Is an unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples?
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Many market, research groups are experiencing tunnel vision when it experiencing tunnel vision when it comes to focus group testing. By dipping and double dipping and triple dipping into the same pool of people again and again, focus groups are really working with a fuzzy lens. Show
I started attending focus groups when I was 16 years old and I always relished the experience of not only trying out a new product, but being paid for it as well. Though it didn't take long for me to rush through the surveys, get my cash and run. Since then, I have been repeatedly called, approximately twice a month, by the various groups in the Toronto area and even more times since I turned 19. But now the novelty has worn off and I am beginning to realize the sheer inconsequence of the groups. I am not the only disenchanted frequent focus group attendee at these gatherings. It did not take long to notice that it is the same people who go every time. We all know the drill so well that we are never refused entry by the faceless telephone operators who screen candidates. I came up with this simple formula that has never failed me yet. The first thing you have to realize is that the person on the other end of the phone does not care about you, and while they may not believe everything you say, they will diligently write it down as if it were the gospel. The following is an example of the typical screening process: "Hi, this is Casey from X recruiting, would you be interested in participating in a focus group? It pays $30 for 45 minutes." The answer to this question is an assured "yes" or "sure," depending on your personal preference both will do quite fine. "First we have to see if you qualify. Have you done a focus group in the last three months?" The answer is "no." Even if you have attended one, they will never check their records and even if the same person called you the last time, it is highly unlikely they will remember, considering that they make hundreds of calls every day. "Do you or any of your immediate family members work in advertising, television, journalism or media?" Again the answer is "no" and the same aforementioned rules apply. "Which of the following have you purchased in the last week?" The answer to any question of this type is always an affirmative "yes." Never take a chance. The one negative you give could be the qualifying question. It has happened to me-on numerous occasions and they never let you take it back. "Actually I did buy a bottle of wine this week, .1 just remembered," I coyly added after being rejected. I was not even given the courtesy of a response as the dial tone rang in my ear. Do not be concerned that the phone operator will find you strange for haying purchased every item they list off. -They really couldn't care less. On many occasions they will ask you if you have any friends who would be interested in coming out. Always give them as many names as you can. It never hurts to be nice to people and who knows, maybe your friends will return the favour. One of my friends invented a fictional twin brother and requalified under the inventive alias for the same focus group just one hour later than the one he had signed up for under his own name. After finishing the first group, my friend went to the bathroom, put on a backwards Yankees cap, and went right back in. Once you get in, the rest is child's play. The focus group supervisors will explain everything they want you to do in baby speak and they may even do it twice to make sure you understand that you should write your assigned number in the top left-hand corner of the survey sheet beside the word marked "number." It's become almost a social event for my friends and I who now go in-groups and make bets as to who will get out first. We take pleasure in writing down funny answers to the stupid questions that are invariably asked, like, how an image of a certain beverage makes you feel. It's truly amazing that companies are throwing around millions of dollars in these so-called research ventures, where they inter view professional focus group attendees who couldn't care less about the product a company is hawking, even if it's one they use on a regular basis. Summary: Qualitative research is one type of exploratory market research methodology whose primary outcome is to develop an understanding, not recommend a final course of action. It important to know its strengths and weaknesses to harness its power.9 minutes to read. By author Michaela Mora on February 23, 2022  Qualitative research is one type of exploratory market research methodology based on semi-structured or unstructured data collection and a small sample of participants. The distinction between qualitative and quantitative research is similar to the difference between exploratory and conclusive research. In Exploratory research, we define our information needs somewhat loosely. The research process is flexible, and the participant samples are small and nonrepresentative. The findings are tentative, requiring further exploratory or conclusive research. On the other hand, Conclusive research is typically more formal and structured, tends to be based on large, representative samples, and is subject to quantitative analysis. This doesn’t mean that all quantitative research is conclusive. We also use many quantitative studies for exploratory purposes. Reasons for Using Qualitative ResearchAt its core, qualitative research is intended to understand underlying reasons and motivations that drive behaviors of interest (e.g., awareness, consideration, purchase, use). Under this broad goal, qualitative research is often undertaken to:
Qualitative Research Main AdvantageQualitative research is really powerful when it is impossible or undesirable to use structured forms to obtain information. This may be due to:
There are many qualitative research techniques for asking questions and observing behaviors that excel at unearthing the underlying drivers behind behavioral patterns and bringing them to the surface when people cannot articulate them in structured survey questions. Qualitative Research MethodsThe research methods used in primary qualitative research can be classified as either direct or indirect depending on whether the participants know the study’s true purpose. Direct MethodsIn these approaches, the project’s objectives are disclosed to participants, or it may be evident from the questions we ask them. These approaches include Focus Groups and In-Depth-Interviews (IDIs). Focus GroupThis is an interview with a small group of respondents (4 to 10), online or in-person, conducted by a trained moderator using a discussion guide with various levels of structure. This interviewing technique has its origin in psychotherapy and was adapted to market research since the 1940s. For many decades, this technique was synonymous with qualitative research. The primary purpose of a Focus Group is to gain insights by listening to a group of people talk about topics of interest to the research. The value of focus groups lies in the potential unexpected findings we can discover through a group discussion under the guidance of an experienced moderator. Focus groups have their place in the research toolbox. Like any other research method, they have advantages and disadvantages. As a result., they are not a good fit for every research need. For more on the advantages and disadvantages of focus groups, check the article When Using Focus Groups Makes Sense. We can conduct Focus Groups in person, via online chat, or video calls. In-Depth Interviews (IDIs)This is another interview research technique we use to obtain information in an unstructured and direct way, but unlike focus groups, we conduct them one-on-one. We can conduct IDIs in person, over the phone, via online chat, or through video calls. In-Depth Interviews, a highly skilled interviewer (preferably) ask probing questions to a single respondent to uncover underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes, and feelings on the topics of interest. This interviewing technique was also adapted from the psychotherapy toolbox by market researchers. UX research practitioners have also adopted it under new names such as “User Interviews” to understand the behaviors and needs of digital product users. Another increasingly popular label for IDIs in the UX community is “Jobs-to-Be-Done” (JTBD) interviews, which try to go deeper into understanding user needs. Moderated and Unmoderated Usability Tests using the Think-Out-Loud approach are also adaptations of In-Depth Interviews trying to elicit mental models and expectations behind user behaviors during their interactions with digital products. In-Depth Interviews can uncover a greater depth of insights than focus groups when interviewers use probing techniques to go beyond apparent answers. They also can be attributed to the individual, which can be more challenging in group discussions. The risk of group influence is also eliminated in IDIs. Indirect MethodsIndirect qualitative research techniques don’t disclose the true purpose of the research project. In this category, we find projective techniques. These are every more unstructured, indirect forms of asking questions that encourage respondents to “project” their underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes, or feelings regarding issues we are researching. These include:
These techniques are often embedded as exercises in Focus Group and IDI sessions, in-person or online. Hybrid Qualitative ResearchSince the 2010s, qualitative research has evolved significantly, thanks to technology. We can combine several qualitative methods and integrate them with quantitative approaches seamlessly in the same study to capture different types of data and perspectives. Hybrid approaches initially started with the opportunity to do a few chat-based IDIs with survey participants on the fly. They kept evolving to do large-scale AI, chat-based focus groups, with platforms like Remesh.ai. During this time of evolution, Online Bulletin Board Discussions also became popular. Online Bulletin Board DiscussionsThese are asynchronous online focus group discussions with many participants that can go for days and weeks. In this approach, depending on the platform, we can ask many types of questions (open-ended, survey questions, video questions, picture-based questions, etc.). Activities may include diaries and journaling with an ethnographic quality combined with group discussions. Questions, activities, and discussions are managed by a skilled group moderator guided by the study objectives. This methodology can be a hybrid of direct and indirect techniques depending on how we ask the questions and the included activities. Running these multiple-day discussions is a time-consuming endeavor during the project’s planning, execution, and analysis phases. They yield rich and large amounts of data even with a few participants. Online Community ResearchOnline communities have been the next evolutionary step from online bulletin board discussions. These have become a way to conduct ongoing research faster and cheaper, assuming the research volume is large enough to justify the cost. Establishing and maintaining an online research community is resource-intensive, in time and money. These communities include a group of customers who want to stay in touch with a brand and are willing to participate in their ongoing studies. Their sizes can range from a few hundred to thousands of members. While you can do it yourself, it is a lot of work. For many brands, it is better to use research suppliers that can provide the platform, recruitment services, and community management services. Community members are invited to participate in surveys, focus groups, IDIs, diary studies, etc., to provide feedback on product design, customer experience, brand perceptions, product development, etc. Research communities are great to ask follow-up questions to get more details. Their answers can be connected to their demographic profile information, providing context to those answers. Most importantly, we can see what they want to talk about. Even when there are many moderator-generated questions, most of the conversations are generated by members. At the same time, despite the ability to combine quantitative and qualitative data collection in a research community, research communities may not be as representative of the population of interest as some balanced sampling plans used for surveys outside the community. Research communities typically don’t include non-customers and mostly give voice to the loudest members of the brand’s customer base. Digital EthnographyThe growing interest in customer experience and user experience has led to a revival of ethnographic research methods. Observation has always been part of the protocol in many qualitative research studies interested in understanding why and how people buy products and services and use them in their natural environments. In-home product use and “shop-along” studies are the most common ethnography approaches used by market researchers, in which we combine observation and interviewing. In UX research, these on-site studies are known as Contextual Inquiry. However, these studies can be prohibitively expensive when done in person. Again, thanks to technology, we can now “employ” participants as self-ethnographers to conduct digital ethnography. Digital ethnography is observation research enabled by online tools rather than by in-person observation. It is a convenient way for participants to share how they interact with products and services in their natural environment. For more information on this approach, check the article Digital Ethnography. How to Use Qualitative ResearchOverall, qualitative research has grown in popularity among research users, both in market research and UX research. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of its digital modalities when all in-person research came to a halt. Regardless of the modality, the primary outcome of qualitative research is to develop an understanding, not recommend a final course of action. Why? It is difficult to project its results to a larger population affected by a particular course of action due to the unstructured nature of the data it produces and the inability to work with representative samples resulting from small sample sizes and sample recruitment methods it uses. Moreover, many qualitative research techniques are affected by two key disadvantages:
In short, it is a sound principle in market research to view qualitative and quantitative research as complementary rather than competition. In our practice, we often recommend using qualitative research in combination with quantitative research if budget and timelines allow it. At a minimum, when qualitative research is considered, quantitative research should be used to validate qualitative research results if important go/no-go decisions will have a significant impact on the business. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each approach allows researchers to select fit-for-purpose methodologies to find the answers we need to solve the business problems at hand. To learn more about the work of market researchers who specialize in qualitative research visit the Qualitative Research Consultant Association (QRCA). Is an unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples intended to?Question: An unstructured, exploratory research methodology based on small samples intended to provide insight and understanding of the problem setting is called quantitative research.
Is an unstructured exploratory research methodology based on small samples which provides insight and understanding of the problem setting?Quantitative research is an unstructured, exploratory research methodology based on small samples, which provides insight and understanding of the problem setting.
What is the methodology of exploratory research?Revised on November 7, 2022. Exploratory research is a methodology approach that investigates research questions that have not previously been studied in depth. Exploratory research is often qualitative in nature. However, a study with a large sample conducted in an exploratory manner can be quantitative as well.
Which sampling is used in exploratory research?Also known as availability sampling, convenience sampling is the most useful in exploratory research or student projects where probability sampling is too costly or difficult.
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