Although some of these computer packages and content analysis procedures can be very sophisticated, it should be noted that they are only capable of organising the data: they do not interpret what it means. The researcher needs to interpret what was said, determine what it all means and identify the implications for marketing decisions. The researcher needs to think through the manner in which things were said to determine what messages the respondents were trying to communicate, either consciously or subconsciously. A researcher’s understanding of this increases with experience of qualitative research but also from personal experience of socially inter- active situations in everyday life. In our day-to-day social interactions we do more than listen to others: we interpret their commitment, belief and enthusiasm in what they are saying. We notice inconsistencies, uncertainty, fear and incomprehension. We can often recognise the boasting, bluffing and disguising that people do to cover up their true opinions and behaviour. Combining these intuitive skills with an under- standing of the literature on group dynamics can go a long way to providing the researcher with the necessary toolkit to understand respondents in qualitative research. Such understanding will make it possible for the researcher to determine the implications for the research objectives and ultimately for the marketing decisions that have to be made.
Summary and an integrated approach 129
Summary and an integrated approach
Qualitative research provides researchers with detailed information on the behaviour, motivations and attitudes of respondents. It is most commonly used for exploratory research, new product development and creative development. The main approaches in qualitative research are the individual depth interview and the group discussion. The interactive nature of both of these approaches means that their success is dependent on the skills of the interviewer or the moderator. The relative merits of each approach are set out below.
Advantages of depth interviews over group discussions:
• The respondent is the centre of attention and can therefore be probed at length to explore remarks made that may provide critical insights into the main issue. The respondent cannot hide behind other people’s comments or discussions and does not have to compete for time to talk.
• Group pressure is eliminated, so the respondent reveals what he or she actually thinks rather than what is acceptable to the rest of the group. • Respondents may be willing to talk about sensitive topics that they would
hesitate to discuss in front of other people. • Recruitment is a less complex process.
• Group facilities are not required and the interviews can be undertaken in the respondent’s home or office.
• Depth interviews are necessary where group participation is difficult because respondents are geographically dispersed or have very busy diaries.
Advantages of group discussions over depth interviews:
• Depth interviews are more expensive than focus groups when viewed on a per-interview basis.
• Depth interviews are more time consuming. A typical depth interviewer will undertake a maximum of four interviews per day, whereas a moderator could do two groups involving 16 –20 people in the same timescale.
• Group discussions allow interaction between participants, providing a stimulus to each participant.
• Group discussions highlight the dynamics of attitudes by showing how participants change their opinions in reaction to the views of others.
Projective techniques such as word association and sentence completion can be used to enhance the quantity and quality of material produced by both individual depth interviews and group discussions.
At the end of a qualitative project the researcher needs to be re-immersed in all of the data gathered and organise the content into a form that directly answers the research objectives. This type of analysis is called content analysis and involves the twin activities of data organisation and data interpretation.
Finally, it is important to reiterate that it is a mistake to consider qualitative and quantitative research as two distinctly separate bodies of research; many studies
incorporate both approaches. Integrated together they can provide a far clearer picture of a market and its characteristics.
Discussion questions
1 Describe the skills that you think a moderator of a group discussion should have.
2 In the screening questionnaire (Figure 5.1), the interviewer is asked to tally the people who are rejected. Why do you think this is?
3 Why are group discussions widely used in the development of advertising?
4 Why is qualitative research particularly suited to the early stages of new prod- uct development?
5 Describe the key characteristics of an individual depth interview.
6 Why is the development of rapport so critical to qualitative research?
7 The interviewer or moderator is critical to the success of qualitative research. Discuss.
8 What is a projective technique?
9 Why would you run a group discussion by video conferencing or over the Internet?
10 Explain the most common approaches to the analysis of qualitative data.
Additional reading
Catterall, M. and Maclaran, P. (1998) Using computer software for the analysis of qualitative market research data. Journal of the Market Research Society, 40(3), pp. 207–22.
Cowley, J.C.P. (1999) Strategic qualitative focus group research: define and articulate our skills or we will be replaced by others. International Journal of Market Research, 42(1), pp. 17–38.
Ereaut, G., Imms, M. and Callingham, M. (eds) (2002) Qualitative Market Research:
Principle and Practice. Sage, London.
Gordon, W. (2000) Goodthinking: A Guide to Qualitative Research. Admap Publications, London.
Gordon, W. and Langmaid, R. (1988) Qualitative Market Research: A Practitioner’s Guide. Gower, London.
Krueger, R.A. (1998) Analysing and Reporting Focus Group Results. Sage, Newbury Park, CA. Marks, L. (2000) Qualitative Research in Context. Admap Publications, London.
Robson, S. and Foster, A. (eds) (1989) Qualitative Research in Action. Arnold, London.
Website
Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software Networking Project: caqdas.soc.surrey.ac.uk.
References 131
References
1Townsend, M. and Donaldson, S. (2000) Recipe for success. Research, 412, September,
p. 44.
2Market Research Society, R&D Society Sub-committee on Qualitative Research (1979)
Qualitative Research: A Summary of the Concepts Involved.
3Cervi, B. (2001) New ‘focus groupie’ concerns. Research, January, p. 8. 4QSR NUD*IST and QSR NVivo: www.qsrinternational.com. The Ethnograph: