How to Conduct Qualitative Market Research!!

Qualitative Research, Understanding the minds of society towards a products or service. As many researchers stated different methods to understand the consumer/market plus, there is no standalone format for best results.. 

In this process, much considerations needs to be notified – Like, Perceptions of individuals, Social learning and changes, Role of influences (Emotional, Motivational, etc,.), Functional aspects, etc,.

Check some interesting aspects about conducting a "Qualitative Research".

Qualitative Market Research: Understand What Methodology will be Used 

Conducting qualitative research is about asking the right people the right questions in the right format, says Hannah Baker Hitzhusen, vice president of qualitative research at CMI, a market research firm in Atlanta. What qual researchers do is very much on the front end, it is discovery or exploratory work. "For a qual study, we generally do a discussion guide to make sure we cover certain topics or issues," says Hitzhusen. Qual is generally used for small sample groups, because, "you want to spend a lot of time with the participants, maybe 90 to 120 minutes. Quant usually uses a larger sample size of people and a smaller amount of time, 15 to 30 minutes (for someone to fill out a questionnaire)," she explains.

Typically Qualitative researchers don't use experimental methods such as field trials or test markets, Stake maintains. "Not many use really highly-developed psychometric (e.g., personality or psychological tests) or econometric (e.g., economic statistics) indicators." Qualitative researchers generally rely on methodologies rooted in ethnography (e.g. field or participant observation) and phenomenology (e.g., understanding life experiences using written or recorded narratives). Market researchers partner with professional recruiters to identify and screen qualifying customers or consumers who in turn receive an honorarium for their participation in the study.

Qualitative research is usually contrasted against Quantitative research. Quantitative asks closed-ended questions that can be answered finitely by either "yes" or "no," true or false or multiple choice with an option for "other." It is used to collect numerical data, employing such techniques as surveys. Whereas, Qualitative asks open-ended questions that are phrased in such a way that invite people to tell their stories in their own words. Methods used to collect data include field observations, personal interviews and group discussions.

The job of a Qualitative researcher is to design and deliver data that drives best results.

Source: Inc.com, zpryme