Qualitative data: focus groups (MR, unit 7)

usually 4-8 groups or 8-10 respondents + group moderator who poses discussion questions

Consider:

• Type
• Membership - users, non-users, homogenous
• Recruitment
• Number of groups (nothing new after 12)
• Discussion topics

Discussion guide (3 phases)

• Introduction - welcome, explain purpose, outline discussion topics, introduce participants
• Discussion - several themed sub-phases, product trial
• Summary and thanks

Moderator

• must form good rapport and sensitive to mood of group
• intervene if too far off topic or to stop individuals dominating
• ensure everyone gets to speak

Qualitative data: projective techniques (MR, unit 7)

Used because people may respond differently to how they actually act (telling you what they think you want to hear) or find it difficult to articulate

Methods:

• Third person - friendly martian
• Word association - I say women , you say ...... (assumption if answer quickly, spontaneous & sub-conscious thought revealed)
• Sentence completion - (quick responses, as above)
  
• Thematic Apperception Tests (TAT) - what's going on in a picture (or before/after)
• Story completion - what happens next
• Cartoon completion - complete balloon
• Psychodrama - imagine yourself as a product

Problems:
- No hard evidence of validity, may not be considered scientifically valid
- Analysis is highly subjective and prone to bias
- Small sample of population (can't generalise to market as a whole)
- Ethical issues invading subconscious when respondents unaware

Value:

• Reveal hidden motives for product usage
• can develop new promo messages
• test brand names, symbols, advertising copy for associations e.g. BrandTag
  
• test any hypothesis on more representative samples using quantitative techniques

Qualitative data: interviews (MR, unit 7)

USING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
particularly useful for
- new products where no existing data
- to help define direction of more detailed research
- developing marketing communications messages and pre-testing them

Helps to:

• determine whether to continue development
• what further development required
• what part of market to target

INTERVIEWS
Unstructured
- Interviewer has list of topics to cover but free to word as wish
- Order varies allowing respondent to control data flow
- May provide relevant questions which can then be put to wider audience

Depth interviews
- Pattern of questioning should assist respondent to explore deeper levels of thought (open-ended questioning
- Uses psychoanalytic techniques

• Strengths:
• personal material more easily accessed & discussed
• respondents less likely to reiterate socially acceptable attributes
• Weaknesses:
• time consuming to conduct and analyses (1-2hrs)
• more costly than group discussions
• temptation to treat as quantitative questionnaires

Factors to consider when arranging interviews:

• Who should respondents be? depends on subject / 10-15 people / pre-recruit for consumer
  
• Type of interview? depth is 1-2-1
• Length - genuine depth 1-2hrs due to analysis time, mini depth could focus on predefined topic
• Structure - totally open-ended or semi-structured
• Any materials to be used? mock-ups, prototypes, storyboards