Qualitative recipe book

Qualitative work still remains an intensely personal craft relying on keen insight into people and situations, but for the qualitative detective, the range of technological tools available to probe deeper and to report more creatively has increased dramatically with the arrival of technologies such as video capture, the Internet, and high quality sound recording.

Qualitative research is still dominated by the depth interview and the focus group, but more research now uses video-based observation, in-situ studies and long-term on-line discussions. Pressure for fresh, deeper insight means that a range of hybrid techniques are used to elicit and analyse information.

The qualitative researcher will also be using a variety of research tools to go about building a market picture.

Depth interviews

Depths are the staple diet of the business-to-business qualitative research and are common in consumer markets too.

A typical depth takes place face-to-face (a shorter version can be carried out over the phone) and typically lasts about an hour in length. The depth interview is in the form of a "directed conversation", which unlike the formal structured questionnaire of a quantitative survey, is designed to be open-ended, exploratory and to allow the interviewer to probe key areas of interest.

The interviewer comes armed with topic areas and stimulus material which will be used to steer the discussion to cover the pertinent issues, but it is the quality of the interviewers listening and probing that will determine the quality of information obtained.

On the phone, increasingly depths can be combined with stimulus sent simultaneously over the internet, meaning that telephone depths can start to have the same impact as face-to-face studies.

Focus groups

The mainstay of consumer research is the focus group (or group discussion) so beloved and feared by politicians.

A focus group consists of 6-8 people brought together for a discussion and a typical group lasts about 90 minutes in length. The focus group is moderated by an experienced researcher whose role is to guide the discussion to cover certain areas, but the reason for the group is so that discussion arises among the participants spontaneously. In other words, the group structure means that those taking part stimulate questions and comments from each other. In its original incarnation, this meant that there was less chance of an "interviewer effect" distorting the research, but with knowing respondents and the almost clichéd environment, this spontaneity and realism is becoming more difficult to achieve. But this criticism shouldn't distract from the real usefulness of group discussions which is why it is such a common technique.

Like depth interviews, the moderator also uses a discussion guide and stimulus materials. To help the discussion, respondents might be asked to look out materials from magazines, or to keep a diary in order to seed the conversation. And the discussion guide might be include tasks for the respondent to undertake, projection techniques ("if it was a car, what type would it be), creativity in addition to simple questions like "why do you say that". A key part of the moderators job is to ensure that everyone participates and has a chance to speak - visual clues such as body language, demeanour, and tone can be as important as the actual words said which means that viewing a group can be extremely valuable in understanding what was going on.

An alternative to a face-to-face group discussion is a telephone-based group. Our experience is that these work best if the group is smaller three to four contributors as it is difficult to keep track of who talks and to ensure that everyone takes part. On the phone, aspects such as body language cannot be assessed, but it does provide a convenient mechanism for researching difficult to reach groups.

Observational studies

Increasingly popular with advertising agencies and consumer consultancies looking for that extra frisson of reality, observational studies are very much in vogue. The advent of video camcorders and of TV shows like Big Brother, mean that consumers are letting researchers into their lives like nothing before.

Gone is the artificial set up of the focus group, instead we have researchers living the life with respondents, recording their every move and action. No longer are respondents merely asked how they apply shampoo to their hair, they are asked to let us into their bathroom to film it. Want to know how a mobile phone fits into people's lives, spend a day with someone recording each call and button press.

The underpinning of observational study has a long tradition in market research. Many of the first MR studies were observational in nature, and it has a strong academic tradition in ethnographic research. Related formats include the accompanied shop and the accompanied surf, but it aslo extends to usability and fitness for purpose studies. With the ready availability of low cost video cameras and editing facilities, increasing numbers of qualitative studies will contain some element of video-based observation, even if it to record general circumstances and context.

Hybrid techniques

Hybrid techniques capture the specialist designs that either can't be classified into one of the areas above, or which use a combination of approaches - individual, group and observational.

This might include "friendship pairs" or "paired depths" where two people who know each other are interviewed together. Normally for focus groups, the respondents should be unknown to each other, otherwise you risk unbalancing the group or over-representing one strain of opinion. However, for friendship pairs, its the presence of someone who knows you that helps keep the discussion open and opens the discussion away from the interviewer's lead.

Among focus groups this can include "conflict groups" where two sides of a debate are present to see how they prompt and provoke discussion in each other, or the reverse "affinity groups" where like minded people come together and the moderator might act as devil's advocate.

In certain circumstances you can also ask respondents to keep diaries, to collect materials or to perform observational tasks prior to a discussion. Alternatively you can start a group, set the members a task, then reconvene the group at a later date.

For help and advice on carrying out qualitative research projects contact info@dobney.com