Advantages of a dynamic group is often losing to a group larger than this
-
Less than this might be used if session is highly exploratory
Pros
Cons
-
Good for getting in-depth information
-
Enables complex issues to be discussed
-
One person’s experiences or feelings
often stimulate others
-
Process highlights differences between
consumers
-
Allows for spontaneity
-
Results cannot be quantified
-
Not representative
-
Difficulty getting attendees
-
Minority viewpoints may not be heard
-
Need for skilled and experienced
moderator

Depth interviews
-
Rationale: aims at gaining insights; represent ideas, not people
-
Format: one-on-one (at place of business, consumption, etc.)
-
Duration: 30+ minutes
-
Tools: interview guide, schedule, tape interview
-
Appropriate when:
Confidential or emotionally charged or embarrassing subject matter
Strong, socially acceptable norms exist
Need to be able to understand complex or detailed behavior
Interviewing professional people
When groups are hard to schedule
Pros
Cons
-
Can uncover deep insights about
underlying motives
-
Result in a free exchange of information
and there is no social pressure to
conform
-
As a result of probing, it is possible to
get at real issues when the topic is
complex
-
Skilled interviewers are expensive and
difficult to find
-
The data obtained are difficult to
analyze and interpret
-
The length of the interview combined
with high costs limits the number of
depth interviews
Focus groups v Depth interviews

Projective techniques
-
Definition: indirect techniques that encourages respondents to project their underlying
motivations, beliefs, and attitudes regarding the issue of concern
-
Rationale: Certain issues are not amenable to direct questioning - projective techniques
provide a mechanism for uncovering “subconscious” response, e.g., car purchase
motivations
-
Format (common projective techniques)
Association Techniques – word association
Completion Techniques – sentence completion
Construction Techniques – story
Expressive techniques – third person technique
-
Tools: Visual props, scenarios, open-ended questionnaires
Pros
Cons
-
Mask the real purpose of the study
-
Good in addressing personal, sensitive
issues
-
Capturing what is going on at
subconscious level
-
Requires highly skilled interviewers
-
Skilled interpreters are also required to
analyze the responses
-
Serious risk of interpretation bias
-
Tend to be expensive
-
Engaging in unusual behavior
Quantitative (descriptive) Research
Survey: information obtained by questioning respondents
Observation: information obtained by observing behaviour or phenomena
Survey research
A structured questionnaire given to a sample of a population and designed to elicit specific
information from respondents
-
Used when research involves sampling a large number of people and asking them a
series of questions
-
Can be conducted in person, telephone, through mail questionnaire, electronically
-
Range of the topic can be investigated using surveys and questions regarding behaviour,


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- Fall '17
- Erica Brady