Page 23 - DMGT506_CONSUMER_BEHAVIOUR

Consumer Behaviour

Notes 2.2.3 Design Primary Research

The selection of a research design depends on the purposes of the study. If a marketer needs
descriptive information, then a quantitative research study is called for, but if the purpose is to
generate new ideas, then a qualitative study is appropriate.
Since the approach to research design for qualitative and quantitative research differs in terms
of data collection method, sample design and use of data collection instrument, both research
approaches are discussed here.

Qualitative Research Design

The researcher first takes into consideration the purpose of the research study and the kind of
data needed. Data collection techniques for qualitative studies include focus group, depth
interviews and projective techniques. All these techniques relate to psychoanalytic and clinical
aspects of psychology. The emphasis is on open-ended and free-response types of questions so
that the respondents reveal their unconscious thoughts and beliefs. These techniques are frequently
used in early stages of attitude research to learn product-related beliefs or attributes and the
resulting attitudes.

Four popular methods of data collection include Depth Interviews, Focus Group and Projective
Techniques.
Depth Interviews: Depth interview is the heart and soul of motivational research and designed
to determine deep seated or repressed motives. A depth interview is lengthy, unstructured and
informal, and is between a respondent and a trained researcher. It generally lasts anywhere
between 30 minutes to an hour. After establishing the general subject to be discussed, the
researcher keeps her/his own participation to the minimum possible level. The questions are
general and respondents are encouraged to talk freely about their activities, interests, needs,
desires, motives, emotions and attitudes, in addition to the product or brand under study.
Questioning is sometimes indirect such as, "why do you think your friends smoke Gold Flake
cigarettes?" This method attempts to bypass the respondent's inhibitions about revealing inner
feelings. Such studies furnish valuable ideas about product design, insights for product
positioning or repositioning and advertisement testing.
A new technique for probing consumers' behaviour, called autodriving, involves exposing
respondents to photographs, videos and audio-recordings of their own behaviour. This approach
provides them with the opportunity of having a deeper look at self and commenting on their
consumption related behaviour. This technique is believed to help in making the qualitative
data more meaningful.
Interview results are interpreted by trained professionals and are subjective in nature rather
than quantitative and for this reason there is increased possibility of bias. Another source of
error is the small size of samples which may not be representative of the entire population.

Focus Groups: Focus group is a popular technique for exploratory research and brings together
about eight to ten people with similar backgrounds to meet with a moderator/analyst for a
group discussion. The discussion is "focused" on a product, service or any other subject for which
the research is conducted. The moderator/analyst guides the discussion encouraging the
participants to freely discuss their interests, attitudes, reactions' motives, lifestyles, feelings
about the product and usage experience etc. These sessions generally last for two hours and are
videotaped.

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