Week five Flashcards
Qualitative research methods
1
Q
What is qualitative research?
A
- OBSERVING people’s behaviour.
- INTERACTING with people, asking them to reflect upon and express their views in their own terms.
- INTERPRETING their beliefs and bahaviour.
2
Q
What’s the rationale for qualitative research?
A
- Researcher’s preferences.
- User’s preferences.
- Sensitive info. Eg. privacy etc.
- Taps into respondents subconscious.
- Complex phenomena.
- Holistic dimension. Eg. to gain a comprehensive picture.
- Developing new theory.
- Data that is not characterised by numbers.
- Focuses on stories, interpretations.
3
Q
What is ethnography?
A
- A research approach based on observation of the customs, habit and differences between people in every day situations. Eg. Living amongst the people.
4
Q
What are some of the ethnographic methods in retail context?
A
Everything that impacts the customer experience:
- lighting
- smells
- signage
- displays
- location
- size and orientation of shelving
5
Q
What is the delphi technique?
A
- Developing a view of the future
- use of a group of disparate experts
- a series of interactions… starting with a broad question(s)
- Experts offer views - moderator summaries
- Experts offer views - moderator refines
- Consensus. Eg. The future impacts of mobile technologies, the future of coach travel, the future of newspapers.
6
Q
What is a focus group?
A
- A trained moderator leads an interactive discussion on the research problem with a small group of respondents.
7
Q
What does the moderator hope to get out of a focus group?
A
- unexpected findings
- free-flowing group discussion
8
Q
What important skills should a moderator of a focus group have?
A
- communication
- interpersonal
- probing
- observing
- interpretative
9
Q
Disadvantages of focus groups?
A
- some people aren’t truthful
- one person may take over the conversation and not allow others to contribute
- participants may feel uncomfortable answering some questions.
- expensive.
- over reliance on focus groups.
- misuse
- misjudge. Eg. difficulty in interpreting.
- messy. Eg. Coding and analysis is cumbersome.
- Misrepresentation Eg. group is not generalisable.
10
Q
What are some variations in focus groups?
A
- Two-way focus groups. Eg. Drs observing patients through a mirrored window.
- Dual-moderator group.
- Duelling-moderator group.
- Respondent moderator group.
- Client participant group.
- Mini groups.
- Conference call group.
- On-line focus group.
11
Q
Advantages of focus groups?
A
- synergy
- snowballing
- stimulation
- security
- spontaneity
- serendipity
- specialisation
- scientific scrutiny
- structure
- speed
12
Q
What are in-depth personal interviews?
A
- a conversation
- personal interview
- single respondent is probed
- unstructured
- discussion of confidential or sensitive topics
- respondents can be anyone. Eg. customers, experts, non-customers, etc.
13
Q
Advantages of in-depth interviews?
A
- uncover greater depth of insights
- large amount of detailed data cab be obtained from the participant.
- attribute the responses directly to the participant
- free exchange of info.
14
Q
Disadvantages of in-depth interviews?
A
- skilled interviewers required.
- lack of generalisability and reliability
- reduced accuracy due to potential biases from respondent bias or interviewer errors.
- data is difficult to analyse and interpret.
15
Q
What are convergent interviews?
A
- at least 2 interviewers working independently but concurrently
- initiated using broad open questions
- interviewers then compare data, seeking convergence
- convergence achieved by discarding low-priority data mentioned only once
- data mentioned more than once becomes topic of future interviews
- process continues until no new data emerges.
