Hello there. We are now going to continue
this lesson on Common Qualitative Research Methods,
by discussing in greater depth, the remaining two.
After this lesson you'll be able to recall and
explain the last two commonly used qualitative research methods.
Let's dive back in.
There are a few distinct forms of qualitative research methods commonly used today.
For the purpose of this course,
we will be going deeper into the basics
behind the in-depth interview and the focus group.
So, these last two qualitative research methods will get a deeper dive.
The fourth is the in-depth interview.
This one on one guided interview is usually audio-taped.
You would choose an in-depth interview to find out more information on a given topic.
You would use it any time you need background information from those
experiencing the area of interest firsthand,
and for those seen as an expert.
When you want to discover more about a topic,
you would usually conduct an in-depth interview with
someone who can provide key insight into the area.
Select a person who lives and breathes the research topic daily,
and can speak objectively to it.
In the research world,
we call this person a key informant.
In the world of business or medicine,
this person is known as a key opinion leader or KOL.
Think of yourself as a journalist wanting to write about an ongoing investigation.
You are looking to get key background information from
the detective assigned to a beat and from any key witness.
You want to get as many details as possible before
you run that feature story in the paper.
I tend to want to do at least one in-depth interview to find out
the specifics about an area of research if I'm not familiar with it.
It is always a good idea to suggest at least a few interviews and as many as 20
or more of key informants for a project,
but this all depends on the client,
your budget, and your time limit.
I have done projects which have involved only high level key opinion leader interviews.
These usually happen with people who would not usually share their backgrounds or
ideas in a focus group due to competitive intelligence and the privacy of the company.
Someone who has a high success rate of getting these difficult to get
key opinion leaders can prove to be a valuable market researcher.
I have gained a solid reputation for my skills in this area.
So, if you're pursuing market research professionally,
it pays to hone in on your skills of finesse and soft persuasion.
Another key part of the in-depth interview process is the recruiting call themselves.
How do you get past that guard dog at the front desk or the person's secretary?
If I have to leave a voicemail,
should I sound friendly,
casual, businesslike or formal?
The key for me is to leave a message where I sound upbeat and not like a salesperson.
I always convey that
that specific person's input would make an important impact on the project.
Usually, you will need to account for
a timeframe that is a few weeks in advance of the actual interview,
since most key opinion leaders will normally have a busy schedule.
During the time between recruiting and doing the actual interview,
you'll have time to go back and forth with the client on
the questionnaire you will use to elicit the specific information needed.
The fifth and final qualitative method is the focus group.
This is a mainstay in qualitative research and a hugely important skill.
A focus group is a discussion amongst a homogeneous group of people led by a moderator.
You would choose a focus group when you need to test out
a particular concept or service on a group of people who either already
use the product or are the type of people who would
use the product as either stand-alone or with a quantitative survey.
Usually, the respondents have some demographic or quality in common.
For instance, with the a business course scenario,
we may want to find a variety of international students who attend UC Davis,
who are 20 to 30 years old.
That might be a good enough criteria,
but you also might want to add a particular income bracket to refine that further.
Focus groups can be done either before or after a quantitative survey.
They can set the stage for the quantitative study,
by helping to develop the most pertinent questions for the survey.
You could also conduct a focus group after the quantitative survey,
to refine what you have found in the survey and delve deep
into the type of advertising that will appropriately target your market.
To best equip you to progress in this profession,
I will go into some detail on this topic here and devote an entire module on it later.
My goal is to get you to swim with the sharks,
so you will be an in-demand focus group researcher who can initiate,
propose, write expert moderator guides,
recruit, moderate and provide analysis.
First, what is a focus group?
It is a 60 to 90 minute small discussion group meeting usually with 8-10 respondents.
The group is homogeneous in nature.
Respondents may vary from everyday people to experts in
specialized professions such as cardiologists.
The purpose of the group is to brainstorm ideas about a proposed topic,
and a moderator guides the discussion.
The focus group is usually held in a focus group facility,
that has a one way mirror where your client can view the group or in
a hotel conference room where your client might be in an adjoining room.
Like an in-depth or key informal interview,
the focus group has an introduction to the topic,
explanation about confidentiality, and
the rules of the focus group and group introductions.
You should structure the moderator guide with questions and backup probes.
The order may change depending on how people answer the questions.
The goal of the moderator is to get at least a few people to comment on each question.
Your aim is to let the discussion flow naturally with one person feeding off another,
yet stating his or her opinions.
Now you know five common qualitative research methods,
but we also want you to be able to apply these
appropriately to our course business case scenario.
That concludes this lesson on Common Qualitative Research Methods.
After this lesson, you should be able to,
recall five commonly used qualitative research methods,
explain when to choose and use them,
and select qualitative research methods
appropriate to the business question for a business case scenario.
Susan BermanPresident, Impact Research
