Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is used to understand how people experience the
world. Researchers opt for qualitative research to understand or explain the
behavior, motivations, and characteristics of people in a target group.
This type of research can also be used in the business world if you
want to know what a specific group thinks about new ideas for products or
services or if you simply want to try something since it allows you to access
content-rich information about perceptions, emotions, and interactions between
people.
What is qualitative research?
Qualitative research is defined as a market research method that
focuses on obtaining data through open-ended and conversational communication.
This method is about “what” people think and “why” they think so.
For example, consider a convenience store looking to improve its patronage. A
systematic observation concludes that the number of men visiting this store are
more. One good method to determine why women were not visiting the store is to
conduct an in-depth interview of potential customers in the category.
Qualitative research is based on the disciplines of social sciences
like psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Therefore, the qualitative
research methods allow for in-depth and further probing and questioning of
respondents based on their responses, where the interviewer/researcher also
tries to understand their motivation and feelings. Understanding how your
audience takes decisions can help derive conclusions in market research.
Types of qualitative research
methods with examples
Qualitative research methods are designed in a manner that help
reveal the behavior and perception of a target audience with reference to a
particular topic. There are different types of qualitative research methods
like an in-depth interview, focus groups, ethnographic research, content
analysis, case study research that are usually used.
The results of qualitative methods are more descriptive and the
inferences can be drawn quite easily from the data that is obtained.
Qualitative research methods originated in the social and behavioral
sciences. Today our world is more complicated and it is difficult to understand
what people think and perceive. Online qualitative research methods make it
easier to understand that as it is more communicative and descriptive.
The following are the qualitative research methods that are
frequently used.
1. One-on-one interview:
Conducting in-depth interviews is one of the most common qualitative
research methods. It is a personal interview that is carried out with one
respondent at a time. This is purely a conversational method and invites
opportunities to get details in depth from the respondent.
One of the advantages of this method provides a great opportunity to
gather precise data about what people believe and what their motivations are.
If the researcher is well experienced asking the right questions can help
him/her collect meaningful data. If they should need more information the
researchers should ask such follow up questions that will help them collect
more information.
These interviews can be performed face-to-face or on phone and
usually can last between half an hour to two hours or even more. When the
in-depth interview is conducted face to face it gives a better opportunity to
read the body language of the respondents and match the responses.
2. Focus groups:
A focus group is also one of the commonly used qualitative research
methods, used in data collection. A focus group usually includes a limited
number of respondents (6-10) from within your target market.
The main aim of the focus group is to find answers to the “why”
“what” and “how” questions. One advantage of focus groups is, you don’t
necessarily need to interact with the group in person. Nowadays focus groups
can be sent an online survey on various devices and responses can be collected
at the click of a button.
Focus groups are an expensive method as compared to the other online
qualitative research methods. Typically they are used to explain complex
processes. This method is very useful when it comes to market research on new
products and testing new concepts.
3. Ethnographic research:
Ethnographic research is the most in-depth observational method that
studies people in their naturally occurring environment.
This method requires the researchers to adapt to the target
audiences’ environments which could be anywhere from an organization to a city
or any remote location. Here geographical constraints can be an issue while
collecting data.
This research design aims to understand the cultures, challenges,
motivations, and settings that occur. Instead of relying on interviews and
discussions, you experience the natural settings first hand.
This type of research method can last from a few days to a few
years, as it involves in-depth observation and collecting data on those
grounds. It’s a challenging and a time-consuming method and solely depends on
the expertise of the researcher to be able to analyze, observe and infer the
data.
5. Record keeping:
This method makes use of the already existing reliable documents and
similar sources of information as the data source. This data can be used in new
research. This is similar to going to a library. There one can go over books
and other reference material to collect relevant data that can likely be used
in the research.
6. Process of observation:
Qualitative Observation is a process of research that uses
subjective methodologies to gather systematic information or data. Since, the
focus on qualitative observation is the research process of using subjective
methodologies to gather information or data. Qualitative observation is primarily
used to equate quality differences.
Qualitative observation deals with the 5 major sensory organs and
their functioning – sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. This doesn’t
involve measurements or numbers but instead characteristics.
Qualitative research: data collection and analysis
Characteristics of qualitative
research methods
1. Qualitative
research methods usually collect data at the sight, where the participants are
experiencing issues or problems. These are real-time data and rarely bring the
participants out of the geographic locations to collect information.
2. Qualitative
researchers typically gather multiple forms of data, such as interviews,
observations, and documents, rather than rely on a single data source.
3. This type of
research method works towards solving complex issues by breaking down into
meaningful inferences, that is easily readable and understood by all.
4. Since it’s a more
communicative method, people can build their trust on the researcher and the
information thus obtained is raw and unadulterated.
When to use qualitative research
Researchers make use of qualitative research techniques when they
need to capture accurate, in-depth insights. It is very useful to capture
“factual data”. Here are some examples of when to use qualitative research.
• Developing a new
product or generating an idea.
• Studying your
product/brand or service to strengthen your marketing strategy.
• To understand
your strengths and weaknesses.
• Understanding
purchase behavior.
• To study the reactions
of your audience to marketing campaigns and other communications.
• Exploring market
demographics, segments, and customer care groups.
• Gathering
perception data of a brand, company, or product.
Qualitative research methods vs
quantitative research methods
The basic differences between qualitative research methods and
quantitative research methods are simple and straightforward. They differ in:
• Their analytical
objectives
• Types of
questions asked
• Types of data
collection instruments
• Forms of data
they produce
• Degree of
flexibility
|
Attributes |
Qualitative research methods |
Quantitative research methods |
|
Analytical objectives |
This research method focuses on describing individual experiences and
beliefs. |
Quantitative research method focuses on describing the characteristics
of a population. |
|
Types of questions asked |
||
|
Data collection Instrument |
Use semi-structured methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups,
and participant research |
Use highly structured methods such as structured observation
using questionnaires and srveys. |
|
Form of data produced |
Descriptive data |
Numerical data |
|
Degree of flexibility |
Participant responses affect how and which questions researchers ask
next |
Participant responses do not influence or determine how and which
questions researchers ask next |