How to adapt qualitative research techniques to market research online communities

How to adapt qualitative research techniques to market
research online communities

Daniel Alexander-Head and Bala Rajan

INTRODUCTION
Online
quantitative
techniques
have
been
widely
developed
and
accepted
in
the
past
ten
years
or
so-‐,

with
most
researchers
predominantly
evolving
CATI
based
techniques
to
suit
the
online
platform.

Perhaps
quantitative
research
has
been
explored
and
developed
more
easily
due
to
its
reliance
on

numbers
where
as
qualitative
research
has
a
stronger
reliance
on
conversation
and
observation.

However
with
the
birth
and
rapid
growth
in
Social
Media,
online
qualitative
research
is
being
explored

beyond
the
online
focus
group.
There
are
also
forums
or
discussions
that
allow
larger
numbers
of

people
to
contribute
over
a
longer
period
of
time
than
say
a
live
focus
group,
with
the
added
ability
to

include
a
variety
of
multimedia.
Aside
from
these
opportunities,
there
are
also
significant
barriers
when

compared
to
face-‐to-‐face
based
qualitative
techniques.
Both
the
opportunities
and
barriers
have
been

responsible
for
more
than
a
simple
evolution
in
research.
We
face
a
paradigm
shift
in
the
way
we
look

at
this
method
of
research,
particularly
when
considering
that
these
qualitative
techniques
can
be

seamlessly
integrated
with
the
quantitative
(we
call
it
Quantilative).

Despite
the
fact
that
we
view
this
as
a
paradigm
shift,
some
old
rules
and
techniques
apply.
In
this

paper
we
examine
three
traditional
qualitative
techniques
and
set
about
how
to
apply
them
to
online

research,
with
a
particular
emphasis
towards
online
panel
communities.

This
paper
consists
of
two
sections:

1. This
section
discusses
how
the
communities
were
selected,
planned
and
setup

2. The
second
component
examines
the
qualitative
techniques
tested,
the
results
and
how
they
can
be

used
in
the
future.

1. SETTING UP
Part
of
the
“shift”
mentioned
in
the
introduction
is
about
engaging
with
members
more
successfully

than
we
have
with
traditional
online
methods,
such
as
the
access
panel.
If
we
want
unbiased,
quality

information,
we
need
to
ensure
that
the
people
participating
are
truly
interested
in
what
we
are
doing.

Advertising
is
an
example
–
if
people
are
engaged,
they
are
more
likely
to
sit
up
and
willingly
consume

what
is
being
pushed
to
them.
If
not
they
will
figuratively
or
literally,
switch
off.
Whilst
the
cost
for

people
not
absorbing
advertising
is
low
sales
conversion,
the
cost
to
research
is
harder
to
pinpoint,
but

undoubtedly
would
affect
the
concentration
level
of
participants.
If
there
is
a
payment
to
participants

we
would
expect
to
see
a
significantly
better
response
rate
than
with
no
payment.
However,
when

looking
at
the
participant
levels
of
access
panels
compared
to
that
of
branded
communities
such
as

those
that
Communispace
or
Vision
Critical
operate,
there
can
be
more
than
twice
the
number
of

members
participating
in
the
branded
communities
than
the
access
panel
model
even
without
financial

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18



payment.
There
are
a
number
of
reasons
as
to
why,
many
of
which
are
outlined
in
the
2009
AMSRS

National
Conference
paper
RESEARCH
2.0:
IT’S
ALL
THE
BUZZ,
BUT
WHAT
DRIVES
MEMBER

ENGAGEMENT?
HOW
TO
ENSURE
ONLINE
RESEARCH
COMMUNITIES
SUCCEED
by
Ray
Poynter,
Steve

Cierpicki
and
Daniel
Alexander-‐Head.

The
setup
of
the
community
is
paramount
to
the
success
of
the
qualitative
findings.
Traditionally
either

a
financial
incentive,
the
power
of
a
particular
brand
or
both
is
significant
motivators
to
attract

members
to
participate
in
the
research.
In
this
instance
we
did
not
want
to
use
an
ongoing
financial

incentive
on
the
basis
that
it
may
create
a
bias
(in
reality
it
is
hard
to
verify
to
what
extent
financial

incentives
may
or
may
not
create
bias).
Therefore
it
was
particularly
important
that
the
site
was

designed
to
attract
the
target
audience.

1.1 Identifying the Category and the Segment
The
first
step
was
deciding
what
category
we
wanted
to
target.
We
decided
to
test
the
techniques
in

two
environments,
one
branded
and
the
other
unbranded.

With
the
branded
environment
we
used
an
SBS
branded
Community
Panel.
The
platform
was
branded

in
line
with
SBS
branded
guidelines
and
populated
with
their
audience
who
had
previously
signed
up
to

participate
in
market
research.

For
the
unbranded
panel
we
targeted
the
Energy
Drinks
market.
The
energy
drinks
market
is

predominantly
targeted
to
the
male
youth
market.
A
look
at
websites
and
marketing
undertaken
by

brands
such
as
Red
Bull,
Mother,
Monster
and
V
were
starting
points
to
the
website
design
we
were
to

undertake.
The
next
few
sections
describe
the
process
of
setup
for
this
particular
community.

1.2 Planning the community
A
look
at
the
various
branded
energy
drinks
sites
showed
an
emphasis
towards
motorsports,
Rock

music
and
“adrenaline”
inducing
activities.
The
name
MyAdrenaliser
was
chosen
for
the
community

and
URL
and
a
creative
brief
sent
to
a
designer
for
the
site
design.

We
had
decided
to
use
the
Ning
platform
(www.ning.com)
for
a
number
of
reasons.:

 It
is
a
free
web
based
tool
that
allows
anyone
to
setup
a
community

 It
is
versatile,
allowing
those
with
limited
skills
to
create
a
basic
site
to
being
highly

customisable
with
Cascading
Style
Sheets
and
the
ability
to
create
applications
for
the
more

skilled
persons.

 For
a
relatively
small
monthly
fee,
premium
services
can
be
acquired.
This
includes
items

such
as
unique
URL,
removal
of
advertising
and
increased
bandwidth.

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There
are
a
multitude
of
other
platforms
that
are
free
and
easily
accessible
that
could
also
be
used,

Ning
was
used
on
this
occasion
due
to
the
author’s
familiarity
with
it.

1.3 Setting up the community
Whilst
the
community
design
template
was
being
created
and
adjusted,
we
developed
a
basic
set
of

profile
questions
for
the
site
for
when
members
joined.
We
then
started
to
look
at
how
we
were

going
to
engage
with
new
members
once
they
came
to
the
site.
This
was
particularly
important
to

ensure
we
maximised
the
number
of
members,
from
when
they
first
came
to
the
site
to
signing
up

as
a
member.

In
an
ideal
situation
all
the
members
would
need
to
do
is
click
on
a
button
to
join
and

nothing
else,
but
in
this
instance
we
wanted
people
to
return
and
so
we
needed
to
collect
a
few

personal
details,
in
particular
their
email
address.

We
then
threw
up
some
non-‐research
related

items,
such
as
energy
drink
sponsored
stunts
and
international
adverts
so
that
it
did
not
feel
like
a

research
community
when
they
first
joined
but
rather
somewhere
that
was
stimulating
and
helped

get
them
in
the
frame
of
mind
that
this
was
where
they
would
be
able
to
interact
with
others
with
a

shared
passion
around
energy
drinks.

1.4 Sourcing members
Whilst
SBS
provided
sample
for
their
panel,
collected
through
marketing
initiatives
and
previous

research,
with
the
energy
drinks
we
were
required
to
find
sources
to
build
membership.
In
an
ideal

situation,
members
are
sourced
organically
through
word
of
mouth,
generally
through
social
media

channels.
This
is
both
more
cost
effective
and
helps
reduce
the
bias
of
pro-‐incentive
research.

However
due
to
timelines
we
also
used
Facebook
advertising.

We
used
two
alternative
adverts.
The

first
advert
was
more
traditional
in
terms
of
recruiting
participants,
using
the
lure
of
an
incentive

prominently
as
the
title.
The
second
advert
relied
more
on
engaging
with
the
participants
with
little

mention
of
incentive.

Page 3 of
18



Advert
1

Advert
2

Facebook,
like
many
Social
Media
sites,
allows
advertisers
to
target
very
specific
categories.
In
this
case

we
set
up
the
advertising
as
per
below:

Page 4 of
18



Invitation
2
did
not
use
the
incentive
in
the
title
and
yet
resulted
in
over
twice
the
number
of
hits
per

impression,
possibly
due
to
potential
participants
being
over-‐fatigued
from
the
attempts
to
lure
them

with
financial
incentives
and
not
capturing
the
members
in
the
same
way
that
the
copy
in
advert
2

appears
to.

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18



1.5 Warming them up
Previous
work
on
research
communities
had
taught
us
the
importance
of
building
a
critical
mass
of

members
rapidly
and
ensuring
that
not
only
the
site
was
visually
appealing
to
the
target
audience,

but
also
that
there
are
activities
or
media
that
are
engaging
to
members.

The
language
used
on
the
site,
from
the
warm-‐up
discussions
to
the
tabs
were
all
retro-‐styled
to
the

target
audience.
Videos
were
uploaded
from
sites
such
as
YouTube,
comprising
of
overseas
energy

drinks
adverts
and
sponsored
motor
stunts.

Page 6 of
18



1.6 Setup Conclusion – Non-Branded Community
Despite
a
positive
start
with
the
warm
up
discussions,
the
energy
drink
community
failed
to
gain

significant
size
and
traction.
There
are
a
number
of
hypothesises
why
and
they
probably
each
play
a

part
in
the
lack
of
traction:

1.
Lack
of
brand
surrounding
the
community

Previous
research
undertaken
had
indicated
that
when
there
is
no
financial
incentive,
one
of
the

main
drivers
for
participation
is
association
and
direct
contact
with
the
participants
preferred

Brand.
In
this
instance
there
was
none.

2.
Insufficient
incentive

With
the
community
not
representing
one
particular
brand,
incentivisation
becomes
considerably

more
significant
as
there
is
no
previous
relationship
between
the
sites
brand
and
the
community

member.
There
was
some
initial
traction
when
using

3.
Low
overall
participation
rate

A
well-‐used
analogy
for
communities
is
that
they
are
like
parties.
If
there
are
not
many
people
and

they
do
not
know
one
another,
it
is
less
likely
that
they
will
stay.
Having
a
larger
mass
results
in
a

more
vibrant
environment.

4.
Target
segment

18-‐24
year
old
males,
whilst
one
of
the
most
prominent
demographics
online,
they
are
notoriously

fickle
and
disloyal
in
comparison
to
older
demographic
groups.
Traditionally
easy
to
recruit
but

with
a
high
turnover
rate
within
online
panels
makes
it
a
hard
group
to
retain,
particularly
for

anything
that
requires
levels
of
longitudinal
research.

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18



1.7 Setup Conclusion – Branded Community
The
traction
with
the
SBS
community
was
significantly
better.
Aside
from
being
a
well-‐regarded
brand,

the
launch
of
the
community
coincided
with
the
2010
Football
World
Cup,
of
which
they
are
the

Australian
broadcaster.
Initially
the
target
group
was
previous
research
participants
who
had
opted
in

for
further
research
around
sports.
As
we
were
able
to
populate
the
community
with
a
significant

number
of
people
in
a
short
period
of
time,
traction
was
quickly
established.

2. THE RESEARCH
While
most
qualitative
researchers
have
a
range
of
enabling
and
exploring
techniques
that
they
might

be
familiar
with
and
use
regularly,
there
might
be
a
few
who
either
may
not
be
aware
or
may
not
use

them.
Therefore,
we
think
it
is
important
for
us
to
start
with
listing
the
techniques
and
the
reasons
we

tested
them.

We
tested
three
qualitative
techniques
that
we
have
used
numerous
times
over
the
years

for
various
categories.

2.1 House Building Technique

This
technique
is
typically
used
in
brand
equity
studies
and
ideally
administered
along

with
other
techniques
in
a
group
discussion
to
uncover
the
otherwise
latent

perceptions.

Respondents
in
a
group
discussion
are
asked
to
think
and
tell
us
the
role
of
each

element
in
a
house.
E.g.
what
is
the
role
of
the
foundation
in
the
overall
construct
in
the

house?
What
role
do
the
four
walls
play
in
the
overall
construct
of
the
house?
Once
we
have
established

a
group
consensus
of
the
role
of
each
element,
this
then
forms
the
base
of
the
technique.
The

participants
are
then
asked
to
build
a
house
for
the
brand,
e.g.
let’s
create
a
house
of
brand
X,
what

aspect
of
the
brand
is
the
foundation
of
this
house?
Which
elements
of
the
house
will
be
the
four
walls

etc.
The
moderator
uses
the
first
exercise
to
probe
and
understand
the
pertinent
‘why’
of
qualitative

research.

The
benefit
of
this
approach
is
that
it
pushes
for
deeper
understanding
and
probing
within
a

construct
for
richer
data.

2.2 Kelly’s Triad

Is
typically
used
to
understand
the
unique
product
similarities
and

differences.
This
involves
taking
three
brands
and
asking

participants
to
compare
and
contrast
by
grouping
two
together
and

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then
comparing
against
the
third.
The
rotation
is
then
swapped
around,
until
every
grouping

has
been
explored

2.3 Collage or image boards:

We
often
use
pictures
from
magazines
to
allow
participants
to

express
themselves
better.
They
can
be
valuable
if
wanting
to

explore
the
tone
and
feel
of
a
brand,
and
be
revisited
over
time
to

observe
the
brand’s
development.
Respondents
typically
work
in

pairs
to
produce
their
own
board,
which
can
include
pictures,
words,

colours,
drawings
and
textures.
This
can
also
be
used
to
assess
the

desired
future
positioning
and
feel
of
a
brand
or
boundaries
of
the
brand
or
a
new
way
to
think

of
the
brand.

3. FEEDBACK FROM COMMUNITY
To
assess
these
benefits
and
understand
how
these
techniques
migrate
to
an
online
medium,

we
evaluated
consumer
feedback
in
four
ways.
First,
we
consolidated
all
our
learning
from
our

experiences
using
these
techniques
from
the
offline
medium.
Second,
we
created
a
simple

worded
web
1.0
question
and
posted
it
on
an
online
community.
Thirdly,
we
created
a
flash

based,
more
web
2.0
based
question,
to
see
what
impact
different
strategies
have
on
the

behaviour
of
participants.
Finally,
we
administered
the
technique
on
asynchronous
(forums)

and
synchronous
(live
chat)
to
pick
up
the
impact
through
spontaneity
vs.
considered

responses.

To
remove
biases
we
administered
similar
techniques
in
1)
an
unbranded
open
community
and

2)
a
branded
closed
community.
Both
with
distinct
categories,
one
for
energy
drinks
and
the

other
for
a
reputed
free
to
air
television
channel.

4. CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE STUDY
 GARBAGE
IN
GARBAGE
OUT:
The
rate
of
response
and
engagement
with
a
flash
based

question
was
considerably
higher
compared
to
a
web
1.0
worded
question.

 TAKE
THEM
ON
A
JOURNEY:
We
need
to
take
the
participants
on
a
journey
not
just
throw

in
a
question
and
expect
a
response.
Members
feel
more
confident
participating
in
topics
that

paint
the
complete
picture
for
them
and
treat
them
as
partners.
We
noticed
that
participants

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18



came
back
to
add
to
their
responses,
thus
building
on
a
response
that
is
more
robust
and

representative
of
their
thoughts/
thinking.

 COMFORT
HELPS
CREATIVITY
AND
DETAIL:
One
of
the
key
benefits
of
the
medium
is
that

participants
are
not
pressured
to
think
on
their
feet
and
can
respond
at
their
convenience.

The
risk
of
dominant
personalities
(other
participants)
overshadowing
other
members
and

silencing
them
from
voicing
their
opinions
is
reduced.
The
ability
to
be
more
honest
is
a
key

benefit
of
the
MROC.

 ENCOURAGE
PARTICIPATION
THROUGH
FAMILIARITY:
It
helps
to
create
an
interface
that

most
participants
are
familiar
with.
Creating
an
environment
that
the
target
group
are

familiar
with
and
naturally
gravitate
to
helps
participants
to
join
and
stay
on.
This
paper

highlights
the
importance
of
aesthetics
and
familiarity
for
continuity.

5. SUMMARY
 Conceptualising
the
study
we
assumed
that
the
techniques
might
need
major
rework
for

them
to
work
online.
We
learnt
that
the
principals
and
the
outputs
remain
the
same.

However,
what
does
change
is
the
researcher’s
approach
and
thinking
with
the
medium
and

participants.

 This
paper
provides
guidance
and
possible
report
outputs
to
ensure
MROCs
are
optimised

for
researchers
to
transition
their
existing
thinking
and
approach
to
online
communities.

Researchers
can
realise
this
potential
and
deliver
impactful
insights.
Furthermore,
the

transition
of
offline
qualitative
techniques
to
the
online
medium
is
dependent
on
the

evolution
and
access
to
technology
for
example
conditioning
with
widget-‐like
technology

which
drives
engagement
to
form
a
positive,
creative
environment
for
participants.

 As
this
paper
outlines,
by
thinking
carefully
about
the
objective;
by
choosing
the
right

techniques;
by
being
creative
with
technology
and
being
conscious
of
aesthetics
we
can

transition
the
offline
qualitative
techniques
to
the
online
medium
and
not
be
restricted
by

time,
venue
and
cost.

Page 10 of
18



6. OUTPUTS
6.1 House Building Technique
The
Forum
and
Flash
image
used
for
part
1
the
House
Building
Technique

Page 11 of
18



Above
&
overleaf:
The
Live
Chat
and
Flash
image
used
for
part
2
the
House
Building

Technique

Page 12 of
18



Page 13 of
18



6.2 Kelly’s Triad
Respondents
in
each
group
are
asked
to
describe
the
brand
or
brands.
The
brands
are
rotated

so
that
they
are
shown
with
another
and
alone.

Page 14 of
18



6.3 Collage/Image Boards
1.
Participants
are
asked
to
drag
the
images
that
they
relate
to
the
SBS
brand
into
the
window

Page 15 of
18



2.
Members
discuss
their
decision
on
the
images

3.
Multiple
versions
of
the
outputs
are
generated

Page 16 of
18



7. CONCLUSIONS – BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
A
recent
posting
on
an
AMA
(Boston)
blog
warned:
“A
Market
researcher
who
clings
on
to
conventional

surveys
and
focus
groups
like
a
life
raft
on
a
turbulent
sea,
is
going
to
drown”.
It’s
also
noteworthy
that

technology
in
qualitative
research
has
always
been
further
away
from
its
counterpart
quantitative

research.
However,
given
that
consumers
have
moved
their
communication
and
interactions
to
the

online
medium
of
social
media,
qualitative
research
is
compelled
to
innovate
and
adapt
to
stay
relevant.

Through
our
paper
we
are
confident
that
with
the
use
of
creative
technology
and
aesthetics
of
the

medium,
while
retaining
the
qualitative
analysis
principles,
we
can
migrate
a
few
techniques
online.

Where
it
does
go
beyond
traditional
medium
is;

1. Ensures
that
all
consumers
funnel
through
the
stages
to
ensure
that
we
have
the
contextual

understanding.

2. It
is
a
more
robust
and
rigorous
form
of
data
capture.

3. The
technology
collates
the
first
level
data
which
otherwise
is
time
consuming
and
laborious.

4. A
comparatively
inexpensive
tool
to
get
wider
and
deeper
coverage.

5. The
ability
to
re-‐analyse
data
over
time
and
to
overlay
demographic
or
profiling
data.

6. Keeps
all
the
stakeholders
involved
simultaneously
and
allows
for
real-‐time
feedback.

However,
not
everything
migrates
seamlessly.
Our
experience
with
Kelly’s
Triad
tells
us
that
it
is
not

best
suited
for
all
online
mediums.
A
forum/discussion
or
bulletin
board
is
a
more
involved

participation
where
consumers
read
and
process
other
responses
before
they
respond.
To
this
end
the

buckets/groups
in
Kelly’s
Triad
did
not
isolate
the
unique
attributes
as
consumers
could
read
and
re-‐
read
their
own
and
others
responses
before
they
responded.
They
provided
similar
responses
despite

changing
the
groups.
We
believe
this
technique
is
best
administered
in
an
asynchronous
live
chat
that

runs
in
real
time
and
taps
into
the
top
of
mind
responses
ensuring
that
the
consumers
don’t
over

process
their
thoughts
and
respond
with
just
the
rational
filter.

Also,
with
house
building
we
used
two
mediums;
forums
and
live
chats.
We
used
the
forum
to
develop

the
contextual
understanding
of
the
elements
of
a
house
and
took
those
learnings
with
the
participants

to
a
live
chat
to
share
what
we
learnt,
building
on
that
to
build
a
brand
house.
Forums
are
great
to

develop
landscape
understanding,
however,
the
diagnostic
and
further
building
of
thoughts
are
better

suited
in
a
live
chat.

Page 17 of
18



8. RECOMMENDATIONS
1. KEEP
CONSUMERS
IN
THE
LOOP:
Evidence
suggests
that
taking
consumers
on
a
journey
through

data
captured
and
what
it
is
being
used
for
is
the
best
form
of
incentive
and
engagement.

Throughout
the
studies
we
ensured
continuous
feedback
on
what
we
had
picked
up
from
them
to

help
keep
them
coming
back
into
those
particular
studies
so
they
could
see
what
was
happening

with
their
feedback.

2. TECHNOLOGY
AESTHETICS:
Consumers
today
are
exposed
to
various
websites
with
a
myriad
of

experiences.
Market
research
questions
typically
tend
to
be
visually
poor,
generally
leaving
the

consumer
with
a
choice
of
clicking
on
a
website
that
is
visually
inviting
or
a
survey
that
has
nothing

but
radio
buttons.
In
our
studies
conducted
for
the
paper
we
ensured
that
we
had
relevant
imagery

and
colours
and
used
flash
based
questions
to
make
it
more
interactive
and
engaging.
To
ensure

consistent
participation,
we
need
to
ensure
that
we
offer
an
attractive
experience.

3. TECHNIQUES
DO
MIGRATE
BUT,
NO
ONE
SIZE
FITS
ALL:
Techniques
like
Collages
migrate
a
lot

easier
than
House
Building
and
Kelly’s
Triad.
The
key
to
knowing
which
techniques
are
best
suited

to
which
medium,
is
to
focus
on
the
purpose
of
the
technique
and
overlay
the
limitations
of
the

medium
(forum,
bulletin
board
or
live
chats).

4. USE
MULTIPLE
MEDIUMS:
Every
medium
has
its
benefits
but
also
has
its
limitations.
For

techniques
that
need
consumers
to
process
their
thoughts
and/or
build
on
other
participants

thoughts,
forums
are
a
better
option
as
opposed
to
techniques
where
researchers
need
a
higher

degree
of
control
and
have
a
more
diagnostic
approach.
In
these
instances
live
chats
are
better.

A
crucial
point
that
will
determine
the
future
and
innovation
in
this
space
will
be
how
willing

qualitative
researchers
are
to
embrace
technology
to
capture
data.
We
are
currently
only
scratching
the

surface
and
there
are
multiple
possibilities
to
develop
data
capture
mediums
depending
on
the
design

and
objective
of
the
studies.
In
any
case,
it
is
imperative
that
we
try
these
techniques
across
more

categories
and
brands
to
understand
where
it
has
more
potential
than
others.
In
our
belief,
it
requires

cross-‐discipline
(research
and
technology)
expertise
to
make
any
advances
in
this
field.
The
future
of

these
innovative
approaches
also
depends
on
how
researchers
change
and
adapt
to
analyse
the
social

media
style
generated
content.

Irrespective
of
how
we
go
down
this
route
as
an
industry,
the
children
who
are
growing
up
with

Cyworld,
Bebo,
MySpace
etc,
will
be
bringing
their
experiences
and
reliance
of
social
network
to
the

forefront
of
decision
making
and
we
as
an
industry
will
need
to
keep
up.

Page 18 of
18

How to adapt qualitative research techniques to market research online communities

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