Why is Teachers the largest selling scotch in India, despite not having the legacy and lineage of Johnny Walker?
What could be the next big idea that my brand can capitalize today?

 

These are couple of typical questions that qualitative research can answer for you. Originally used in social and behavioral sciences like sociology, anthropology and psychology, qualitative methods are being extensively used in market research today and are designed to reveal a range of attitudes and perceptions that drive the behavior.

 

At AZ Research Partners we have expertise to handle all types of qualitative data collection techniques like

  Focus Group Discussion

  Triads

  Diads / paired interviews

  Depth interviews

  Delphi Method

 

However, we believe not all questions can be answered by conducting ‘X’ no. of focus group discussions or ‘Y’ no. of depth interviews. Qualitative research is all about consumer interaction - the information needs and the Target Audience determines the manner in which the interaction would happen in the most effective manner. Therefore, depending on the kind of information required, we at AZ Research Partners use different techniques and methods of collecting information. It could be spending few hours with the customer to silently observing a group of friends to understand drivers for their  behaviour. Some such techniques which we find very effective in scenarios when traditional techniques fall short are:-

 

 

AZR has a strong team of experienced, multi-lingual moderators who are well versed in various qualitative methodologies and dealing with varied range of consumer segments. Our researchers are involved in the project from conceptualization to execution stage and therefore stand a better chance at understanding the brand needs. Our moderators are skilled at asking questions in a way which connects with the target audience.

 

Ethnography - Key characteristic of ethnography sessions are the involvement of the researcher as a silent and unobtrusive observer in the life of Target Audience. The ethnographer typically is part of the scene and observes the participants in their routine life. This could be appended with an interview as well which could be either short or long in duration. With their deep cultural understanding, our Ethnographers bring a contextual and cultural understanding to analysis which makes observations more insightful than a casual observation. This methodology works best when the need is to understand all aspects of the life and routine of the Target Audience. We at AZ Research Partners have a very eclectic group of ethnographers representing the various parts of our diverse country.

 

SILO (Slice In Life Of) method - In this method, the researcher spends time with the customers and observes and makes note of their behaviour during their day-to-day activities. Typically, the researcher spends 4-6 hours with the respondent when they are likely to indulge in specific activity we are interested in. For instance, if  the client wishes to understand how a particular housewife cooks on a daily basis to assess what are the frustrations in the process and hence what could be latent need-gaps, then SILO methodology could be employed during cooking hours.

 

 

Creative workshops - Typically a workshop lasts for 5 – 6 hours and includes various exploratory, projective and semiotic decoding techniques. Extensive stimuli could be used to facilitate articulation in creative workshops. These workshops are used for idea generation ,creative laddering or evaluating creative ideas for brands. These require more involved and creative respondents who are selected using creative filters.

 

Chit-Chat Sessions – The researcher would become part of discussion among a group of friends – hosted at one of their regular destinations or at one of their houses. The setting would be more casual and in environs which they are comfortable in and therefore tends to be closer to ‘real-life’ scenarios.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

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Qualitative Research Works!

 

    Dynamic nature of interview – Healthy, constructive
      discussion

 

    Opportunity to probe in-depth & not stop at
      rationalizations!

 

    Opportunity to analyze non-verbal cues!

 

 

   Qualitative Research @ AZR

 

    Large base of multi-lingual, experienced moderators

 

    Researchers involved at every stage of the project
      starting from conceptualization to execution

 

    Minimal use of external freelance resources

 

    Skilled to interact with the TA in their own ‘language"

 

 

Conflict Groups – Basic premise of such a setting is to bring in people with conflicting views to a forum where they will ‘argue’ or ‘try to convince’ the other party as to why their view point is right. In such sessions, one can capture the stretch limits of both positive and negative feedbacks . Such sessions are very insightful, especially while evaluating ‘on the edge’ communication campaigns.

 

Post having selected the format for data collection as the methodology, the next critical aspect is to use the most appropriate tools and techniques in the bag. AZ Research Partners has a team of well experienced moderators who have expertise in various projective, laddering and semiotic decoding techniques. .

Laddering Techniques: Due to Inherent understanding of the brand needs and objectives of the study, our researchers are better equipped to probe deeper into the Attribute-consequence-value chain. This technique helps understand the way consumers look at things and the reasons thereof.

 

Projective Techniques: AZ Research Partners uses varied projective techniques to delve deeper into target audiences’ behavioural psyche and subconscious attitudes. Few examples of projective techniques used by us are mood boards, mapping/ranking, bubble diagrams, brand personality (person, party, office, etc.), brand world, word association, collage exercises etc. Another form of projective technique used is the Role play & simulation techniques – these techniques are used to understand the underlying, values and perceptions that customers attach to a brand. Our skilled moderators have expertise in using these techniques to get beneath the skin of customers and bring out the subconscious thoughts.

 

Semiotic decoding techniques: Post having collected data, we also do semiotic decoding of data to assess the underlying cultural conditioning of respondents and hence interpreting their responses in that context. For any project that requires semiotic understanding, we develop instruments which aim at collecting data for semiotic evaluation. This is particularly important when assessing equity of entrenched brands, assessing feedback to brand identity elements etc.

 

Why AZ Research Partners for Qualitative research needs

AZ Research Partners has a strong team of experienced, multi-lingual moderators who are well versed in various qualitative methodologies and dealing with varied range of consumer segments. Our researchers are involved in the project from conceptualization to execution stage and therefore are optimally placed in understanding and implementing the brand needs. Our moderators are skilled at asking questions in a way which connects with the target audience.

 

IInsights which one gains by interacting with the customer cannot be gained by merely going through a transcript or an audio tape. Therefore, we at AZ Research Partners ensure that our researchers are involved through each stage of project handling from conceptualization to execution. Having a large in-house moderator base helps us minimize usage of freelancers.

Is it really possible for someone to open up to a complete stranger? Well, in real life too we see people opening up to complete strangers without inhibitions of being ‘judged’ or ‘type casted’ – its all a function of the ‘person’, ‘the place’, ‘the situation’. Therefore, at AZ Research Partners we choose our moderators and settings carefully to suit the Target Audience  requirements. The language of the discussion guide is also set to suit the Target Audience nuances. The ‘language’ in which one would talk to a modern young working women would be different from the ‘language’ in which one would discuss with a traditional housewife - our moderators are skilled at asking questions in a way which connects with the target audience

 

Contact us for all your research and consultancy needs at – contact@azresearch.in

 

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