Qualitative Research

Use qualitative research when you want to…

• Capture the language customers use to describe your product or service
  
• Generate ideas for extensions or improvements of a product or service
  
• Identify customer needs
  
• Discover how the competition is performing
  
• Assess the usability of software
  
• Pinpoint strengths and weaknesses of products and services
  
• Understand the perceptions and opinions that influence customer behavior
  
• Uncover potential strategic directions for branding or sales programs

Qualitative research is not used to…

• Count, measure, or provide statistical validation

In-depth interview

An in-depth interview is a guided, open-ended discussion with a single respondent. Researchers lead respondents through a structured or a semi-structured topic guide that addresses key issues of interest.  Respondents are able to answer questions in their own words and researchers can follow-up on topics of interest that arise during the conversation. Researchers who specialize in this type of inquiry are experts at effectively probing and altering a line of questioning based on the respondent’s unique answers. An in-depth interview can take 15 minutes to an hour to complete, depending on both the scope of the topic guide and the respondent’s communication style. Typically, in-depth interviews are done in sets of 10 to 30 interviews.