Qualitative Research Examples Tiffanys is researching possible positioning

Qualitative Research

Examples • Tiffany’s is researching possible positioning options for their new ad campaign • Starbucks seeks to understand its brand associations • Winthrop seeks to understand why students love the university • Face book seeks to understand how it can improve user engagement even further

Common theme • What is the common theme that runs through these research questions: • You have no clue about the “trait” • Qualitative inquiry to find out the ‘trait’

Information Collection : Qualitative and Observational Methods • Qualitative methods

Individual In-depth Interviews • Non-directive interviews • Semi-structured or focused individual interviews • Laddering:

Tiffany’s ad campaign

Laddering – Another example

Laddering – another example

Focus Group Discussions • Discussion of 8 to 12 subjects moderated by a discussion leader • Used in the exploratory phase of the market research process • Intended to provoke spontaneity • Group interaction • Chain reaction, devil’s advocate, false termination

Focus Groups • Hershey’s has plans to introduce a soya milk chocolate bar. (Design and structure a focus group agenda for the above)

Effective focus groups • Plan the agenda • Recruitment • Moderator • Results

Problems with focus groups • • • Peer pressure Desirability in the group / anxious to belong Shy participants Controlling participants Undue influence Sensitized participants- spontaneity is questionable

Projective Techniques • Used when respondent will not or cannot respond meaningfully • Comment upon rather unstructured or ambiguous object, activity. • Objective: • Respondent projects own opinion on something else: task, third person, object

Projective Techniques • Word Association – Immediate response word to the stimulus word (stimulus word is mixed with neutral words) – Conclusions based on – Used to find out brand associations (refer to our inclass example)

Projective Techniques • Completion tests • Dialogue balloons • Picture Interpretation techniques

Projective techniques • Third person technique • Role playing – Respondents attitudes surface during the role-play

Limitations of Qualitative Methods • Potential susceptibility of the results to get misused or misinterpreted • Small samples – limited generalizability • Moderator or interviewer's role – can heavily influence the outcomes • Volume and complexity of analysis

Projective Technique – Sentence Completion Test • “I love Mauritius because______”