Observation Focus Groups and Other Qualitative Measures Categories
Observation, Focus Groups, and Other Qualitative Measures
Categories of Research • Quantitative research: research involving the use of structured questions in which response options have been predetermined and a large number of respondents involved • Qualitative research: research involving collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data by observing what people do and say Ch 8 2
Categories of Research • Pluralistic research: combination of both quantitative and qualitative research methods in order to gain the advantages of both Ch 8 3
Observation Techniques • Observation methods: techniques in which the researcher relies on his or her powers of observation rather than communicating with a person in order to obtain information Ch 8 4
Observation Techniques • Types of observation: – Direct versus indirect – Disguised versus undisguised – Structured versus unstructured – Human versus mechanical Ch 8 5
Observation Techniques Direct versus Indirect • Direct observation: observing behavior as it occurs • Indirect observation: observing the effects or results of the behavior rather than the behavior itself – Archives (e. g. scanner data, records of sales calls) – Physical traces (e. g. “garbology”) Ch 8 6
Observation Techniques Disguised versus Undisguised • Disguised observation: subject is unaware that he or she is being observed • Undisguised observation: respondent is aware of observation Ch 8 7
Observation Techniques Structured versus Unstructured • Structured observation: researcher identifies beforehand which behaviors are to be observed and recorded • Unstructured observation: no restriction is placed on what the observer would note: all behavior in the episode under study is monitored Ch 8 8
Observation Techniques Human versus Mechanical • Human observation: observer is a person hired by the researcher, or, perhaps the observer is the researcher • Mechanical observation: human observer is replaced with some form of static observing device Ch 8 9
Observation Techniques Appropriate Conditions for Use • Short duration – The event must begin and end within a reasonably short time span • Public behavior – Behavior that occurs in a setting the researcher can readily observed • Faulty recall conditions – When actions or activities are repetitive or automatic that respondents cannot recall specifics about the behavior Ch 8 10
Observation Techniques Advantages of Observational Data • Insight into actual, not reported, behaviors • No chance for recall error • Better accuracy • Less cost Ch 8 11
Observation Techniques Limitations of Observational Data • Small number of subjects • Subjective interpretations • Inability to pry beneath the behavior observed • Motivations, attitudes, and other internal conditions are unobserved…we don’t know why? Ch 8 12
Home Depot: An Example of Direct Observation Shopper/Store Use Profile Average time in store: 32. 4 (minutes) Customer party size: 1. 2 (persons) Average expenditures: 57. 34 (dollars) Payment method 73. 0% (credit card) Number of aisles traveled: 5. 7 Product Categories of Requests for assistance: 0. 5 Purchases Appliances 10% Stops and looks at items 5. 4 Hand tools 22% Items handled per stop 2. 1 Electrical 31% Total items handled 9. 3 Plumbing 14% Items purchased 2. 5 Roofing 3% Garden 35% We know WHAT Other 26% Ch 8 BUT, We don’t know WHY! 13
Focus Groups • Focus groups are small groups of people brought together and guided by a moderator through an unstructured, spontaneous discussion for the purpose of gaining information relevant to the research problem. Ch 8 14
Focus Groups • The moderator’s task is to ensure that open discussion is “focused” on some area of interest. • Focus groups are used to generate ideas, to learn the respondents’ “vocabulary, ” to gain some insights into basic needs and attitudes. Ch 8 15
Types of Focus Groups • Traditional: Select 6 to 12 persons and meet in a dedicated room with oneway mirror for client viewing, for about two hours. Ch 8 16
Types of Focus Groups • Nontraditional: Online with client viewing from distant locations; may have 25 or even 50 respondents; allow client interaction; may take place in nontraditional locations. • Online focus groups are a form of nontraditional focus groups. Ch 8 17
Focus Groups Online Focus Groups • Online focus group: one in which the respondents and/or clients communicate and/or observe by use of the Internet Ch 8 18
Focus Groups Online Focus Groups • Advantages: – No physical setup is necessary – Transcripts are captured on file in real time – Participants can be in widely separated geographical areas – Participants are comfortable in their home or office environments – The moderator can exchange private messages with individual participants Ch 8 19
Focus Group Facility Floor Plan Ch 8 Source: Market Trends (www. markettrends. com) 20
Pros of Focus Groups • Generate fresh ideas • Allow clients to observe their participants • May be directed at understanding a wide variety of issues • Allow fairly easy access to special respondent groups Ch 8 21
Cons of Focus Groups • Representativeness of participants • Interpretation sometimes difficult • High cost per participant Ch 8 22
The Proper Use of Focus Groups • Focus groups should not be used when the research objective is to predict a specific number based upon sample data. Ch 8 23
The Proper Use of Focus Groups • Focus groups should be used when the research objective is to describe rather than predict. – How do consumers describe a better package? – How would they describe their satisfaction with our service? – How could they describe their ideas for an ad campaign? Ch 8 24
Operational Issues of Focus Groups • • • Size: 6 to 12 Who: homogeneous Recruiting: use incentives Selection: what is purpose? Where: conducive to group discussion • When moderator gets involved: early • Reporting results: report qualitative data Ch 8 25
Focus Groups Reporting and Use of Results • Factors to remember when analyzing data: – Some sense must be made by translating the qualitative statements of participants into categories and then reporting the degree of consensus apparent in the focus groups Ch 8 26
Focus Groups Reporting and Use of Results • Factors to remember when analyzing data: – Demographics and buyer behavior characteristics of focus group participants should be judged against the target market profile to assess what degree the groups represent the target market Ch 8 27
Focus Groups Reporting and Use of Results • A focus group’s analysis should identify major themes as well as salient areas of disagreement among the participants Ch 8 28
Other Qualitative Techniques • Depth interview is a set of probing questions posed one-on-one to a subject by a trained interviewer so as to gain an idea of what the subject thinks about something or why he or she behaves a certain way. • Protocol analysis involves placing a person in a decision-making situation and asking him or her to verbalize everything he or she considers when Ch 8 making a decision. 29
Other Qualitative Techniques • Projective techniques involve situations in which participants are placed in (projected into) simulated activities in the hopes that they will divulge things about themselves that they might not reveal under direct questioning – Word association test – Sentence completion – Picture test – Cartoon or balloon test Ch 8 – Role-playing activity 30
– Word association test • Reading words to a respondent, who then answers with the first word that comes to his or her mind. • The researcher looks for hidden meanings or associations between responses and the words being tested on the original list. Ch 8 31
– Sentence completion • Respondents are given incomplete sentences and asked to complete them in their own words. • The researcher inspects these sentences to identify themes or concepts that exist. Ch 8 32
– Picture test • A picture is provided to participants, who are instructed to describe their reactions by writing a short story about the picture. – Cartoon or balloon test • The respondents are instructed to write in the balloon what the actor is saying or asking. – Role-playing activity Ch 8 • Participants are asked to pretend they are a “third person” and to describe how they would act in a certain situation. 33
Sentence Completion Example INSTRUCTIONS. Write in words to complete each of the sentences below. For college students, credit cards are… College students use credit cards to… When a college freshman gets a new credit card application, he/she… When a college student reaches the limit of his/her credit card he/she… When a college senior gets a new credit card application, he/she… If parents of college students learned about their children’s credit card situations, they would… Ch 8 34
Other Qualitative Techniques • Ethnographic research: borrowed from anthropology–descriptive study of a group • Observing, interviewing, recording consumers’ behavior • Researchers must be “present and known” but not interfere with normal behavior. Ch 8 35
Physiological Measurements • Physiological measurements: involves monitoring a respondent’s involuntary responses to marketing stimuli via the use of electrodes and other equipment – Pupilometer – Galvonometer Ch 8 36
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