Interview in Research
An interview in research involves a structured conversation between a researcher and a participant to gather information and insights. It is a qualitative data collection method that allows researchers to delve deeper into the thoughts, opinions, and experiences of individuals. Interviews in marketing research are often used to understand consumer behavior, preferences, and attitudes towards products or services.
8 Key excerpts on "Interview in Research"
eBook - ePubMarket Research in Practice
An Introduction to Gaining Greater Market Insight
- Paul Hague(Author)
- 2021(Publication Date)
- Kogan Page(Publisher)
...In practice, many market research studies lend themselves to a multi-method design, incorporating aspects of both qualitative and quantitative methodologies (see Figure 7.1). A customer-satisfaction survey might require depth interviewing at the front end of the survey to establish issues that people should be questioned about. A survey on product development might begin with focus groups to explore unmet needs, followed by structured interviewing to measure the size of these needs, and conclude with depth interviewing to test the concepts. Figure 7.1 Different types of interviews in market research Figure 7.1 details The different types are as follows: Qualitative: need for exploration; loosely structured interview; and depth Quantitative: need for measurement; structured interview; and spread. Where insights and exploration are required, the interview will be more loosely structured, with flexibility in the construction of the questions themselves and the order they are asked, and plenty of scope for respondents to answer in their own words without having responses boxed into pre-set classifications. This is the subject of this chapter. The format of the depth interview is loosely structured, allowing freedom for both the interviewer and the interviewee to explore additional points and change direction if necessary. These interviews incorporate a good deal of the respondent’s perspective into the findings, and therefore increase the validity of the information collected...
eBook - ePubMarket Research In A Week
Market Research In Seven Simple Steps
- Judy Bartkowiak(Author)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Teach Yourself(Publisher)
...Qualitative research enables us to share this connection with respondents in a focus group or a depth interview where they can speak freely, unfettered by questions needing answers. In these situations they have the time and space to explore for themselves what the brand means to them. Qualitative research enables the researcher to spend time with the respondent. A focus group will usually last about two hours and an in-depth interview about an hour. Other qualitative methodologies such as ethnography or accompanied shopping will take much longer, so there is plenty of time to go beyond the ‘top-of-mind’ response and explore deeper motivations and associations. Qualitative research allows us to explore perceptions and find out what is important to consumers. This methodology particularly suits situations when you don’t really know what questions to ask. Rather than taking the expensive option of using a largely open-ended questionnaire where interviewers write down verbatim what respondents say, we do qualitative research first, to find out how consumers talk about the product or the market. Discovering in this way what factors or attributes are relevant enables us to design a follow-up quantitative survey to put numbers to the attitudes. It is not always necessary to quantify qualitative research if the end itself is the understanding. Unfortunately, this is not always appreciated, and clients have been known to go ahead with major expenditure based on the results from eight people in a focus group. Be warned! In-depth (depth) interviews Individual depth interviews can be conducted face to face, over the phone or via Skype. They are usually one to one, with a semi-structured or unstructured approach, enabling a list of topics to be covered but not necessarily in a predetermined order. They are usually conducted by qualified qualitative researchers with skills in this area of exploratory research...
eBook - ePubDoing Qualitative Research in Psychology
A Practical Guide
- Cath Sullivan, Michael A Forrester, Cath Sullivan, Michael A Forrester(Authors)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications Ltd(Publisher)
...In so doing, the qualitative researcher shows a commitment to understanding what is important to the interviewee rather than driving the interview along a pre-determined route. The interviewer themselves also has freedom to be flexible in their questioning, and to respond in natural ways in the interaction (see Figure 7.2), as long as they broadly address the research question they set themselves. Figure 7.2 Responding in natural ways Understanding Interviews: Some Conceptual Points Interviewing for research purposes has a long history, dating back to 1886 and Charles Booth’s work on the economic and social conditions of life in London. Interviews have also been used by psychologists for many years. Think of Freud’s (1914) use of clinical interviews to develop his theories, or Piaget’s (1959[1926]) more relaxed interviews with children. However, as qualitative researchers, our understanding of research interviews has undergone a radical change in the last 20 years. Where once they were seen as a way of ‘uncovering’ or ‘excavating’ experience from participants, they are now generally understood as a form of social interaction from which data are constituted or constructed (Kvale and Brinkmann, 2009). Within this broad view of the interview, however, there is as a range of different ways of conceptualising the nature of the interview process and the data that emerges from it...
- Bonita Kolb(Author)
- 2008(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Objectives Describe the uses of interview research and its advantages and disadvantages Explain the difference between in-depth, expert and intercept interviews Clarify the different types of interview questions and the uses of each Introduce the issues involved in recruiting and screening participants Explain the interview process and the skills needed by an interviewer Introduction Most organizations will be aware that surveys and focus groups can be used to conduct marketing research. Organizations that provide social services will certainly know that interviews can also be used to learn more about the needs of their clients. However, most organizations have not considered using interviews for marketing research. In fact, marketing research interviews can be very useful and worth the investment in time, effort and money when the organization is faced with a serious problem, such as a lack of customers, and they have no idea why. It is true that an in-depth one-on-one interview takes a skilled interviewer and, therefore, might not be a methodology that is available to small organizations. However, all organizations can have their own personnel conduct expert interviews to learn more about their competition and then adjust their marketing mix accordingly. In addition, intercept interviews can be conducted by anyone with an outgoing personality and these will provide the organization with insights that can be confirmed with other research techniques. Uses and rationale of interview research Interview research consists of the researcher asking questions of a single participant. In-depth interviews provide the researcher with the opportunity to explore a single topic in depth. Expert interviews provide a means of gathering factual information, while intercept interviews allow the researcher to quickly gather multiple viewpoints...
- Bonita Kolb(Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Each interview will usually take 30 to 60 minutes, which allows the researcher to probe in-depth questions on issues such as consumer motivation. Interviews are best used when decisions that will require a large financial investment, such as introducing a new product, are being considered. The interview format allows follow-up questions to ensure that the reasons for giving an answer is understood. The process provides quality of information over quantity. Surveys are not always reliable as participants may not take time to consider their responses (Kenny 2019). A skilled interview will probe beyond this first response. The interviewer will start the interview with a few prepared questions that will be asked of each participant. However, individualized follow-up questions will be asked to probe more deeply into the responses. As a result the findings from each interview will be unique. Part of the skill of the interviewer is to analyze the findings for overall themes and also unique ideas. Because an interview will take a significant length of time to conduct, fewer participants will be involved than when conducting a survey. Because there are fewer participants, it is critical that each be chosen carefully so that the time devoted to the interview is not wasted. Interview participants should be chosen to reflect the demographic, geographic, and psychographic characteristics of the population being studied. Second, they should be chosen so that they have both the necessary knowledge and an interest in participating. Because an interview is rarely considered a fun activity by participants it may be necessary to use an incentive such as a sample product in order to obtain participation. While the incentive should be valuable enough to motivate participation, it should not be so valuable so that a research subject is participating only to receive the incentive...
eBook - ePubQualitative Marketing Research
Understanding Consumer Behaviour
- Dominika Maison(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...This approach has four characteristic elements: (a) it is carried out in a group setting (several participants), (b) it is focused around (concentrates on) a specific topic, (c) the conversation is in-depth (not superficial), and (d) it is in the form of a discussion, not just a question and answer session. Its theoretical basis is two main fields of knowledge: (a) qualitative research methods (individual in-depth interviews, observations, and projective techniques), (b) social psychology – knowledge on small groups, their dynamics, and group processes (drawing from what is known about therapeutic groups, support groups, and interpersonal training). Box 3.1 In qualitative research, we are moving away from the “question and answer” type interview towards contextual research. Such qualitative research is not limited to questions about consumption but is concerned with an in-depth understanding of the consumer by getting to know the various areas of their life. Their consumption is understood through the prism of this broad and in-depth understanding of consumers. In turn, the individual in-depth interview (also called an IDI), is a conversation between two people (the interviewer and the respondent) with the purpose of getting to information which is the subject of research and wading deeper into it. These interviews have quite a free structure in the sense that it’s more important to obtain specific information than it is to formulate questions or worry about the order in which they are posed. Such interviews require from the moderator not only special skills but also experience to conduct...
- Bruce B. Frey(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- SAGE Publications, Inc(Publisher)
...Because market research focuses on studying facts (data), relations, causes, participants, and results, it encompasses different methods and approaches. As Harrison and colleagues elaborate in their book, market research may also be conducted by taking into account the type of customer. A consumer market includes fast-moving consumer goods, financial, banking, and leisure markets. Taking into account the scope of consumer market, it is often researched by using quantitative methods focused on precise sampling and qualitative approaches aimed at gaining information on customer motivation. Business-to-business market research, on the other hand, encompasses a relatively smaller number of respondents (calculated in hundreds or thousands, in comparison with millions as in the case of consumer studies). In addition, business-to-business markets are diversified, consisting of companies operating in different industries and varying in size. Stage Perspective Markets can be researched through the prism of stages. The first stage is coining experiments and selecting approaches and fields of analysis. An important stage in preparing the study is sampling. In market research, sampling is often used to show the tendencies for a studied group or population by observing a selected part of it. Types of sampling include snowball sampling, convenience sampling, quota sampling, and chunk sampling. The advantages of sampling include saving time and money, whereas the possible disadvantages include selecting improper samples and not being a representative of a given population. The second stage is conducting the experiment itself and gathering information. Data are acquired by observing people and their activities (e.g., how they choose products, their verbal and nonverbal behavior, how often they select products, and how much they spend on services) and monitoring market trends. The third stage is devoted to working on the gathered data...
eBook - ePub- Robert E Stevens, David L Loudon, Morris E Ruddick, Bruce Wrenn, Philip K Sherwood(Authors)
- 2012(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...When the adjective marketing is added to research, the context of the area of inquiry is defined. Marketing research, then, refers to procedures and techniques involved in the design, data collection, analysis, and presentation of information used in making marketing decisions. More succinctly, marketing research produces the information managers need to make marketing decisions. Although many of the procedures used to conduct marketing research can also be used to conduct other types of research, marketing decisions require approaches that fit the decision-making environment to which they are being applied. Marketing research can make its greatest contribution to management when the researcher understands the environment, industry, company, management goals and styles, and decision processes that give rise to the need for information. MARKETING RESEARCH AND DECISION MAKING Although conducting the activities of marketing research requires using a variety of research techniques, the focus of the research should not be on the techniques. Marketing research should focus on decisions to be made rather than the collection techniques used to gather information to facilitate decision making. This focus is central to understanding the marketing research function in terms of what it should be and to the effective and efficient use of research as an aid to decision making. Any user or provider of marketing research who loses sight of this central focus is likely to end up in one of two awkward and costly positions: (1) failing to collect the information actually needed to make a decision, or (2) collecting information that is not needed in a given decision-making context. The result of the first is ineffectiveness—not reaching a desired objective, and the result of the second is inefficiency—failing to reach an objective in the least costly manner...
