Qualitative Research: Good Decision Making through Understanding People, Cultures and Markets

Qualitative research is a powerful tool which plays a part in conducting marketing research into customer value analysis, branding and naming, new product launch, customer satisfaction and market segmentation, among other marketing areas. Its techniques include all types of focus groups, in depth one-one-one interviews, intercept studies and observational research. Because of its importance in determining buyer attitudes and beliefs it has been growing exponentially. Sheila Keegan, psychologist and market research practitioner, outlines the history of qualitative research, its purpose and role, its relationship to quantitative research, ethical issues it provokes, and how to analyze, interpret, and communicate research results. She presents different theoretical models within which qualitative research operates and uses case studies to show how these frameworks differ between the UK, Europe, the US and other countries.