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Temperature （F）
Sales units （000's）
Quantitative and Qualitative Research and Analysis 255
through a joint research project with K。U。Leuven Association； a network of
13 institutions of higher education in Flanders。
For help in understanding these statistical techniques； read The Li。。le
Handbook of Statistical Practice by Gerard E Dallal of Tu。。s； available free
online （tu。。s。edu/~gdallal/LHSP。HTM）。 At Princeton’s website （h。。p：//
dss。princeton。edu/online_help/analysis/interpreting_regression。htm） you
can find a tutorial and lecture notes on the subject as taught to its Master of
International Business students。
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Qualitative research is a well…entrenched academic tradition in sociology；
history； geography and anthropology； it is widely used in the medical
and political fields。 It has made much less of a mark in business； perhaps
because of its image as a so。。er； more ethereal discipline。 That situation is
changing with the growing realization that while quantitative research can
reveal what issues are important and even where they lie； it is of rather
less use in understanding why they have e about or what to do about
them。 Qualitative research es into its own particularly when these are
important factors：
。 plex issues： Quantitative methods are useful for separating out
and measuring individual factors； say what percentage of customers
are dissatisfied with a product or service and how many will defect。
Qualitative methods can help get an understanding of the linkages
between these factors and the peting tensions they arouse。
。 Stakeholders’ differences： Not everyone involved in an organization
sees ma。。ers from the same perspective。 O。。en the aggregation nature of
quantitative methods makes it difficult to fully appreciate the position
of less powerful stakeholders。 Qualitative research gives individuals a
voice in the analytical process。
。 Significant remendations： When the consequences of research are
likely to result in remendations with significant consequences；
for example changing work pa。。erns； shu。。ing down a unit or altering
pay and conditions； qualitative research allows a。。itudes and feelings
towards potential courses of action to be explored； leading hopefully to
a less contentious oute。
Researchers used to quantitative analysis frequently dismiss qualitative
research as ‘unscientific’ and ‘anecdotal’。 It certainly doesn’t have to succumb
to such criticism； as the array of tools used in qualitative research is
large and the tools have a well…documented and rigorous methodology for
their application。
256 The Thirty…Day MBA
Observation
The power of observation as a method of gathering data lies in the inconsistency
between what people will say in an interview； or on a questionnaire；
and what they actually do。 It’s not that people are necessarily lying； it’s
just that their capacity for self…deception is o。。en high。 Customers may feel
foolish admi。。ing they have difficulty finding their way around a shop and
so would not record that fact。 That doesn’t mean that they don’t have a
problem and that a pany would not gain valuable information from
finding out about it。
So observations can give valuable insights into how things look from an
outsider such as a customer； supplier or prospective employee。 But such
insights will only be representative of the time the researcher was observing
and may not be indicative of the general level of service。 They are o。。en used
to provide contextual information alongside some other research method。
Observations themselves generally e in one of two forms：
。 Participating observation： This is where the observer takes part in at
least some aspect of what is being assessed in order to get a be。。er understanding
of insider views and experiences。 This； for example； could
involve going through the whole procedure of making a purchase or
using a service； rather than standing on the sidelines watching others。
This is the methodology used in mystery shopping。
。 Pure observation： Here the observer stays aloof from the situation under
assessment so as not to influence it and so perhaps bias the findings。
The great difficulty in carrying out this type of research is being able to
record observations accurately。 Taking notes can be conspicuous and will
almost certainly put those being observed on their guard。
Interviews
Talking and listening to people is the most basic and the most used method
of conducting qualitative research。 Qualitative interviews can take several
forms and can be incorporated into triangulation methods （see below）。
These are the main interview types：
。 Open…ended ad hoc conversations allowing interviewees to drive
the discussion with minimum intervention by the interviewer； for example
users of a product or service could be asked to give their feelings
without being steered towards questions concerning satisfaction or
dissatisfaction。 This approach can throw up issues that have not been
explored by the researcher。
Quantitative and Qualitative Research and Analysis 257
。 Open…ended interviews where the broad issues to be covered are stated；
but the course of conversation is allowed to decide the order or ways in
which questions are asked。
。 Semi…structured interviews where the questions are largely planned in
advance； with time le。。 for issues that arise mainly as a result of the
conversation itself。
。 Qualitative questions built into structured surveys and questionnaires；
where the main thrust is to gather quantitative data。 For example； in an
interview carried out to measure staff morale； questions such as ‘how
do you feel about the new pay scale？’ could be interspersed with questions
that gather quantitative data such as ‘do you now feel： 10％ be。。er
off； the same； 10％ worse off？’。
。 Cognitive interviews： These are used to test respondents’ understanding
of the meaning of questions or statements and are eventually to be
used in questionnaires； user instructions and manuals； for example。
Qualitative interviews differ from surveys； for example in that they adhere
less to a fixed set of questions but continually probe and cross…check information；
building cumulatively on the knowledge gained from earlier
answers。 Nevertheless； interviewers at some point have to ask the questions
that give them the specific data they need。 Good interpersonal skills； sensitivity
to the respondent； conducting the interviews at an appropriate time
and place； using trained interviewers as well as having an appropriate
sample are all vital to successful interviewing。
Focus groups
Focus groups are a form of multiple interview； with small groups of around
8 to 10 people selected with specific key a。。ributes in mind： specific knowledge；
experience or socioeconomic characteristics； for example。 Participants
are invited to a。。end informal discussion sessions of no more than two
hours’ duration on a particular topic； facilitated by someone knowledgeable
about the issues involved； but tactful and firm enough to keep the group
in order and on task。 O。。en an incentive is offered for people to a。。end。
The advantages of using a focus group over interviews include efficiency；
as you can get 10 opinions in around twice the time it takes to conduct an
interview； and by listening to other people’s ments； o。。en more ideas；
opinions and experiences and insights can be gained。 It is also easier to take
notes of the discussion as this is expected and less threatening in a group
situation。 But； as with interviews； it relies on the views of a small sample
and so is not truly representative of any body of opinion。
Three variations on focus groups are：
258 The Thirty…Day MBA
。 Neighbourhood forum： These are structured； regular local meetings
for local people to consult about issues of local importance。 The term
local can mean any characteristic that binds people together – young
mothers； pensioners； train users。
。 Citizens’ juries： These involve a small sample of the public spending
perhaps a day or two； at most； debating an issue in a quasi…judicial setting。
They hear experts present the various sides to an argument； much
as in court they would take evidence from witnesses。 This approach is
used by local government and police forces； but is also used by major
local employers to gain insights into local munity issues that they
might impinge on。
。 Brainstorming sessions： These are group meetings designed to stimulate
creative thinking to solve a particular problem or address a single
issue。 There are three steps to brainstorming。 Initially the group should
try to generate as many ideas as possible； without criticism； weling
unusual and even apparently impractical or impossible propositions。
Next； the propositions should be reviewed briefly to either eliminate
the ones universally agreed to be unworkable or to bine ideas to
form be。。er solutions。 Finally； the handful of feasible solutions are discussed
and ranked。 All that is needed by way of materials are a flip
chart； marker pens and Blu…tack to fix the idea