Qualitative Interviewing in Market Research + MORE by RI Qualitatif

Qualitative Interviewing in Market

Research and more!

Europe March 2003/JG

2

Agenda

A brief history of qualitative research

Interview formats and settings

Cultural differences in respondents

Strengths and limitations of qual. as a data collection method

What are we seeking to learn from moderating

Establishing a good interviewing relationship

Group dynamics

Stages of a group

Other patterns in interviewing

Good moderators are born, not made

Respondents’ experiences

Problems of poor moderating

The use and effects of viewing facilities

Interviewing and questioning skills

Barriers of respondents and how to overcome them

3

“You are educating yourself, going to different places,

finding out all sort of interesting things

and getting paid for it!”

A brief history of qualitative

research

5

Brief history of qualitative research

“Motivation(al)” research was born 1930s

Groups were being conducted, though depths dominated

- to help surveys/study social issues 1920s

Commercial research was mainly quant. But post war

over-production call for more consumer understanding

6

Brief history of qualitative research

First paper on using social stereotypes in advertising

strategy 1953

Research interviewing framework devised which

overcame concerns about qualitative being too

leading but there are still issues with this in the US

1950s

Social scientists, psychologists and cultural anthropologists

were working for advertising agencies

Ernest Dichter set up Institute for Motivational

Research in 1946 with a branch in Switzerland in 1947 1940s

7

So what went wrong in the US?

Tendency for all motivational researchers to

oversell themselves

Overclaiming of the power of the techniques

Dichter used his own hypotheses with little evidence

Backlash and scepticism from qualitative researchers,

suspicions from clients

“They are attempting to prove that sales are controlled by

the libido or that people buy merchandise because subconsciously

they hate their fathers!”

“The depth manipulators which try to invade the privacy or our minds”

Vance Packard 1957

8

And what went right in Europe?

Growth of qual was slower so it evolved

rather than hit by storm

Researchers were psychologists rather than

psychoanalysts more credible

Bill Schlackman came to the UK - provided an unofficial training ground for some well known researchers

And there must have been other “Schlackmans” elsewhere

9

The evolution

Changes in client requirements

esp. the agency planner

The qual-quant debate

“Phenomenological” approach to research 1960s

1980s

10

And now?

More intuition, symbolism, cultural analysis, values

But we have retained the “psychological legacy” without the

Freudian concepts

We don’t call it motivational research any more

11

And now?

Client requirements are changing yet again

RI has got to keep up

This is where Fifteen20 and all our innovation practice

is so crucial to our continued success

New sources of information

New methodologies and ways of doing the research

including “learning journeys”

Consumer insight managers

Planning managers

Rather than

research managers

12

EXERCISE: BREAK OUT GROUPS

Discuss how qualitative research has evolved and developed

in Europe

What is its current status and how has it been influenced by the

US model or any other

Interview formats and settings

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There are no limits! Focus groups

Group discussions

extended groups

Creativity groups

Weekend groups

Reconvened groups

Peer groups

Mini groups

Workshops

Brainstorming

Individual depths

Paired depths (dyad)

Triads

Conflict pairs

Partners

Families

etc.

In facilities

In home

In hall

In shops

On line

At work

On the bus

At the zoo

In a theatre

In pubs and clubs

In public lavatories

etc. Consumers/non consumers

Users/non/lapsed users

Experts/key informants

Employees

Diaries

Bring visuals

Change behaviour

Take photographs

Interview friends

Observations

Be creative!

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Groups v. individual interviewing

• GROUPS • stimulating

• homogenous people

• social norms + individual

perspectives

Safety in numbers

A positive experience

Entertaining

Supportive

Influence of social norms

Group members adopt roles

Interactions run out of control

BUT

• INDIVIDUAL • when groups are impractical

• when detail is important

• discretion/secrecy

No group dynamics to deal with

One to one rapport

Focus on one person/no escape

Can be mismatch of personality and style

More stressful/rigid and less open

BUT

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So why bias towards groups?

Favoured data collection method Europe (expect

Netherlands)

lower cost per respondent for the client

moderators’ ability to avoid negative effect of groups and

collect individual information

dynamic, involving and entertaining

clients have “unit price awareness” for groups

can make quick baseline comparison

Apart from being more interested and appropriate these days,

creative sampling and different approaches can militate against clients

being able to make these price comparisons because not comparing

like with like

17

And groups offer:

Cost efficiency when a range of opinions is sought

Allow people to bring to the surface hidden feelings

and attitudes in a safe environment

18

DISCUSSION

What interviewing formats are used most often in your markets and is this ideal?

Who largely influences the interviewing used

- proposals writers?

- client?

What formats are not being used very much and how could we usefully introduce

them into our markets

Cultural difference in

respondents

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Cultural difference in interpersonal

relations

There are big difference in how people inter-relate with

each other across and within cultures

Although some surprising parts of the world are part of

homogeneous groups in this respect

People do vary within cultures, of course, so the next

couple of charts are huge generalisations (and the

tongue is a bit in the cheek!)

but the broad differences do apply and need to be

considered in designing research for different markets

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Cultural differences: national “personalities”

Better at rankings, ratings, more specific tasks

More reserved/more formal cultures

More developed

markets/more

brand literate

More direct/

straightforward Less developed

markets/less

brand literate

More excitable/open/willing to please/verbal

Better at creative, philosophical projectives

Japan Maoris

Pacific Region Germany/Finland/Austria/

Sweden/Canada/South Korea

Norway

UK/Denmark/Australia

NZ/USA

Southern Europe

France

Latam Middle East

Africa

Czech

Russia/Poland/Hungary

India

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Cultural “families” (some interesting groupings)

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The US versus the rest “Journalism” v. “newsreading”

Connotative

More the rest

Smaller groups (4-8)

Deal with feelings

Stimuli for “show and tell”:

foils for exploration/insight

Unstructured questioning

- can change as you go

Information gathering

Uncover new issues

The moderator makes sense of it all

Presentation the norm

Strong recommendations often required

Cognitive

More US

Larger groups (8-12)

Deal with external information

Stimuli to be reacted to

More structured questioning

More focus on special issues

Confirm or expand on known issues

Analysis and interpretation ongoing

Often by the clients

Lots of summary reports (or none)

Very few presentations

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DISCUSSION

Are your markets more connotative or cognitive in the

approach to qualitative research

Why is that?

Is this ideal?

Strengths and limitations of

qualitative as a data collection

method

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Strengths

We understand experiences

and reconstruct events

Experience their world

and gain insights

about them

In society people are

communicated to all the time

Being a participant helps

respondents gain insights

about themselves

People tell their

own story

Trust builds up

People are willing

to share

Their own priorities

and frames

of reference

It’s natural

like a conversation

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Strengths

We are free to explore outside the guide

We can build on knowledge, ideas and hypotheses

from outside these interview occasions

indeed we must for TMK

We become experts in people, product areas, brands

etc. over time

We can understand attitudes and behaviours within

their context in fieldwork and observations in situ

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Limitations Self perceptions

influence what

people say

Reality seen through

observation may

be different

Habitual behaviour

outside consciousness

People con themselves

and really believe

something which is not true We can deal with this but

people often want to be

seen in a particular way

The group and the moderator

do affect responses

Negative self belief

prejudices, hostility

anxiety

People have blind spots

about themselves

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Overall

Our role is to explore people’s motivations, desires,

needs and this had to be done by dealing with the

private, intuitive, symbolic world of the consumer

This is not accessible to consciousness and has to be

explored via qualitative methods

But we have to accept that things are visibly evolving to

meet the challenges of the information age

We have to be aware of the limitations of qualitative

moderating as well as its strengths

and take action to militate against the limitations by

subsidiary work such as observation as well

What are we seeking to learn

from moderating?

31

Some UK qualitative researchers’

views

‘Exploring their views, finding out in detail what they think

about things they have never thought about before.’

‘Looking at their emotions, its more about going down into the feelings,

the irrational part.’

‘We help them uncover their own reasons and motivations

for doing things.’

‘Its about insights, learning things that are not obvious.

Qual goes deeper into what influences them.’

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Model and theories

It is not necessary to be a psychologist or familiar with

theories to be an excellent interviewer

However, it is useful to be familiar with jargon and have

understanding of the industry thinking

some may wish to associate with a particular theoretical

perspective

but most know there is no one unique truth about human

nature and like to cherry-pick the theory which has most

salience and explanatory power for different

circumstances

One model I do like came from Lannon and Cooper in

1983

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Model and theories

Conscious

factors

Private feelings

and language

Intuitive

Associations

Unconscious

factors

Accessible to structured

questionnaires

Needs a sympathetic

interview structure

Non-verbal, play. The

inner world of consumers,

brands and advertising

Projective interviewing

(and observation,

deduction). Spontaneous,

uncensored reactions

Researching symbolic attitudes to advertising: basic model

Humanistic Advertising by Lannon and Cooper 1983

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Psychoanalysis and psychodynamics

Where is all started with Dichter and his

contemporaries

motivational research set up the expectation that

qualitative was to give insights into factors below the

surface which influence human behaviour

That still applies today

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Psychoanalysis and psychodynamics

Some of the fathers of psychoanalysis and early qualitative research

Freud Jung Adler Rogers

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Freud (1856-1939)

He came from a tradition of psychopathologists

seeking to understand dysfunction/mental illness

Publishing since 1890 but came into force in the 1920s

Popularised the concept of the unconscious

before that thinking was more rigid: that people have

more or less immutable characteristics which can be

moulded by learning and experience

this thinking did not allow for dreams, passion, neuroses,

depression

37

Jung (1875-1961)

Worked with Freud but his interest in anthropology,

mythology and the occult led him to develop

independently a theory of personal development

His theories include the personal and collective

unconscious, the “complex”, the importance of symbols

(semiotics), personality types and so on

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Adler (1870-1937)

He saw future hope and ambitions, parental

relationships and the social environment as important

factors in healthy personal development

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Carl Rogers (1902-1987)

An influential American psychotherapist who developed

a new approach to his work based on non directive and

person centred questioning.

He researched counselling and therapy and concluded

that the therapist

should provide conditions under which patients could use

their inner resources for change

rather than the therapist’s role being to diagnose and

prescribe solutions

In that respect Rogers probably provided the best

bridge between psychotherapy and modern day

qualitative research

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There have been attempts to discredit Freud

“You don’t think of Freud as relevant any more, all this business about seeing

everything as a sexual symbol - that is about the level of teenage boys

nowadays.!” (UK researcher)

but his concepts and those of other analysts are ingrained in the

development of qualitative market research, whether we are aware of it or not

Psychoanalysis and psychodynamics

Some of the fathers of psychoanalysis

Freud Jung Adler Rogers

But there are many more and their thinking has all helped us in where

we are today with qualitative moderating and analysis

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The unconscious

Suppressed and repressed, emotionally-charged

memories and ideas

expressed in any way they can: physical symptoms,

artwork, dreams, spontaneous behaviour

Freud’s “talking cure” beings them to the surface

We use projective techniques to do the same thing

42

The structure if the psyche

Freudian concept of division of the self

Id

unconscious

instincts and

drives

Drives to

ensure

physiological

needs are met

Ego

the conscious

self

The problem

solver/mediator

between desires

and reality

The “shoulds”

and “oughts”:

the ideal ego

Super Ego

the moral and

social

conscience

43

Maslow’s hierarchy of need

BASIC NEEDS (physiological: food, water,

shelter, medical care)

SAFETY/SECURITY NEEDS (human rights,

freedom from fear)

BELONGINESS, LOVE NEEDS

(acceptance, caring, sense of community)

ESTEEM NEEDS

(self esteem, esteem from others)

SELF ACTUALISATION NEEDS

(realisation of true potential)

Id

Ego

Super

Ego

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The relevance of the psyche in moderating

Listen and be aware of which element of the psyche is

to the forefront in the discussion: to take a dieting

example

So how are you framing your questions?

From which part of their psyche are consumers responding?

And remember it is topic specific

Forbidden foods/

indulgent snacks Id

Battles for control

of eating patterns Ego

They need to lose

weight to fit social

morés/to be healthy

Super

Ego

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Social psychology in interviewing

We are also influenced by how other people see and

respond to us and this is a dynamic to watch out for in

interviewing

Humans are members of social groups - not just peer

groups, but changing groups depending on the

environment and the topic

To whom are we talking on this specific occasion

Consider the “me” of respondents on each occasion

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Social psychology in interviewing

peer co-worker

subordinate

child

student

moralist

teacher

parent

wife

boss sibling

expert

music

appreciator

teenager

gourmet

Volvo

driver

golfer

ME

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And the cultural context

Cultural factors surround us and are taken for granted

in order to facilitate our way

and they vary by market

they vary by social group

they can be very subtle

Who do consumers see themselves as and what value

groups do they belong to

how does that fit with what they are saying about the

brand, communications or product

We should never short change the research by not spending enough

time understanding the group and where it is coming from

Establishing a good interviewing

relationship

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Empathy

Empathy is entering the private perceptual world of the

client (i.e. respondent) and becoming thoroughly at

home. Temporarily living the other’s life, moving about

in it delicately, without making judgements.” (A Way of

Being - Carl Rogers)

Being willing to enter the frame of reference of other

people

not necessarily agreeing with them or pretending to

but being open to them and non judgmental

Empathy is a process/ a way of being and not a

technique

if you don’t have it perhaps qual is not for you

50

Reflective listening

Showing understanding and acceptance of the

thoughts which have been expressed

Being slightly outside understanding the respondent

leaves you able to interpret, rephrase and check back

with the respondent

shows you are listening

Get this wrong and you can come over as judgmental and

patronising

51

Genuineness

Being genuine in an authentic way

We all have a personal façade (or more than one)

we learn from this in childhood to please people and

conform with society

Drop the professional from when necessary

you can ask “help I’m stuck” or “I don’t know how to as

you this”

Be yourself - in every way

52

Unconditional positive regard

The ability to accept others

To set aside the judgmental mistake of identifying

people with their behaviours (claimed or during the

interviewing)

This is a hard one for qualitative researchers when respondents

are precisely identified and categorised by their behaviour!

53

Congruence

In effect “to thine own self to be true”

Transparency to dissolve illusions of power

Not pretending to accept something you personally

dislike but, at the same time, not being judgmental

It would in incongruent to notice unacceptable

behaviour but pretend it is not happening

e.g. homophobic or sexist language or continual side

conversations or drunkenness

In an ideal group respondents would deal with issues such as

these for you

If you have to do it yourself it can take courage!

54

Directive v. non directive interviewing

Directive

Content Process

Non Directive

Chaos and the

objectives

won’t be met

Leading the witness

Not getting at “truth”

X psychotherapy

Group Dynamics

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What are group dynamics?

A group of 2 or more individuals who influence each

other through social interaction = GD

The larger the group the more formalised its structure

needs to be

larger groups waste time and effort spent on activities not

related to the task

allow “loafers” as effort per respondent decreases as

group size increases but non task-related effort for the

interview increases

As we have more complex groups and material these days

and guides are fuller and more detailed, we have less time

to spend managing the process

consider smaller groups for this reason: e.g. 6 rather than 8

57

Benefits of group dynamics

Socio-biography suggests

natural selection of

group dwellers:

environmentally protected Groups satisfy

social needs

Problem solving

works better

in groups

Group membership

is rewarding

Group discussion

allows us to re-evaluate

our personal

beliefs

Group membership

satisfies basic

psychological needs

Stages of a group

59

Stages of a group

FORMING

STORMING

NORMING

PERFORMING

MOURNING/ADJOURNING

60

Forming

Insecurity as respondents don’t know each other (!) or

the tasks to come

Looking to the moderator to lead the way

The warm up is crucial to setting the tone for the rest of

the discussion

Respondents need guidance at the outset

how to behave to each other

no right or wrong answers

(May occur before entering the discussion room

though this varies by culture and lifestage)

61

Storming

Actually storming can happen anytime

Distribution of power and control

• Who will be leader

• how much will I take

control

• who will talk the most

• will they all co-operate

• who will they try to dominate

• who will opt out

• who will rebel, play up

Dominant

respondents

Irrelevant chatter

Frozen polite

responses

Chaotic all

talking at once

62

Norming

Group unconsciously figuring out how to work in harmony

• More frustrating

• has found ways of sharing and co-operating

But the moderator still has to keep control

Respondents will expect rules to be restated where necessary

Challenging or explicitly stating rules may be uncomfortable but

it will keep the group functioning

63

Perfoming

Task-oriented, co-operative, constructive activity

(ideal time for projective work)

WATCH OUT FOR

regression into an earlier storming stage due to:

• late member arriving

• someone leaving the room etc.

64

Mourning or adjourning

Allow time for group to register the ending

• recap their experience in the group

• ask - if they have any final remarks

- if they have any left something

important unsaid

If respondents aren’t given warning of the end and

time to round up you may have problems getting

them to go home

65

Overall

Use a sense of group energy as a guide to the stage a

group is in

does the group feel safe

are they sharing

are things not being said

You can increase or decrease the group energy by

body language

stand up, sit down, move around, stay still

‘You can walk in and tell the mood of a room with your eyes closed,

you can tell my feeling that energy; there is an aura, if you will.

I’ve had to learn a long time ago when to turn on energy-perform- and when

to pull back energy, and to turn it off when you are done.

Because when you leave a group you are on a high.’

(Moderator interview, UK)

Other patterns in interviewing

67

Power in groups

Power is the capacity to influence others, even when

they resist!

Ultimately the moderator must retain tacit power (or

there will be chaos) but not “lead” the group

However, the level and nature of moderator power

needs consideration and careful handling: e.g.

Too much power, e.g.

with children who are

used to the classroom

- need to reduce perceived

power

Too little power, e.g.

young female moderator

doing business interview

- need to balance back to

more equality

But power does not mean leading the group nor not being part of it

It’s lovely if a respondent takes over moderating, but only if they

are sticking to the areas we want to cover!

68

DISCUSSION

How can you ensure that power is balanced

in qualitative interviewing?

69

Tactics to get right balance of power

for the moderator

Physical position as well as verbal cues

sit on floor with kids

sit at equal height to businessman

Discussion, negotiation, requests work better than

coercive or aggressive shows of power

this can lead to rejection, evasion, dislike

more likely to get a fairer balance of power between

respondents as well

Remember: extreme non-directive interviewing places too much

responsibility on the group

An ambiguous role for the moderator is like to mean we do

not meet our research objectives or cover all the issues

70

Tactics to get right balance of power

between respondents

Clients sometimes think a respondent is leading

but all groups develop temporary leaders

some people need to get things off their chest

group dynamic shows the individual is speaking for all

some respondents like to think and then come in with

something really pertinent

Power, leadership, energy, status can change hands

regularly in a group

can’t make early judgements of how respondents will be

once they settle

71

Tactics to get the right balance of power

between respondents

- maintain volume of speech

if they interrupt

- redirect comments back to

the group for agreement/

disagreement

- thank them but tell them it

is a group discussion

- pre-empt them

- use of name

- talk less yourself

- ask open-ended questions

- spend time on what does

interest them

- reward the things they say

Dominant respondents

- seeking status/control

- speaking without hesitation

- tell others what to do

- confirm others’ statements

Submissive respondents

72

Tactics to get the right balance of

power between respondents

- impartial moderating

- use of sub groups to

discuss specific issues

- use of sub groups to

discuss specific issues

- support “unyielding deviants”

- introduce “evidence” from

“other groups”

Several studies suggest women use conformity to introduce harmony to a

group whereas men may use nonconformity to create an impression

of independence

Conformity effect

- not lying but….

- conformists

- seeking balance

“Groupthink”

- majority dominate

- minority don’t agree

- but feel they must conform

Good moderators are born, not

made but training does help…………...

74

‘…Much more is vested in the skill and expertise

of the individual researcher than is the case in

other more structured forms research…’

(MRS R&D sub- Committee, 1979, p113)

75

DISCUSSION

What sort of moderators would you choose for what sort of research?

76

The right moderator

The quality of the moderator is hard to define

the key is choosing the right moderator for a project and

establishing a good working relationship

The Market Research Society R & D sub- Committee

likened this to falling in love

“You’ll recognise that feeling, and the more

satisfied depth of understanding is there.”

77

The role of experience and training

Becoming a good qualitative research is like learning to

drive

you need to acquire the core skills

you need to learn the rules and regulations

but if you lack awareness and are not co-ordinated you’ll

never be good at it

QRCA (US) offers 25 reasons to use a professional

moderator with the objective of showing this is not

something easy for amateurs:

78

The 25 reasons

There are no plain vanilla

groups

Pros do more than moderate

Pros create a safe climate

Pros interpret

Pro’s skills are up to date

Pros are better trained

Pros understand the process

Pros are experienced

Pros ask ‘dumb questions’

Pros get to real meaning

Pros get around defensive

behaviour

Pros effectively handle talkers

and non talkers

Pros are trained to be

objective

Pros can sort of psychological

issues

Pros know how to probe

Pros are sensitive to atypical

groups

Pros notice anomalies

Pros regulate pace and

direction

Pros take advantage of

diversity

Pros can handle sensitive

topics

Pros can unearth the big idea

Pros can stand up to the client

Pros adhere to ethnical

standards

Pros consistently excel

79

Qualitative researchers must be multi-faceted

“They must have intellectual ability yet show common sense and be

down to earth! They must show imagination, yet be logical. While

an eye for detail is essential they must have conceptual ability.

They must become involved yet remain detached. They must show

‘instant’ empathy, yet project themselves neutrally. They must be

able to identify the articulate but also good listeners.” (MRS R & D

sub-Committee)

“Knowing what you are feeling, and being able to handle those

feelings without having them swamp you…Being able to motivate

yourself to get jobs done, be creative and perform at your

peak…Sensing what others are feeling and handling relationships

effectively.” (Goldman, D. 1996)

80

Personal skill and qualities: The emotional quotient

Self awareness

Self regulation

Motivating oneself

Empathy

Handling relationships

How well do we listen

David Goldman 2000

81

The interviewer effect There is potential for interviewer bias

Background

characteristics

Education

Accent

Religion

Race etc.

Psychological

factors

Expectations

Attitudes

Motives etc

Behavioural

factors

Ways of asking

Time spent

Energy

Interest etc

Even skilled Interviewers convey more than they perhaps wish, by body language,

by non-verbal cues. The problems this can create - respondent resentment,

distrust, posturing - are greater than those created by Interviewers’ misuse of

verbal communication.

(Gordon and Robson 1982)

82

DISCUSSION

How can we avoid the interviewer effect?

83

Strategies to manage bias….

Setting up the

interview as a

learning experience

for the

moderator

Develop own

style and be

natural

Doing more

listening

than speaking

Suspend all

judgement

Being genuinely

self aware Learn to respect

all respondents

Non verbal

behaviour

to vary power

84

But, even so, we need to be chameleons

The Experienced

Veteran

The Devil’s

Advocate

Friend/Peer

Independent

Reporter

The

Counsellor

The

Fisherman

The

Taskmaster

The Naïve one

The

Joker

Respondents’ experiences

86

The recruiter is vital

overcoming suspicion

being persuasive

Potentially easier in markets like the UK

face to face recruitment in interviewer’s areas

they nearly always turn up because they might meet the

recruiter again

Makes pre group tasks easier to organise too

But there can be cheating however respondents are

recruited

by the recruiters

by the respondents: they know what to expect and they

get paid!

The group/interview experience

87

DISCUSSION

How are respondents recruited in your market and how ideal is this?

What are the pros and cons of your recruitment method compared

with the UK’s?

What would be the ideal recruitment method to avoid cheating

88

The group/interview experience

Various studies have been conducted into the

experience

Michael Olszewski (ex RIUK) compared experiences in

Poland and the UK a few years back

at the time CEE respondents were more “biddable” and

there were very few experienced groupies: the process was

slightly more “official” for them and they were highly likely to

turn up

the UK findings seem to replicate findings carried out by

Gordon and Robson (1982), McCraken (1988), Cordwell

and Gabbott (1999)

89

The group/interview experience

Irritation with other respondents

Often not expressed at the time

Irritation with moderators not in

control “You (the market researchers) should have nipped it in

the bud before one person took over. You should have

brought everyone else forward, because that is what you

are being paid for, everyone’s opinion, not just for one.’

(in Cordwell and Gabbott, 1999)

Irritation with moderators seeming

irritated or impatient

Don’t like to be patronised and pick

up on moderators who draw wrong

conclusions about what is being said

Then general enjoyment

Sharing Views

New ways of thinking

Learning experience

etc.

Initial anxiety

What is the real

reason for it

How to behave

How will others

behave BUT

90

The group/interview experience

Working alone

No-one to hide behind

Personality clashes

The perfect conversational partner

Listens to me

I am the centre of attention

Interviews can be more or less stressful than a group

And the moderator is more exposed so needs to be even more

careful about establishing the relationship than in groups

91

DISCUSSION

What can we do to manage anxieties?

Are there any requirements - professional or legal - to help

manage anxieties?

What is your practice in managing anxieties?

92

Strategies to manage anxieties

A really solid introduction

as frank and as open as possible

Codes of conduct and increasingly the law in many

countries are based on two main concepts

As much transparency with respondents as possible

Absolute adherence to respondent confidentiality

93

What we should tell respondents

What the research

is going to be

about: some

outline of

objectives

What they are

going to be asked

to do and they

are free to leave

if they wish

If possible

who the

research is for

Usual

reassurances

no right or wrong

answers etc

It makes sense to tell them as much as you can

94

What we have to tell respondents

Respondents are told that they are being/will be viewed/recorded before f/w

some exceptions where they can be told at the end (except D)

in some markets written permission is obtained (D, UK)

Suspect that some companies do not tell respondents if the viewers are

clients unless directly asked

ESOMAR does not demand the respondents are told they are clients

MRS code is a little woolly: first names, part of overall team, from a

company involved in the research; can I tell you at the end; but ideally

“a client”

Researchers must tell clients of the rules of observation and demand

adherence

Clients who recognise respondents should be asked to leave unless the

respondents agree e.g. in B2B with small databases

Number who can view limited by room size and confidentiality issues

e.g salesmen at customer groups/bosses at employee groups

We know of instances in some markets where these

rules are flouted

Problems of poor moderating:

what to look out for and avoid

96

Yelland and Varty - 1997

Non directive interviewing

Neutral, detached moderators

Poorly applied projectives

Rushing through stimulus materials

Poorly worded questions

Ambiguous language and use of marketing-speak

Everything just too rushed

The use and effects of viewing

facilities

98

Viewing facilities

Are the norm in cities almost everywhere except the

UK

Are here to stay

clients getting closer to consumers

quality control over moderators and recruitment

just how the infrastructure has developed

Although we have the “backlash” of the concept of

ethnographies taking the interviewing back into the

home

However, we need to be conscious of the negative effect of the facility

and steps we can take to limit these

99

Things to watch for

M

Group Room: Moderator and Respondents Viewing Room: Clients

Feel you are being judged

Put on a “theatre” for clients and respondents may aid and abet that

Out of normal

environment;

may not behave

normally

Facing the

clients all

the time is

distracting

Goldfish bowl

Do not feel the

energy

If don’t hear

what they want

may not like

the group

Don’t listen

properly

Send in notes

Get drunk

etc.

Boardroom layput in most markets is not helpful, esp. with lots of stimuli

But facilities are here to stay so we need to develop strategies to lessen the effect

100

DISCUSSION

What strategies can we develop to mitigate the facility effect?

101

Strategies to cope

Careful briefing of clients of what the moderator

requires in their behaviour

demand they keep notes ‘til the end

no interruptions: your responsibility is firstly to your

respondents

Careful introduction of the observers to the

respondents

Suggest running at least some groups

unobserved as a control

Move around if you can

have clip chart facing the mirror so respondents

have to face you and not the client

do at least some moderation facing the mirror

keep energy levels up and focus on you and the

other respondents

102

Moderate the client group as well

second researcher in with the clients

or after the group yourself

Esp. moderate “instant debriefs”

the client may not have been listening properly

Strategies to cope

Listening and questioning skills:

How to overcome barriers

104

it is not a passive process: have to choose to listen actively

- in order to hear what we need to hear

BARRIERS TO LISTENING

comparing mind reading rehearsing

filtering judging dreaming

identifying advising sparring

being right derailing placating

THE MOST SIMPLE LISTENING SKILL IS SILENCE

Listening skills

105

OPEN

who, what, why, when, where, how ?????

- open questions should be an invitation to keep talking

“Could you tell me what you think of…”

“What happened then”

“How did you feel about the situation”

“Why do you think it happened”

FEEL is an excellent open probe

Questioning skills

106

CLOSED

are, is, do, did

Too easy to get an abbreviated response

“Are you interested in XYZ?”

“No.”

- closed questions can come across as interrogation

- they can be leading and put words into respondents’ mouths

- can be answered with only a few words

- can probe when the respondent is not ready to answer

- poorly timed questions can interrupt and hinder the thought

process

Questioning skills

107

“Tell me more about..”

“Can you elaborate….”

“I wonder what…”

“And?”

PROMPTS

I WANT TO BE RICH

“What will you see around you when you are rich”

“What will you hear”

“What will you touch/feel/smell”

“How will you know when you are rich”

IMAGINATION - APPEALING TO THE SENSES

Questioning skills

108

DELETION I was always told BY WHOM

LACK OF REFERENCE They’re always in my way WHAT IS/WHEN

UNSPECIFIC VERB He always frustrates me WHO, HOW

NON SPECIFICS

Questioning skills

109

PARAPHRASING

- is NOT parroting, it’s maximising understanding

Are you’re saying … ?

In other words ?

It sounds as if ?

What I’m hearing is ?

The picture I’m getting is ?

REFLECTING = EMPATHY

- is NOT parroting, it’s maximising understanding

That ad gets on my wick

You sound annoyed and irritated

Yes because……….

Questioning skills

110

SUMMARISING

- prompts for further themes

- closes a theme

- helps respondents find direction

- helps free a respondent who is stuck etc. etc.

META-COMMENT

- dealing with potentially destructive dynamics

by bringing them out into the open

I notice you seem wound up about something

You seem bored

That was a long silence, I wonder what is going

on here

Questioning skills

Barriers of respondents and how

to overcome them

112

The influence of the cultural context

Domains of influence on consumer actions

Public/ External

Individual Collective

Social

Social/Family pressures and

expectations

Compromise and conformity

Identity and distinctiveness

Cultural

Myths, folklore, and language

Collective wisdom

Accepted practices

Rules and obligations

Values, symbols, and icons

Personal

Individual experience

Feelings and emotions

Private associations

Intuitive images

Unconscious connections

Rational

Internalised knowledge, facts

Shared beliefs and perceptions

(Social) justification and rationalisation

Perceived advertising and marketing claims

Private/Internal

113

Methods to penetrate the domains

Public

Individual

Bubble pictures

Collages

Role play

Social

Conversation

Discussion

Word association

Collages

Cultural

Psychodrawing

Free association

Analogies and metaphors

Projective pictures

Personal

Probing and elaboration

Bubble picture

Rational

Private

Projectives to fit the contexts

Collective

114

Conscious

factors , public

and spoken

Unconscious

factors

Private and

repressed

Intuitive

Associations

Potentially public

but unspoken

- No

vocabulary

- Right brain

Private feelings

Private but

suppressed

– Don’t like to

admit

– Hard to

verbalise

Will say Won’t say

Aware

Not

aware

The Johari window

115

A further adaptation of the Johari window

JOHARI WINDOW PANE

TASK OF PROJECTIVES

TECHNIQUES

Conscious More descriptive, lateral & imaginative

“I’m not creative.”

Private Give permission to reveal, acceptance

“I’m bad, you won’t like me.”

Intuitive Translate “impressions” into words

“It’s not that important.”

Unconscious Glimpse the symbolic, tonal & atmospheric

“I don’t believe in it.”

116

How this affects the projectives we would try

JOHARI WINDOW

PANE

TASK OF

PROJECTIVES TECHNIQUES

Conscious TOP OF MIND More descriptive, lateral

& imaginative

Association, Analogies, Personification, Imagination,

Bubble drawings, Mapping

Private Give permission to

reveal, acceptance

Sentence completion, Bubble drawings, Personifications,

Collages, School reports, Self

Scripts

Intuitive DIG DEEPER & Make

revelation safe and non- judgmental

Self-scripts, Storytelling, Laddering, Role Play Collages,

Personification

Guided visualisations

Unconscious

EXPRESS THE

INACCESSIBLE Glimpse the symbolic,

tonal & atmospheric

Mapping, Psychodrawing, Role

play, Sculptures, Collages, Guided Visualisation

117