The nature of what participants are expected to describe may be difficult to capture with structured questions. For example, participants may know what brands of wine they enjoy, what types of music they prefer or what images they regard as being prestigious. They may not be able to clearly explain why they have these feelings or where these feelings are coming from. The holistic dimension. The object of taking a holistic outlook in qualitative research is to gain a comprehensive and complete picture of the whole context in which the phenomena of interest occur. It is an attempt to describe and understand as much as possible about the whole situation of interest. Each scene exists within a multi-layered and interrelated context and it may require multiple methods to ensure the researcher covers all angles. This orientation helps the researcher discover the interrelationships among the various components of the phenomenon under study. In evaluating different forms of consumer behaviour, the researcher seeks to understand the relationship of different contextual environments upon that behaviour, Setting behaviour into context involves placing observations, experiences and interpretations into a larger perspective. An example of this may be of measuring satisfaction with a meal in a restaurant. A questionna ire can break down components of the experience in the restaurant and quantify the extent of satisfaction with these. But what effect did the ‘atmospher e’ have upon the experience? What role did the type of music, the colour and style of furniture, aromas coming from the kitchen, other people in the restaurant, the mood when entering the restaurant, feelings of relaxation or tension as the meal went on, contribute to the feeling of atmosphere? Building up an understan ding of the \0 interrelationship of the context of consumption allows the qualitative researcher to build up this holistic view. This can be done through qualitative observation and interviewing. « Developing new theory. This is perhaps the most contentious reason for conducting qualitative research. How causal research design through experiments helps to generate theory. Qualitative researchers may argue that there are severe limitations in conducting experiments upon consumers and that quantitative approaches are limited to elaborating or extending existing theory. The development of ‘new’ theory through a qualitative approach is called ‘grounded theory’, which will be addressed later. «+ Interpretation. Qualitative techniques often constitute an important final step in research designs. Large-scale surveys and audits often fail to clarify the underlying reasons for a set of findings. Using qualitative techniques can help to elaborate and explain underlying reasons in quantitative findings. PHILOSOPHY AND QUALITATIVE RESEARCH Positivist Perspectives The vital role that theory plays in marketing research. Researchers rely on theory to determine which variables should be investigated, how variables should be operationalised and measured, and how the research design and sample should be selected. Theory also serves as a foundation on which the researcher can organise and interpret findings. Good marketing research is founded upon theory and contributes to the development of theory to improve the powers of explanation, prediction and understanding in marketing decisionmakers. The dominant perspective of developing new theory in marketing research has been one of empiricism and more specifically positivism. The central belief of a positivist position is a view that the study of consumers and marketing phenomena should be ‘scientific’ in the manner of the natural sciences. Marketing researchers of this persuasion adopt a framework for investigation akin to the natural scientist. For many, this is considered to be both desirable and possible. A fundamental belief shared by positivists is the view that the social and natural worlds ‘conform to certain fixed and unalterable laws in an endless chain of causation’. The main purpose of a scientific approach to marketing research is to establish causal laws that enable the prediction and explanation of marketing phenomena. To establish these laws, a scientific approach must have, as a minimum, reliable information or ‘facts”. The emphasis on facts leads to a focus upon objectivity, rigour and measurement. As an I | overall research approach qualitative research does not rely upon measurement or the establishment of ‘facts’ and so does not fit with a positivist perspective. However, if qualitative research is just seen as a series of techniques, they can be used to develop an understanding of the nature of a research problem, and to develop and pilot questionnaires, In other words, the positivist perspective of qualitative research is to see it as a set of techniques, applied as preliminary stages to more rigorous techniques that measure, e, surveys and questionnaires. This use of qualitative techniques is fine but may be limiting, To conduct in-depth interviews, focus groups or projective techniques, to understand the language and logic of target questionnaire participants makes good sense. However, using qualitative techniques just to develop quantitative techniques can affect how those techniques are used. As an illustration, we will examine how focus groups may be conducted. The term ‘focus group discussion’ is commonly used across all continents, yet it subsumes different ways of applying the technique. There are two main schools of thought, which may be termed ‘cognitive’ and ‘conative’. + + Cognitive. American researchers generally follow this tradition, which largely follows a format and interviewing style as used in quantitative studies. ‘American-style groups' is shorthand in Europe for large groups, a structured procedure and a strong element of external validation. Within the cognitive approach, the analysis or articulation has been worked on before, and so the interviews are largely meant to confirm or expand on known issues. Conative. European researchers generally follow this traditi on. This style assumes a different starting point, one that emphasises exploration, with analysis taking place during and after the group. There is less structu re to the questions, with group members being encouraged to take their own their own connections and let the whole process evolve. paths of discussion, make Table. Table summarises the differences between the American and European approaches to conducting focus groups. Note the longer durati on of the European approach to allow the exploration to develop. To maintain the interest and motivation of participants for this time period, the interview experience must be stimulating and enjoyable. Characteristics Cognitive Pl aoee Sample size Duration Demonstration 1012 1.5 hours Interviewing Logical sequence Questions Closed Techniques [T | Conative Exploration o8 1,510 6 hours ] Opportunistic Open | Straight, question, Probi ng, facili tation , | Questionnaires, hand | projectives, describing shows, counting | Response required Give an: Interviewer Debate issues Moderator Researcher Transcripts Analysis Rarely necessary On the spot Usually full Time-consuming Focus of time Preplanning Accusations against other style | ‘Formless’ Suited for Output Testingor proving ideas To be confirmed in quantitative studies Post-fieldwork ‘Over-controlling’ | Meaningor understanding Can be used in its own right to support decision-makers International marketers have always been aware that qualitative research as it developed in the USA and Europe involves quite different practices, stemming from different premises and yielding different results. American-style qualitative research started from the same evaluative premise as quantitative research but on a smaller scale. This made it cheaper, quicker and useful for checking out the less critical decisions. European-style qualitative research started from the opposite premise to quantitative research: it was developmental, exploratory and creative rather than evaluative. It was used as a tool of understanding, to get underneath consumer motivation. and and and who The American style uses a detailed discussion guide which follows a logical sequence is usually strictly adhered to. The interviewing technique involves closed questions straight answers. This type of research is used primarily to inform about behaviour to confirm hypotheses already derived from other sources. For this reason, clients have attended groups often feel they do not need any further analysis; the group interaction supplies the answers. Transcripts are rarely necessary and reports are often summarised or even done away with altogether. The European style is used primarily to gain new insight; it also works from a discussion guide, but in a less structured way. The interviewing technique is opportunistic and probing. Projective techniques are introduced to help researchers understand underlying motivations and attitudes. Because the purpose is ‘understanding’, which requires a creative synthesis of consumer needs and brand benefits, analysis is time consuming and usually involves full transcripts. In the above descriptions of American and European traditions of applying qualitative techniques, it is clear to see that the American perspective is positivist, i.e. aims to deliver a ‘factual’ impression of consumers. provide the The facts may be established, but they may not be enough — they may not So, demand. -makers richness or depth of understanding that certain marketing decision ns predictio ons, although a positivist perspective has a role to play in developing explanati