QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Prof M. R. Suresh
• It is loosely defined term.
• Implies that research findings are not
subject to quantification
• Quantitative research can show
statistically differences between two
groups.
• Qualitative research examines attitudes,
feelings and motivations of a group.
• Qualitative research has its origin in the
work of historian Grambattista Vico (18th
century). Indian logicians have always
emphasized intuitive understanding as
much as logical inference.
Qualitative research has become quite
popular
Reasons
 Helps unearth in-depth motivations
and feelings of consumers.
• Improves the efficiency of quantitative
research.
• In many situations, less expensive than
quantitative research.
 Trends of Research Process are Changing

Dimensions Old Paradigm New paradigm

Evaluation concerns Measurement Understand

Evaluation criteria Reliability Intuition

Interviewing principle Control Rapport

Involved in
Customer’s role Receives product
development
Role of Quantitative Subordinate to
Independent
Research quantitative

Subject Respondent Participant

 Qualitative and quantitative research vary
on many dimensions
Dimensions Qualitative Quantitative
Type of questions Probing Limited probing
Sample size Small Large
Information per Much Can vary
respondent
Interviewer needs No special skills are
Administration
special skills required
Type of analysis Subjective Statistical
Questionnaires,
Pictures, tapes
Hardware Computers
discussion guidelines

Ability to replicate Low High

Psychology, Statistics, Marketing
Researcher’s training
Marketing Research Research
Type of research Exploratory Descriptive, causal
Qualitative research: is it totally
objectives?
 Initial steps in quantitative research such as
problem definition, formulating hypothesis,
defining variables are subjective.
 Quantitative precision is useless if wrong
hypothesis is tested
• Quantitative research is long on ‘what’ and
short on ‘why’
• Both quantitative and qualitative research are
tools with researchers
• Appropriate is some uses, inappropriate in
other sues
Popularity of Qualitative Research:
•Qualitative research is less expensive than
quantitative research.
•Qualitative research helps unearth in-depth
motivations and feelings of consumers.
•Qualitative research improves the
efficiency of quantitative research
Quantitative and qualitative research
approach are often used in conjunction.
The question is not which research
approach is right or wrong, but choosing
the appropriate one.
Limitations of Qualitative research:
•Intent of focus group is to find how
consumers feel about a product, concept,
idea, organization ‘How it fits into their lives
etc.’
•Emphasis on group interviewing
–A response from one person is a stimulus for
another
–Interplay of responses yields more
information than if respondents are
contacted independently
–Direct questions are avoided
•Focus group – most popular qualitative
technique
Focus Groups:
• Origins in group therapy used by
psychiatrists.
• Consists of 8 to 12 participants who are led
by a moderator with focus on an in-depth
discussion on a particular topic
• The goal of focus is to learn and understand
what people have to say and why.
The intention is to find out how they feel
about a product, concept, etc.
• Focus groups are much more than question
and answer sessions. Group dynamics is
essential for success of focus group method
Popularity of Focus Groups:
• Becoming increasingly popular. Almost all
leading MR agencies in India have specialists to
handle focus groups. IMRB, for instance, have a
separate division called Probe Qualitative
Research (PQR)
• FMCG companies use focus groups intensively.
Consumer durable companies also use them in
deigning their products
• Industrial manufacturers use focus groups
sparingly as it is expensive and difficult to being
together a group of highly informed respondents
such as bankers.
Focus Groups – A Classification:

Bobby Calder well known scholar

classified focus groups into three
categories.
•exploratory
•clinical
•experiencing
•Exploratory focus groups are commonly
used in the initial phase of the marketing
research process to define the problem in a
accurate manner. Can also be used for
pilot testing, test wording of
questionnaire, to generate concepts for
further research and as a prelude to
quantitative research. In one focus group
discussion apart from various dimensions
of a proposed shopping all, two locations
in a metro were the city centre, was more
or less the same as the other.
• Clinical focus groups are qualitative
research in its purest form. The research
is conducted as a scientific exercise.
The moderator, who has to be a trained
psychologist attempts to understand
sub-conscious feelings.

• Clinical groups are not popular in the

absence of certified moderators and due
to constraints in validating the findings.
Experiencing Focus Groups:

This method enables a client to

observe and listen as to how a
red/customer thinks and feels about
the product.

All three categories of focus groups

can be compared on various
dimensions
 Type of focus groups
A comparison

Dimension Exploratory Experiencing Clinical

Experience a real
No Yes No
consumer
Obtaining a high level of
interaction among group Yes Yes Yes
essential
Homogenous group of
No Yes No
people
Moderator’s interview
Moderate Moderate Yes
technique crucial
Moderator’s scientific
No No Yes
credentials
Observation by company
No Yes No
representative
Verbatim quotes in the
Limited Yes Limited
report
Focus group report
Instant analysis by some firms
Advantages
- Forum for combining knowledge
moderator, client
- TOM perception of moderators
- Heightened awareness to generate new
ideas
•Disadvantages
–Biasing future analysis
–“knee jerk analysis” without reflection
– Selective recall
Conducting Focus Group Discussions:
• Preparing the focus group
–Setting
–Recruiting participants
• Selective the moderator
• A discussion guide
• Focus group report: In some situations
there is a moderator debriefing
immediately after the focus group
discussion is over. This method has both
merits and demerits.
Advantages of Focus Groups:

•Interaction among respondents can

stimulate ideas that may not come out
in interviews, whether single call or
repeated ones.
•Listening from the “horse’s mouth” as
the client gets to hear customers.
•Faster and less time consuming
compared to other methods.
Disadvantages of Focus Groups:
• A small sample can mislead.
• A feeling of “having understood all the issues”
after a focus group discussion.
• Researcher’s inclination to find simple
solutions and to avoid the complexities
involved in quantitative research.
• A tendency to stop with focus group research
without undertaking simultaneously or
following up the quantitative research.
• Selection of respondents can be a problem.
Getting high-income earners/professionals as
respondents may be difficult.
• The formal atmosphere of conference rooms
may make respondents tense that they may
not share.
• Also respondents may ‘like’ to be seen as
‘sophisticated’ and ‘well-off’.
• Participants may respond with wide of the
mark responses.
• Moderator is also a social animal with
prejudices etc. Moderator’s style, if
aggressive, may retard participants or they
may agree with the moderator.
• Participant could be introverted or dominant in
a focus group.
Other Qualitative Research Methods:

Depth Interviews:
• One-to-one relatively unstructured interview of
respondent.
• The interviewer has to be highly skilled. In some
situations, psychologists are used as interviewers.
• Interviewer can also have a checklist.
• Depth interviews are carried out, if the
respondent were to be a well-informed or a top
executive whose opinions would provide insights.
• Interviewer needs to build the depth interview
based on respondents answers to queries.
Advantages of Depth Interviews:
• No group pressure. Hence voices even unacceptable
opinions.
• Respondents feel important.
• Respondents is in a heightened state of awareness due to
rapport with the interviewer.
• New information is revealed due to considerable time
spent in interviewing.
• Probing can be done by interviewer.
• No constraints such as cultivating a group process.
• Interviewer can be aware of meta-verbal communication.
• Certain situations, where conflicting departments or
organisations are to be involved, focus group discussions
are impossible.
Disadvantages of Depth Interviews:
• Expensive. Often may involve repeat calls and visits to the
respondents’ location which may be in different cities.
• Focus group report: In some situations there is a moderator
debriefing immediately after the focus group discussion is
over. This method has both merits and demerits.
• Can be physically exhausting to an interviewer. Around
four interviews (roughly an hour each) and logistics of
reaching the client can consume a working day.
• Clients may not be willing to spend hours to observe depth
interviews.
• Respondents may not be inclined to spare time or may
depute a subordinate to respond.
• Often information may not be available with a single
division.
The advantage of group dynamics will not be there in depth
interviews.
Projective Techniques:
• Word association
• Sentence and story
completion
• Catoon tests
• Photo sorts
• Consumer drawings
• Third-person techniques
Qualitative research is not without limitations

 Marketing success in several situations depend on

measuring small differences. Quantitative research is
more successful in this aspect.

 Qualitative research often has a small sample which

may not be entirely representative of the population
under study.

 In the absence of certification, any individual without

professional training can pass off as a qualitative
research expert.
Futures of Qualitative Research
 Is quite good in India
- Emotional, subconscious content is an
important determinant of buying, usage
decisions.
- This content is not adequately captured by
formal surveys.
- The usage of qualitative research methods
in conjunction with qualitative research
methods will continue to grow
Pragmatic content analysis
- Emphasis on why something is said

Semantic Designation
- Frequency of some concept or object
being said.

Attribution
- Frequency, emphasis on adjectives,
adverbs, qualifiers etc.
Assertion
- Usage of emotional words etc.

As the relevance of understanding consumers

becomes more and more important in a
competitive market situation, the usage of
qualitative research methods in conjunction
with quantitative research methods will
continue to grow.

(Note compiled from various sources and

undated manuals of professional marketing
bodies for class discussion in IRMA). Used for
academic discussion purposes at SDMIMD