Ch 4: Research Design Flashcards
research design
methods that will be used to collect and analyze data
3 types of research design
exploratory, descriptive, causal
exploratory research
conducted to acquire background information, gain insights into a problem, and/or develop hypotheses
descriptive research
conducted to quantify phenomena, measure variables of interest, and/or see if an insight applies to a larger population
causal research
conducted to test hypotheses of cause and effect
focus group participant characteristics
- 8 to 12 people; homogenous
- small projects: 3-4 groups
- large projects: 9-12 groups
characteristics of a good moderator
personable, open-minded, non judgmental, excellent listener, quick learner, high energy level, experienced
online focus group advantages
- participants can be anywhere
- participants are more at ease in their own environment
- no physical facilities required
- moderator can send private messages to individual participants
online focus group disadvantages
- cannot observe body language
- easier for participants to lose interest or get distracted
- harder to let participants physically inspect products or taste food items
depth interviews
set of probing questions posed one-on-one to a respondent by a trained interviewer in order to gain insight into what they respondent thinks or why they behave a certain way
depth interview advantages
flexible, max probing/depth, relatively small scale, contextual, sensitive topics
guidelines for conducting depth interviews
- start with general questions/”grand tour”
- explore areas you noted earlier, probe for depth - “mini tour”
- record entire interview
- ask “story questions” - examples/context
- ask for examples
- ask about specific experiences
- play dumb
- be silent
- follow their lead
- don’t judge
analyzing transcripts
- view the text as a “story” with a plot and themes
- start with intratext analysis – read through twice, 2nd for themes
- move to intertext analysis – themes/patterns/differences across interviews
- software
- avoid frequencies
projective techniques
participants respond or react to an ambiguous stimulus
projective technique uses
- unconscious associations and motivations
- sensitive topics
- socially undesirable behaviors
- illegal activities
word association
react to a series of words, one at a time, saying the first word that comes to mind
response latency
time to respond may indicate strength of association (faster = stronger)
metaphor
phrase applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable
analogy
comparison between two things for purpose of explanation or clarification
how Dr Rapaille uncovers the “unconscious code”
mental connections with any word (coffee, mother, love, etc)
observational methods
phenomena of interest involving people, objects, and/or activities are systematically observed and documented
direct observation
researcher observes the behavior as it occurs
indirect observation
researcher observes the effects, results, or physical traces of a behavior
overt observation
subject is aware that they are being observed
