Losing Control in Qualitative Research

Losing Control in Qualitative Research(and why it’s really not so bad)

Today we’re going to talk about giving up control, for the reward of deeper, richer research insights

Control

As qualitative researchers, we’re used to being in control

We ‘run’ groups and interviews

We ask the questions

We tell our client the answers

To exercise restraint or direction over;To hold in check, curb;To eliminate or prevent the flourishing or spread

verb:

If we’re serious about it, we

need to recognise how

they’re communicating, what

they’re saying and give them

more of our attention

Everyone’s talking about getting to know the consumer better

The new way in research is a

reflection of broader societal

changes, especially in the way

we communicate

Giving over control to the consumer makes us

better listeners

Our proposition:

“Ironically it’s by surrendering the

illusion of control over others that

one really gains power in life”

Geoff Livingston

Social media has transformed our lives

& this is just the tip of the iceberg

625,000,000 internet users worldwide

Internet Penetration62.8% Malaysia

67.4% Singapore80.6% Australia

The greatest growth comes from sharing & communication activities

User Generated Content

opinion blogs review photos video editorial ideas comment audio chat opinion blogs review photos video ideas

comment audio chat opinion blogs review photos video editorial ideas comment audio chat opinion blogs review

photos video editorial ideas comment audio chat opinion blogs review photos video editorial ideas comment audio

Everybody is talking online about everything

The big question:

What does this all mean for research?

The evolution of research

From content delivery to content creation and generation

Web 2.0 is fundamentally about change

From researcher in control, to actively

collaborating and co-creating with participants

Research 2.0 is fundamentally about change in market research

A seismic shift in our thinking is crucial for the

industry to remain relevant

We know where we’re going and how we are going to get there

Current research practice is more structured

We have to wait to see what bubbles to the service

Web 2.0 is a more fluid approach

Research 2.0 is not just about qual going online

Online Focus Groups

Similar research behaviour & skills, different environment

Researcher in control

Online Bulletin Boards

Deep individual responses to structured questions

Researcher in control

Online Research Communities

Researcher & member generated discussion – known / unknown

topics

Community in control

For the first time, market research is being influenced by social media, rather than by

research industry practices

“The researcher of the future will need to master traditional

research skills, but they will also need to be able to cede

control to customers and respondents, and to work in

collaboration with the forces of the marketplace. In terms

of a sporting metaphor the future will be less like speed

boat racing and more like surfing, less like flying a jet and

more like flying a glider”Ray Poynter, The Future Place 2006

Understanding what we gain when we give up controlA comparison of methodologies

Won’t I miss out on valuable non-verbal cues?

Will participants stick to the topic?

What happens if I end up with a lot of irrelevant information?

How can I meet my client’s objectives if I’m not in control?

What, if any, extra value do we get out of it?

Is it worth the effort?

First, are you thinking…

Bulletin Boards

Online Research Communities

In focus

Two sets of participants, using two online qualitative methods

The Study

Research 1.0 approach – Bulletin Board(a ‘traditional online qualitative platform’)

Research 2.0 approach – Social Networking Platform(online community)

Contrasting the outputs of each approach highlighted what is gained and/or lost in adopting different online qualitative platforms and approaches

Q&A approach

Limited between participant interaction

Participants respond but do not initiate discussion

Mostly text based

Other people’s responses can be hidden until the individual responds

Can stagger question

Moderator is in control

Bulletin Board Platform

Less structured, more interactive, open

Participants create profiles, avatars, upload

content

Participants choose what to be involved in

Discussions initiated by moderator (against

client objectives) and initiated by participants

(spontaneous)

Participants in control

Social Network / Online Community Platform

Branded / Customised for the client

Look and feel suits the target audience

Creates greater engagement with the brand

Online Community Features

Member Pages:

Customised to represent their personality and mood


Forum Discussions:

Members and moderators create discussions and reply

Discussions are threaded so members and moderators

can comment on each others’ replies


Blogs:

Provide members with the opportunity to reveal

more about themselves

They can choose to reveal as much or as little as

they want – which provides us with more insight into

their lives


Disclosure

Group behaviour

Engagement

The differences between Bulletin

Boards and Online Research

communities are significant

We can still recognise you…if you want us to

How does the anonymity of the internet impact on levels of?:

The comparisonResearch 1.0 Research 2.0

Tool Bulletin Board site Social Networking site

Foundation Topic based Community based

Process Moderator posts questions, waits for responses, probes where necessary

Community generated to discuss topic, moderator seeds discussion

topics/activities, listens, observes and probes where necessary

Topics posted by Moderator Moderator or participants

Information controlled by Moderator All

Information is Mostly text based Combination of text, photos, images, videos, blogs, activities

Access Private, password protected, allow only invited participants

Private, password protected, allow only invited participants

All topics answered Yes No

Level of moderator control High Medium - Low

The comparisonResearch 1.0

Moderator in controlResearch 2.0

Participant in control

It takes time

…so sit back and let it evolve

Complexity

Giving participants more control means a greater level of complexity and messiness that we need

to embrace

Dinner party conversations

It is the value of listening to the broader

conversation that leads to insight

…depth versus breadth

A question of detail

See beyond

Open up the dialogue and allow user generated questions

…that’s the real insight

It’s the unexpected

The challenge is significantOpening up research to true two-way dialogue, giving over control to participants, and running communities rather than discussions is NOT an easy adjustment – for researchers or for clients

People are just people.

Social by nature; whether offline or online

Technology is merely an enabler.

In the end…

Case study

National Comprehensive Cancer Network

Hypothesis: Choice of treatment centre is

based on reputation. Therefore public

recognition of a centre’s expertise is important

Research question: How do you decide

where to go?

Source: Communispace

By really listening…

NCCN learnt:

Focus on communicating with doctors, not ‘public’ recognition

Cancer centres must have an internet strategy

Patient experience defines perceptions of the brand, not just its leadership/expertise

Researchers learnt:

By letting the community direct and initiate their own discussions greater insights were

generated than if a structure set of topics was followed

For this community, there was added value in the social engagement between cancer

patients who felt they had a peer group to talk to

Source: Communispace

Ongoing, long term relationships

between the company and its customers

Rather than answers to specific project

based questions

Continuous access to the customer

Online Research CommunitiesCreate, manage, converse

Creating a community is complex,

requires careful consideration, and a

willingness to ‘let go’ once it gets going

90% of the hard work is out of sight

Key components

Platform creation Members Moderation Management Analysis

Set up the right environment, with the right people

Branding

Look and Feel

Features

Access Levels

Community Name

URL

Platform Creation

The community is going to be a reflection of your client’s brand. What type of brand experience do you want to create?

Members

The principles of participant selection are unchanged – it’s critical to make sure we’re talking to the right people

Sample Size

Profile

Recruitment

Incentives

Requirements

Moderation

Moderators have a far greater task, yet a less obvious ‘role’.Nurturing a community to reach its potential should be your objective

Manage engagement

Observe, listen, interact

Involvement

Topics of conversation

Manage client

Management

Managing a community is complex and labour intensiveIt needs to be attended to on a variety of levels for weeks, if not months

Building the community

Member engagement

Reward management

Client engagement

24/7 monitoring

Analysis

Managing the volume of information is a challengeKnowing how to ‘read’ the community’s behaviour & mood is crucial

Amount of information

Context

Reporting

Timing

Online qualitative requires a shift in thinking

More on moderation

Qualitative researcher Community Manager

It’s not a direct transfer of skills

+

Online Qualitative Research Community Moderator(Try fitting that on your business card!)

Creating conversations

‘Listening’

Deeper involvement

Transparency

Trust

Relationships (with clients and members)

Adapting (fast)

Redefining the skill set

Deeper!

Faster!

More!

What do our clients get out of it?

Understand what’s important to consumers

The broader context

Answer research objectives & much much more

The research objectives

Context Rich Insights

The ‘stats’ from one of our communities (FMCG)

Over or 12weeks, 100 people engaged in:

145 forum discussions:

56 discussions generated by our researchers

89 discussions generated by members

198 blog posts (within the community)

90 photos

17 videos

How much more?

I love the forum and all the different points of view. The only disappointment I have is that I just don't have the time to read through all the wonderful information posted by all the members on all the different topics :D.

I applaud you for trialing this new style of market research, and hope that other research companies look at what you have done as a shining example of a new and innovative path of getting real information for your clients

But it just goes to show you what can be accomplished in the area of market research in this day an age. When you provide a safe and encouraging environment for people to have their say, without fear of reprisal or ridicule and not have their opinions forced or swayed by money, it can be clearly seen here that most of the information discussed on [the community] just couldn't’t be bought with money

A certain futureMaintaining leadership as qualitative researchers

“One-quarter of Fortune 100 companies will launch online customer

communities to reach higher levels of engagement with customers and

prospects. This trend could mean money spent on traditional

qualitative research will be shifted to budgets for online research”

Forrester issues market research predictions for 2008

January 4, 2008

Our challenge:

Demonstrating the value in researcher-

managed communities and how they are

different from clients doing their own

information gathering through social media

Client managed communities

Smart companies use a range of methodsfor understanding the voice of the customer.

Online research communities are about purposeful two-way conversations, rather than

listening without engaging in conversation

Volume

Depth

Conversation Observation

Private Research

Communities

Brand Communities

(Public Communities)

Brand Blogs(Company managed content)

Brand Pages(MySpace, Facebook)

Web talk(x-platform,

anytime, any topic)

Conversation versus observation

Open Research Panels

Brand blogs and forum

Information on your brand is not the same as insightsThe role of the research is defined by the value of the

insights we deliver from our conversations with customers

Fans and friends

This is probably new for them

Fear factor – what if they get

stuck on the negatives

How do I know I’ll get my

answers

That’s not on my topic list

Client involvement is critical to

success

Client’s perspective

“Thank you for giving the consumer a voice & listening to our opinions”

“Focus group discussions usually only last an hour or two and are always dominated by a select few members. The online aspect allows people to really think and reflect upon their answers, so quality information is being gathered”

““Thank you for giving us the opportunity to contribute to the decision making. I think a forum such as this, is very progressive, and helps to ensure positive feedback from consumers and loyalty”

And importantly members’ perspective

“It’s the interest that you [client] and your company have shown towards us, the customers, and their opinions that makes all the difference. It’s uplifting too read how much our views and opinions mean to you”

“This is a brilliant way to instantly give feedback to the client…The alternative is to wait days/weeks/months and receive a pile of cold statistics gathered from a multitude of invisible respondents”

“It’s not often that the ‘Suits’ become involved wit the ‘Plebs’. Thanks for taking the time to make us all feel welcomed”

Explorer

Inventor

Creator

Thinker

Qualitative Researcher

The process of discovery about giving up some control in order to find out something new

Control the fundamentals

Initiate discussions

Let conversations take their course

Let Go.Discover.

Let go.

Discover.

Control the fundamentals

Initiate discussions

Let conversations take their course

LATITUDE INSIGHTSChanging the conversation

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Sydney officeSuite 8, 43-45 Burns Bay RoadLane Cove NSW 2066P: +61 2 9420 2337

E: [email protected]: latitudeinsights.com.au

Contact us:Dianne [email protected] 323 765

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Losing Control in Qualitative Research