Qualitative Research Methods
[Description] [Pros]
[Cons] [Common Uses] [Resources]
Description
Qualitative methods provide results that are usually rich and detailed,
offering many ideas and concepts to inform your program. Qualitative
methods can tell you how people feel and what they think, but cannot
tell you how many of your audience feel or think that way.
To conduct
qualitative research:
- Select
a small group of people with key characteristics in common
- Convene
a discussion through focus groups or in-depth interviews or observe
individuals’ behaviors through in-home interviews, observations
in schools, malls, supermarkets, etc.
- Keep the
discussion somewhat unstructured so participants are free to make
any response and don’t
have to choose from a list
of possible
responses
- Use a
discussion/interview guide to make sure you ask the right questions
for your research purpose, but ask questions
based
on participants’ responses, rather than in a predetermined
order.
Qualitative research results are considered thought of as themes;
they should not be reported as percentages, subjected to statistical
analysis or projected to a broader population. That’s because the participants
do not make up a randomly selected representative sample, the samples
are relatively small, and not all participants are asked precisely
the same questions. Even if you conduct a lot of qualitative research,
you won’t get findings that enable you to say that most members of
your target audience understand or feel or experience the same things.
For that, you need quantitative research.
The most
common tools used in qualitative market research are focus groups
and individual in-depth interviews. In addition, many innovative
methodologies may be appropriate for helping you learn more about
your audience. Some examples:
- Friendship
pairs, in which best friends (commonly teens) are recruited
to discuss sensitive subjects
- Observations
of behaviors and interaction in the target audience’s natural environment.
Pros
- Explore
topics in more depth and detail than quantitative research
- Often
qualitative research is less expensive than quantitative research,
because you don’t need to recruit as many participants
or use extensive methods
- Offers
flexibility as far as locations and timing, as you don’t need to
interview a large number of people
at once.
Cons
- Cannot
quantify how many of your audience answer one way or another
- Cannot
generalize your findings to your broader audience or the public
in general.
Common Uses
Use qualitative
research methods when:
- Your
research goal is to explore a topic or an idea
- You
want to gain insight into a target audience’s lifestyle,
culture, motivations, behaviors, and preferences
- You
want to understand the reasons behind the results from quantitative
research
- You
want to get input from key informants or others outside the target
audience.
Resources
To compare
qualitative and quantitative methods, see the Qualitative/Quantitative
Comparison Chart.
Scroll to your method of interest in the Tools for Research.
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