Qualitative Research

&
Quantitative Research

An Introduction
 Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is an interdisciplinary,
transdisciplinary, and sometimes counterdisciplinary
field. It crosses the humanities and the social and
physical sciences. Qualitative research is many things
at the same time. It is multiparadigmatic in focus. Its
practitioners are sensitive to the value of the
multimethod approach. They are committed to the
naturalistic perspective, and to the interpretative
understanding of human experience. At the same
time, the field is inherently political and shaped by
multiple ethical and political positions.
Nelson et als (1992, p4)
 Qualitative Research
Qualitative Researchinvolves finding out
what people think, and how they feel - or at
any rate, what they say they think and how
they say they feel. This kind of information is
subjective. It involves feelings and
impressions, rather than numbers
Bellenger, Bernhardt and Goldstucker,
Qualitative Research in Marketing, American
Marketing Association
 Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is multimethod in focus,
involving an interpretative, naturalistic
approach to its subject matter.
Qualitative Researchers study things (people
and their thoughts) in their natural settings,
attempting to make sense of, or interpret,
phenomena in terms of the meanings people
bring to them.
 Qualitative Research
Qualitative research involves the studied use and
collection of a variety of empirical materials -
case study, personal experience, introspective,
life story, interview, observational, historical,
interactional, and visual texts-that describe
routine and problematic moments and meanings
in individuals lives.
Deploy a wide range of interconnected methods,
hoping always to get a better fix on the subject
matter at hand.
 Positivist Paradigm

Emphasises that human reason is supreme

and that there is a single objective truth that
can be discovered by science
Encourages us to stress the function of
objects, celebrate technology and to regard
the world as a rational, ordered place with a
clearly defined past, present and future
 Non-Positivist Paradigm

Questions the assumptions of the positivist

paradigm
Argues that our society places too much
emphasis on science and technology
Argues that this ordered, rational view of
consumers denies the complexity of the social
and cultural world we live in
Stresses the importance of symbolic,
subjective experience
Qualitative v.'s Quantitative
 Popularity of Qualitative Research
Usually much cheaper than quantitative
research
No better way than qualitative research to
understand in-depth the motivations and
feelings of consumers
Qualitative research can improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of quantitative
research
Limitations of Qualitative Research
Marketing successes and failures are based on
small differences in the marketing mix.
Qualitative research doesnt distinguish these
differences as well as quantitative research can.
Not representative of the population that is of
interest to the researcher
The multitude of individuals who, without formal
training, profess to be experts in the field
Qualitative Research as a Process
 Theoretical Approach
Deductive
Deductive Theoretical Approach

Seek to use existing theory to shape the approach

which you adopt to the qualitative research process and to
aspects of data analysis
Analytical Procedures
Pattern Matching
Involves predicting a pattern of outcomes based on
theoretical propositions to explain what you expect to find
Explanation Building
Involves attempting to build an explanation while
collecting and analysing the data, rather than testing a
predicted explanation as in pattern matching
 Inductive Approach
Inductive Theoretical Approach
Seek to build up a theory which is adequately grounded in a number of
relevant cases. Referred to as Interpretative and Grounded Theory
Art of Interpretation
Field Text: Consists of field notes and documents from the field
Research Text: Notes and interpretations based on the filed text
Working interpretative document: Writers initial attempt to make sense
out of what he has learned
Public Text: The final tale of the Field
Qualitative Data Collection Techniques
 Analysis Qualitative Data:
An Approach
Categorisation
Unitising data
Recognising relationships and developing the
categories you are using to facilitate this
Developing and testing hypotheses to reach
conclusion
 Interactive Nature of the Qualitative
Process
Data collection, data analysis and the development and
verification of relationships and conclusion are all
interrelated and interactive set of processes
Allows researcher to recognise important themes,
patterns and relationships as you collect data
Allows you to re-categorise existing data to see
whether themes and patterns and relationships exist in
the data already collected
Allows you to adjust your future data collection
approach to see whether they exist in other cases
Tools for helping the Analytical Process

Summaries
Should contain the key points that emerge from
undertaking the specific activity
Self Memos
Allow you to make a record of the ideas which occur
to you about any aspect of your research,as you think
of them
Researcher Diary