In this post, I am going to be researching and looking at the different types of research used within the media industry. while i am recording my findings and results, I am going to be explaining what each type of research is, three different example of the types of research, the advantages and the disadvantages of these types of research methods.
What is qualitative research?
Qualitative research is when you gather information in a more in-depth and explanatory way. this means you ask your target audience "open-ended" questions, which is when you allow the customers to give their opinion in a more detailed manner and they are able to have a choice on what they wish to write/respond.
A few definitions of Qualitative research are;
(1) "Qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts."
(2) "Qualitative research is about finding out not just what people think but why they think it. It’s about getting people to talk about their opinions so you can understand their motivations and feelings."
(3) "Qualitative research gathers information that is not in numerical form. Qualitative data is typically descriptive data and as such is harder to analyze than quantitative data."
Qualitative research looks at more of the "Why" and "How" of information as well as the other factors (what, when, when). This is because the data that the researchers wish to collect must be more detailed and explore the reason behind the concepts.
Methods and sources
The advantages of qualitative research are;
- you can find a more in depth explanation and the reason of your target audiences choices. This will help to alter and edit the factors that may go wrong
- it may be more cheaper than quantitative research as it focuses on a small sample group and will not need as much equipment
- the participants are able to provide their own opinions through data.
The disadvantages of qualitative research are;
- it isn't measurable and you are not able to put the information into a statistical graph or chart
- you can't take assumption on a small group of the target market, as there may be other demographics which will affect the answer
- sometimes the open-ended responses are not truthful or fully answered as people may prefer to select options rather than write a sentence.
examples of qualitative research
One example of qualitative research can be for marketing/advertising purposes. e.g. a restaurant chain could be launching a new menu which be launched at a "niche" target market.
By carrying out qualitative research on a small sample of the target group, the company could make sure that they launch the correct products and according to the tastes and demographics of the target market.
A few methods of qualitative research that they can carry out this context are;
- carry out taster sessions for signed up existing customers
- hand out free samples and get tasters to fill in a survey/questionnaire which asks open-ended questions
- offer the menu to a professional/experienced taster and input the responses in a review.
Another example of qualitative research can be for medical/science purposes. e.g. a research group wishes to find out the effects of a certain disease. So by carrying out qualitative research, they are able to find out the various different symptoms of a disease and gather/compare the information to pinpoint the disease.
A few methods of qualitative research that they can carry out in this context are;
- carry out open-ended questionnaire on patients or a target group
- conduct a support group for patients to help gather information
Finally, another example of qualitative research that can be used is for psychological reasons. e.g. a research group may be looking into a target market of criminals to help see the psychological reasons of why they committed the crime, and what and how their jail sentence has affected them.
A few methods of qualitative research that they can carry out in this context are;
- carry out open-ended questionnaire on the target group
- conduct a support group for the patients to help gather information and analyse them
Conclusion
So in conclusion, qualitative data is information that has more in-depth value and opinions. This is because qualitative data cannot be measured and is a collection on you target audiences' opinion.
Bibliography
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative_research (18/06/2012)
(2) http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/market-research/what-is-qualitative-research- (18/06/2012)
(3) http://www.simplypsychology.org/qualitative-quantitative.html (18/06/2012)
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