3 Techniques of Exploratory Research Design - Qualitative Research

Techniques of Exploratory Research
Design: Qualitative Research
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Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Child Behavior Study towards a New Toy
5-2
Urban Green Landscape and Health Behavior
5-3
SI’s Fading Jeans and Market Share
As of now, SI’s is a leading global apparel company, with sales in more

than 110 countries. It has been a long standing company with over 150
years of being in the clothing industry. While one may think this long
history can only results in good things. SI’s heritage has its worst enemy.
Philip Marinau, the President and Chief Operating officer for SI’S Strauss
Co., had to work hard to revamp Strauss antique image and make the
brand appealing to younger generation in order to boost its declining sales.
In the last five years, Philip saw worldwide sales drop 40 per cent, losing
market share to competitors like the Gap and trendier ones such as Calvin
Klein, Tommy Highflier and Diesel. Another problem to Philip came from
store brand jeans such as JC Penny’s Arizona brand jeans or the Gaps
in-house brand which have changed their image and launched an assault
on big brand name like Strauss Co. These store brand jeans along with
other store label jeans, now target the teenage market with cutting edge
advertising. The industry experts claims that brand has lost about 50 per
cent of the younger consumer market worldwide during last couple of
years.
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The marketing research decision
If you are Philip, what type of research would you

want to conduct to develop appropriate strategy for
sales recovery?
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Qualitative Vs. Quantitative Research
Qualitative Research Quantitative Research
Objective To gain a qualitative To quantify the data and

understanding of the generalize the results from
underlying reasons and the sample to the population
motivations of interest
Sample Small number of Large number of

non-representative cases representative cases
Data Collection Unstructured Structured
Data Analysis Non-statistical Statistical
Outcome Develop an initial Recommend a final course of

understanding action
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A Classification of Qualitative Research
Procedures
Qualitative Research
Procedures
Direct (Non- Indirect

disguised) (Disguised)
Projective
Depth Interviews Techniques
Focus Groups
Association Completion Construction Expressive

Techniques Techniques Techniques Techniques
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Characteristics of Focus Groups
Group Size 8-12
Group Composition Homogeneous respondents,

prescreened
Physical Setting Relaxed, informal atmosphere
Time Duration 30 min. 1.30 hrs
Recording Use of audiocassettes and

videotapes
Moderator Observational, interpersonal, and

communication skills of the moderator
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Procedure for Planning and Conducting
Focus Groups
Determine the Objectives and Define the Problem
Specify the Objectives of Qualitative Research
State the Objectives/Questions to be Answered by Focus Groups
Write a Screening Questionnaire
Develop a Moderator’s Outline
Conduct the Focus Group Interviews
Review Tapes and Analyze the Data
Summarize the Findings and Plan Follow-Up Research or Action

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Variations in Focus Groups
• Two-way focus group. This allows one target

group to listen to and learn from a related group.
For example, a focus group of physicians viewed
a focus group of arthritis patients discussing the
treatment they desired.
• Dual-moderator group. A focus group

conducted by two moderators: One moderator is
responsible for the smooth flow of the session,
and the other ensures that specific issues are
discussed.
• Dueling-moderator group. There are two

moderators, but they deliberately take opposite
positions on the issues to be discussed.
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Variations in Focus Groups
• Respondent-moderator group. The

moderator asks selected participants to play the
role of moderator temporarily to improve group
dynamics.
• Client-participant groups. Client personnel
are identified and made part of the discussion
group.
• Mini groups. These groups consist of a
moderator and only 4 or 5 respondents.
• Telesession groups. Focus group sessions by
phone using the conference call technique.
• Online focus groups. Focus groups conducted
online over the Internet.
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Disadvantages of Focus Groups
1. Misuse
2. Misjudge
3. Moderation
4. Messy
5. Misrepresentation
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Online Versus Traditional Focus Groups
Characteristic Online Focus Groups Traditional Focus Groups
Group size 4-6 8-12
Group composition Anywhere in the world Drawn from the local area
Time duration 1-1.5 hours1-3 hours
Physical setting Researcher has little control Under the control of the researcher
Respondent identity Difficult to verify Can be easily verified
Respondent attentiveness Respondents can engage in other tasks Attentiveness can be monitored
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Respondent recruiting Easier. Can be recruited online, e-mail, Recruited by traditional means
panel, or by traditional means (telephone, mail, mail panel)
Group dynamics Limited Synergistic, snowballing (bandwagon) effect
Openness of respondents Respondents are more candid Respondents are candid, except for
due to lack of face-to-face contact sensitive topics
Nonverbal communication Body language cannot be observed. Body language and emotions
Emotions expressed by using symbols observed
Use of physical stimuli Limited to those that can be displayed A variety of stimuli (products,
on the Internet advertising demonstrations, etc.) can be used
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Transcripts Available immediately Time consuming and expensive to obtain
Observers’ communication Observers can communicate with the Observers can manually send notes
with moderator the moderator on a split-screen to the focus group room
Unique moderator skills Typing, computer usage, familiarity Observational

with chat room slang
Turnaround time Can be set up and completed Takes many days for setup and in a few days
completion
Client travel costs None Can be expensive
Client Involvement Limited High
Basic focus group costs Much less expensive More expensive: facility rental, food,
taping, transcript preparation
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Advantages of Online Focus Groups
• Geographical constraints are removed and time

constraints are lessened.
• Unique opportunity to re-contact group
participants at a later date.
• Can recruit people not interested in traditional
focus groups: doctors, lawyers, etc.
• Moderators can carry on side conversations with
individual respondents.
• There is no travel, videotaping, or facilities to
arrange so the cost is much lower.
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Disadvantages of Online Focus Groups
• Only people that have access to the Internet can

participate.
• Verifying that a respondent is a member of a
target group is difficult.
• There is lack of general control over the
respondent's environment.
• Only audio and visual stimuli can be tested.
Products can not be touched (e.g., clothing) or
smelled (e.g., perfumes).
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Interviewing
Interviews as a
Data Collection Tool
Interviews are employed by people in everyday life, but as a scientific tool

of social research, or better as a method of data collection, interviewing is
different with regard to its preparation, construction, and execution in that it
is prepared and executed in a systematic way.
Interviews basically consist of asking questions, listening to individuals and
recording their responses.
Interviews allow participants to provide rich, contextual descriptions of
events. Interviews are a systematic way of talking and listening to
respondents and are another way to collect data from individuals through
conversations.
Kvale (1996) regarded interviews as “an interchange of views between two
or more people on a topic of mutual interest, sees the centrality of human
interaction for knowledge production”
Why Interview?
• There is a need to attain highly personalized data.
• There are opportunities required for probing.
• A good return rate is important (speed).
• When respondents are not fluent in the native language of the
country, or where they have difficulties with written language.
• Immediacy
Types & Styles of Interviews
◼ Interviewing as a research method typically involves you,

as researcher, asking questions and, hopefully, receiving
answers from the people you are interviewing. It is very
widely used in social research and there are many
different types.
◼ A commonly used typology distinguishes among
structured, semistructured and unstructured interviews.
The different types can link to some extent to the 'depth' of
response sought (Robson 2002, 269).
Interview Types
◼ Fully structured interview: Has predetermined
questions with fixed wording, usually in a pre-set order.
◼ Semi-structured interview: Has predetermined
questions, but the order can be modified based upon the
interviewer's perception of what seems most appropriate.
Question wording can be changed and explanations
given; particular questions which seem inappropriate with
a particular interviewee can be omitted, or additional ones
included.
◼ Unstructured interviews: The interviewer has a general
area of interest and concern, but lets the conversation
develop within this area. It can be completely informal.
Interviewing Tips
Your task as interviewer is to try to get interviewees to talk freely
and openly. Your own behavior has a major influence on their
willingness to do this. To this end you should:
Listen more than you speak Most interviewers talk too much. The
interview is not a platform for the interviewer's personal experiences and
opinions.
Put questions in a straightforward, clear and non-threatening way
If people are confused or defensive, you will not get the information you
seek.
Eliminate cues which lead interviewees to respond in a particular way.
Many interviewees will seek to please the interviewer by giving 'correct'
responses
Enjoy it (or at least look as though you do) Don't give the message
that you are bored or scared. Vary your voice and facial expression.
It is also essential that you take a full record of the interview. This
can be from notes made at the time and/or from a recording of the
interview.
Projective Techniques
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Definition of Projective Techniques
• An unstructured, indirect form of questioning

that encourages respondents to project their
underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes or
feelings regarding the issues of concern.
• In projective techniques, respondents are
asked to interpret the behavior of others.
• In interpreting the behavior of others,
respondents indirectly project their own
motivations, beliefs, attitudes, or feelings
into the situation.
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MINI CASE
An Exploration into consumer’s

(un)ethical judgement at marketplace
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Consumer Behaviour Dimensions
Do not return and keep excess money given by shopkeeper
Inflated and false insurance claim
Hiding major fault in online selling
Eating inside crowded shop without getting noticed
Misrepresentation of age to get discount
Misrepresentation of child’s age to get discount
Sharing wrong information with shopkeeper to get better price deal
Exaggeration of quality to get better price deal for a garage sale

item
Deliberate return of an item with invalid reasons
Return of used clothes and claim for refund
Deliberate buying an item with Incorrectly marked price
Repeated visits to get limited quantity items
Providing untruthful information in research survey
Return of a good half consumed citing invalid quality reasons
Avoiding paying parking fee
Visiting a store to get free trial gifts and giving wrong personal
information
Rank 1= most acceptable and Rank 16= most unacceptable
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Word Association
In word association, respondents are presented with a list of

words, one at a time, and asked to respond to each with the
first word that comes to mind. The words of interest, called
test words, are interspersed throughout the list which also
contains some neutral, or filler words to disguise the purpose
of the study. Responses are analyzed by calculating:
(1) the frequency with which any word is given as a response;
(2) the amount of time that elapses before a response is

given; and
(3) the number of respondents who do not respond at all to

a test word within a reasonable period of time.
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Word Association
EXAMPLE
STIMULUS MRS. SHARMA MRS. VERMA
washday everyday ironing
fresh and sweet clean
pure air soiled
scrub don't; husband does clean
filth this neighborhood dirt
bubbles bath soap and
water
family squabbles children
towels dirty wash
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Completion Techniques
In sentence completion, respondents are given incomplete

sentences and asked to complete them. Generally, they are
asked to use the first word or phrase that comes to mind.
A person who shops at Big Bazaar is

______________________
A person who receives a gift hamper from Big Bazaar would be

__________________________________
Big Bazaar is most liked by _________________________
When I think of shopping in a department store, I ________
A variation of sentence completion is paragraph completion, in

which the respondent completes a paragraph beginning with
the stimulus phrase.
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Completion Techniques
In story completion, respondents are

given part of a story – enough to direct
attention to a particular topic but not to hint
at the ending. They are required to give the
conclusion in their own words.
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Construction Techniques
With a picture response, the respondents are

asked to describe a series of pictures of
ordinary as well as unusual events. The
respondent's interpretation of the pictures
gives indications of that individual's
personality.
In cartoon tests, cartoon characters are

shown in a specific situation related to the
problem. The respondents are asked to
indicate what one cartoon character might say
in response to the comments of another
character. Cartoon tests are simpler to
administer and analyze than picture response
techniques.
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Expressive Techniques
In expressive techniques, respondents are presented with

a verbal or visual situation and asked to relate the feelings
and attitudes of other people to the situation.
Role playing. Respondents are asked to play the role or

assume the behavior of someone else.
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A Cartoon Test
Let’s see if we
can pick up some
house wares from
this mall
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Advantages of Projective Techniques
• They may elicit responses that subjects would be

unwilling or unable to give if they knew the
purpose of the study.
• Helpful when the issues to be addressed are

personal, sensitive, or subject to strong social
norms.
• Helpful when underlying motivations, beliefs,

and attitudes are operating at a subconscious
level.
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Disadvantages of Projective Techniques
• Suffer from many of the disadvantages of

unstructured direct techniques, but to a greater
extent.
• Require highly-trained interviewers.
• Skilled interpreters are also required to analyze
the responses.
• There is a serious risk of interpretation bias.
• They tend to be expensive.
• May require respondents to engage in unusual
behavior.
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Guidelines for Using Projective Techniques
• Projective techniques should be used

because the required information cannot be
accurately obtained by direct methods.
• Projective techniques should be used for
exploratory research to gain initial insights
and understanding.
• Given their complexity, projective techniques
should not be used naively.
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Comparison of Focus Groups, Depth
Interviews, and Projective Techniques
Criteria Focus Depth Projective

Groups Interviews Techniques
1. Degree of Structure Relatively high Relatively medium Relatively low
2. Probing of individual Low High Medium
respondents
3. Moderator bias Relatively medium Relatively high Low to high
4. Interpretation bias Relatively low Relatively medium Relatively high
5. Uncovering Low Medium to high High
subconscious
information
6. Discovering innovative
High Medium Low
information
7. Obtaining sensitive
Low Medium High
information
8. Involve unusual behavior No To a limited Yes
or questioning
extent
9. Overall usefulness Highly useful Useful Somewhat
useful
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Brand Image Study
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Objective: To understand the perception towards ‘G’
in Parle and ‘Total’ in Colgate logo
Respondents: Children below 12 years of age to
encourage them to express them freely
Sample Size: 50
How would you design this study?
You are free to make suitable assumptions.
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Mini Research –Class Activity
A very old and established business house

wants to foray into mobile handset market.
The group approaches you and ask you to help
them understand the perceptual map in terms
of attribute/features and price which people
hold about major smart phone brands in
India. The brand is more interested to carry
out a preliminary study which may provide a
foundation to more formal conclusive
research.
How would you do it?
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Techniques of Exploratory Research

Design: Qualitative Research

As of now, SI’s is a leading global apparel company, with sales in more

If you are Philip, what type of research would you

Qualitative Research Quantitative Research

Objective To gain a qualitative To quantify the data and

Sample Small number of Large number of

Data Collection Unstructured Structured

Data Analysis Non-statistical Statistical

Outcome Develop an initial Recommend a final course of

Direct (Non- Indirect

Association Completion Construction Expressive

Group Size 8-12

Group Composition Homogeneous respondents,

Physical Setting Relaxed, informal atmosphere

Time Duration 30 min. 1.30 hrs

Recording Use of audiocassettes and

Moderator Observational, interpersonal, and

Determine the Objectives and Define the Problem

Specify the Objectives of Qualitative Research

State the Objectives/Questions to be Answered by Focus Groups

Write a Screening Questionnaire

Develop a Moderator’s Outline

Conduct the Focus Group Interviews

Review Tapes and Analyze the Data

Summarize the Findings and Plan Follow-Up Research or Action

• Two-way focus group. This allows one target

• Dual-moderator group. A focus group

• Dueling-moderator group. There are two

• Respondent-moderator group. The

Characteristic Online Focus Groups Traditional Focus Groups

Group size 4-6 8-12

Time duration 1-1.5 hours1-3 hours

Respondent identity Difficult to verify Can be easily verified

Group dynamics Limited Synergistic, snowballing (bandwagon) effect

Transcripts Available immediately Time consuming and expensive to obtain

Unique moderator skills Typing, computer usage, familiarity Observational

Client travel costs None Can be expensive

Client Involvement Limited High

• Geographical constraints are removed and time

• Only people that have access to the Internet can

Interviews are employed by people in everyday life, but as a scientific tool

◼ Interviewing as a research method typically involves you,

• An unstructured, indirect form of questioning

An Exploration into consumer’s

Exaggeration of quality to get better price deal for a garage sale

In word association, respondents are presented with a list of

(1) the frequency with which any word is given as a response;

(2) the amount of time that elapses before a response is

(3) the number of respondents who do not respond at all to

In sentence completion, respondents are given incomplete

A person who shops at Big Bazaar is

A person who receives a gift hamper from Big Bazaar would be

Big Bazaar is most liked by _________________________

When I think of shopping in a department store, I ________

A variation of sentence completion is paragraph completion, in

In story completion, respondents are

With a picture response, the respondents are

In cartoon tests, cartoon characters are

In expressive techniques, respondents are presented with