Introduction to Quantitative and Qualitative Research - Lecture 2

Question 1

Quantitative:

Answer 1

Typically surveys: telephone, online, mail, intercepts.
Compare results over time, extrapolate to larger pop, quantify results, confirm info about a population.
Best used when you want to know something about a population. Population can be large or small.

Question 2

Qualitative:

Answer 2

Interviews, dyads, focus groups, message boards, ethnography.
Understand motivators, explores feelings, presents complicated information, tests ideas or messaging

Can’t substitute one for the other, but we don’t just have to choose one.

Question 3

Surveys

Answer 3

The need to know Who? Identifying segments.
What people do? (behaviours and attitudes)
How? (are decisions made)
Sometimes Why? but better answered through qualitative.
Surveys often don’t get to the heart of the issue; we don’t get depth.

Question 4

Advantages of Surveys

Answer 4

Standardization: reduces error
Ease of admin
Large samples allow extrapolation
Suitable for statistical analysis
Sensitive to subgroup differences

Question 5

Face-to-Face Advantages & Disadvantages

Answer 5

A: Feedback and rapport
Quality control
Adaptability
D: Rarely used
Very expensive
Takes too long
Not pandemic cool
Interviewer bias and effects: you can lead people on as an interviewer and people tend to be more positive in person.

Question 6

Telephone Surveys

Answer 6

A: Fast turnaround relative to face to face.
Good quality control
Feedback and rapport
D: Takes a long time compared to online.
Hard to reach some populations
Growing cell phone only households

Question 7

Computer Assisted Telephone Surveys

Answer 7

Eliminates human interviewer error, allows interviewers to enter info directly into survey. Simultaneous data input to computer file, good quality control and can used complicated skip patterns.

Question 8

Online Surveys

Answer 8

A: Ease of creating and posting
Fast turnaround
Use of pics, vids, graphics
Real-time data capture
Interview bias is removed
Respondents control survey pace
Fuller verbatims: longer answers to an open-ended question in own words.
D: must have Internet access. 80-85% have Internet access.
Tech skills required.
No clarification with interviewers; may give false answer or quit survey

Question 9

Mail Surveys

Answer 9

A: Complete at leisure
Can reach hard to reach population
Good for reaching clients or customers
Some controls over response rate
Detailed responses
D: Not appropriate for large-scale national survey
Can be v. expensive
Take a long time
Can't use complicated skip patterns
No control over responses

Question 10

Self-Admin Surveys

Answer 10

Disadvantages: Ppl don’t send it in on time or at all, lack of monitoring, questionnaire must be perfect

Question 11

Panels

Answer 11

Participants in online research on an on-going basis.
Paid and registered and have to pre-qualify to participate.
Two types of panels - Supplier panel - a panel run by an external supplier
Corporate panel - a panel run by an internal supplier

Question 12

Panel Advantages and Disadvantages

Answer 12

Advantages: Completely extremely quickly
Cost savings
Increased flexibility
Convenience for respondents
D: Constantly need to add/replenish sample
Not randomly selected (may not be representative)
May not keep info updated
Incentives may cause false answers
Career panelists are a thing; no representativeness

Question 13

Mixed Mode (Hybrid Surveys)

Answer 13

Individual has two or more choices on how to do the same survey.
A: Multiple ways to achieve data collection goal
D: Mode affects response… are they comparable?
More complexity to manage

Question 14

Only random method of survey

Answer 14

Telephone

Panels may overrepresent those who are higher income, more educated, etc.

Question 15

Frame Error

Answer 15

Sample is not complete (using only 204)

Question 16

Population Specification Error

Answer 16

Incorrect definition of the population from which to sample. TV, not specified that it must be cable

Question 17

Selection Error

Answer 17

Improper sample selection; not using randomness to select

Question 18

Measurement Error

Answer 18

Error that results from variation between information research wants and what is actually obtained.

Question 19

Interviewer error

Answer 19

Interviewers influencing respondents, consciously or unconsciously.

Question 20

Measurement Instrument Bias

Answer 20

Problems with questions being leading or biased

Question 21

Processing error

Answer 21

Errors made by humans in analysis or data entry.

Question 22

Qualitative Research is popular because:

Answer 22

A: Often less costly
Better at understanding motivators
Improves quantitative research
25% of marketing research is done qualitative
D: Small samples means inability to detect differences between groups
Not representative of pop.
Researchers often lack formal training. They don’t have whole departments

Question 23

Focus Groups

Answer 23

Traditional (beyond one way mirror), Telephone (similar to conference call), Online.

Question 24

When to use Focus Groups

Answer 24

To generate new ideas, new products, services, messaging, to understand reasons for behaviours and attitudes, for exploratory research, when interaction and discussion between people may be important.

Question 25

Focus Group Limitations

Answer 25

Cannot extrapolate results to population.
Interpretation sometimes difficult
High cost per participant

Question 26

Interviews

Answer 26

Commonly used when conducting B2B research. Used when may be difficult to gather people together at one time. May not be appropriate to gather representatives from competing companies in one room. Stop doing interviews when you stop hearing new things.

Question 27

Ethnography

Answer 27

Primarily about recording information about people in their natural environment. Relies heavily on researchers’ power of observation. Can be direct, undisguised, structured, or human. Think cereal bar example or people sitting in people’s kitchens and observing them. Has now moved to mobile research

Question 28

Ethnography As and Ds

Answer 28

Advantages: Reduces accuracy of participant’s having to recall behaviours. You can see behaviours never reported, done in natural environment, better accuracy of behaviours
D: Can be very expensive
More expensive, may not exhibit all behaviours during recording, may exhibit unnatural behaviours over short time, may not be able to get at reasons for behaviours

Question 29

Mystery Shopping

Answer 29

Used to measure quality of service, identify areas for customer service improvement, identify areas for product improvement, enhance employee training, reward employees. Very common in restaurants. Advantages: records actual behaviours, occurs in natural environment
Disadvantages: can be very expensive, experience of shopper may dictate behaviours, requires interpretation of reasons for behaviours

Question 30

Defining Objectives

Answer 30

Make them specific as possible. Ensure they’re objectives for the research and not for the corporation. Frame as questions. think about approach being used,.