1

SUMMER

P R O JE CT

REPORT

ON Qualitative Research in Understanding Consumer Attitudes and Behavior

FO R

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF ANJU JOSEPH (SR. VICE PRESIDENT) ANJANA PILLAI (GENERAL MANAGER) QUANTUM MARKET RESEARCH PVT LTD, BANGALORE Project Report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION BY

D SRI SUSHMA
(26046)

NITIN SHUKLA
(26096)

BHARATHIDASAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDENTS DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the work titled Qualitative Research in Understanding Consumer Attitude Behavior Submitted in the partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree of MBA, is our original work.

This has not been submitted in part or full towards any other degree or diploma.

Name D. Sri Sushma Roll No. 26046 BHARATHIDASAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT (SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE OF BHARATHIDASAN UNIVERSITY) TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

(SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE OF BHARATHIDASAN UNIVERSITY) TIRUCHIRAPALLI 620 014

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that D SRI SUSHMA, a student of Master of Business Administration from Bharathidasan Institute of Management, school of excellence of Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, has done his summer project at QUANTUM MARKET RESEARCH PVT LTD, Bangalore from 03 May 2010 to 30th June 2010.

The project work entitled embodies the original work done by D Sri Sushma, during her above summer project period.

Anju Joseph Senior Vice President

Anjana Pillai General Manager

Acknowledgement

I thank Anju Joseph, Senior Vice President, Quantum Market Research Pvt Ltd and Anjana Pillai, General Manager, Quantum Market Research Pvt Ltd for giving me an opportunity to do this project in Quantum Market Research Pvt Ltd.

I express my sincere gratitude to my mentors Mr. Marvin DSouza, Ms.Ruchi Singh, Ms.Sushma Panchawati and Ms.Anitha Kumari for giving me an opportunity to work on various projects and for their valuable suggestions and guidance during the period of this project.

I would also like to appreciate the Members of Quantum Market Research Pvt Ltd, who have helped me to complete this project successfully.

I wish to express my sincere thankfulness to Prof.Sankaran, Placement chairman, for providing me an opportunity to take part in this project as part of the curriculum.

D Sri Sushma Nitin Shulka, BIM, Trichy.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

CERTIFICATE ... 03 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 04

1. Introduction.... 06 2. Background................................................................ 07 3. What is Qualitative Research.. 12 4. Research Design 22 5. Procedure Followed By Quantum. 23 6. Conclusion. 45

Introduction
Company Profile
Quantum was established in 1990 by Dr. Meena Kaushik, considered the founder of qualitative research in India, with Srilekha Agarwal Quantum is the first specialist qualitative research agency in India with the distinction of having pioneered new qualitative research techniques In addition to Indian branches, it has offices in Colombo, Dhaka and Singapore and are currently 120 researchers strong Quantums core team comprise talent from diverse education backgrounds, ranging from advertising and management to finance and microbiology and it believes that this enriches their analysis greatly With its own field team stationed across the country, it has extensive access to consumers in every urban, semi-rural and rural part of India Quantum has, over the years, developed several proprietary analysis models which have universal application to understand consumer psyche, identity insights and to provide marketing solutions to Clients

BACKGROUND

Quantum Market Research has been established by professionals who are widely acknowledged as leaders in the qualitative research business in India and overseas. They hold the distinction of having pioneered New Qualitative Research methods in India and of introducing and developing research techniques that are specifically suited to the Asian context. Quantum Market Research is a specialist cell of Quantum, India's first qualitative research company. As part of Quantum, professionals have handled over two thousand projects in the last ten years and have conducted over 20,000 group discussions and 15,000 depth interviews with various categories of consumers. The Directors of Quantum Market Research are full-time working Directors. Along with the executives, they bring together the insight of diverse educational backgrounds and disciplines as varied as psychology, sociology, social anthropology, economics, literature, management and social sciences. Besides their work in India, these professionals have conducted a series of projects in countries around the world, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Mauritius, Singapore, Japan, Central Asia, UAD and Australia. Major multinationals have used their expertise to help build their entry strategies for their markets.

The Philosophy:
The Quantum Market Research approach to research incorporates: High Quality, Sensitive, Reliable, Actionable Research Insightful and Problem Solving Analysis Creative and Eclectic Thinking, and Methodology Strong Marketing Orientation

It is this approach that has led Quantum Market Research to be particularly attentive to the team of researchers working with the Company. These researchers are social scientists conversant with the Indian social and cultural milieu. They are trained to be sensitive and knowledgeable about human behaviour and possess the requisite experience to encourage group dynamics, face-to-face interaction and to provide sensitive insights. The team is multi-lingual which enables the agency to deal efficiently with the linguistic diversity in all of India. The executive-intensive nature of qualitative research and the experience a researcher acquires within a product field or in relation to a brand, is what leads Quantum Market Research to confine its relationship to a select clientele. This allows the agency to work as an extended arm of Client marketing and research teams, and encourages a deeper and more sensitive understanding of markets, brands and competition. Such a relationship fosters high creativity, and helps develop research techniques and methodologies specifically suited to product categories and markets. As a rule Quantum Market Research does not use freelance moderators. The agency works with exclusive consultants only where the knowledge of a regional language is not available among its own researchers. This ensures confidentiality and a high standard of interviews.

QUANTUMS MISSION STATEMENT

We are an innovation, creativity and excellence driven qualitative research agency with a strategic orientation. We are here because we are passionately committed to providing insightful strategic advice to our Clients. We believe in an enduring partnership with our Clients. We want to be path breakers who set new standards in strategic research and constantly develop the discipline. Our Endeavour will always be to forge a close link between conceptual thinking and the needs of the market, transnationally. We want to be the ideal research agency which Clients would find difficult to substitute. In all this we will never forget that people and thus, humanity is the core of our business. We will achieve this by : respecting people constantly networking and encouraging learning never losing sight of the long term goals of our Clients always being profitable and financially healthy constantly identifying new opportunities, new ideas and realizing new dreams

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Quantum Prism

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Services
Full Service Qualitative Research Agency Types of studies that we undertake Understanding attitudes, needs, aspirations, behaviour in the context of environment Human Resources - role definitions, role expectations, satisfaction levels Semi logical studies Concept and New Development studies Positioning and communication Corporate Image Habits and Attitudes Creative Development Segmentation studies Developmental studies - health care, motivational studies, infrastructure evaluation

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What Is Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. The qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, where, when. Hence, smaller but focused samples are more often needed, rather than large samples. Qualitative methods produce information only on the particular cases studied, and any more general conclusions are only hypotheses (informative guesses). Quantitative methods can be used to verify which of such hypotheses are true. Qualitative research seeks out the why, not the how of its topic through the analysis of unstructured information things like interview transcripts, emails, notes, feedback forms, photos and videos. It doesnt just rely on statistics or numbers, which are the domain of quantitative researchers. Qualitative research is used to gain insight into people's attitudes, behaviours, value systems, concerns, motivations, aspirations, culture or lifestyles. Its used to inform business decisions, policy formation, communication and research. Focus groups, in-depth interviews, content analysis, ethnography, evaluation and semiotics are among the many formal approaches that are used, but qualitative research also involves the analysis of any unstructured material, including customer feedback forms, reports or media clips.

Culture

What people Say/Do

Mean, Need or Desire

Qualitative Research

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Understanding in detail:

Emotional Drivers Researching the psyche

The knowledge they have,what they understand Researching the mind

Mean, Need or Desire

What People Say What People Do

The Actions they take Researching the behaviour

Culture
Cultural Forces Researching the shared meanings,Norms and Codes

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DIFFRENCE BETWEEN QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE

open-ended, dynamic, flexible, eclectic

statistical and numerical measurement; mainly structured providing width of information sub-group sampling, random sampling survey can be repeated and results compared taps individual responses less dependent on research executive skills

providing depth of understanding taps consumer creativity

focuses on verbal, non-verbal and symbolic communication goes beyond rationalised and superficial responses richer source of ideas for marketing and creative teams

assesses and measures human behaviour

helps understand human behaviour

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DATA ANALYSIS IN QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:

Interpretive techniques
The most common analysis of qualitative data is observer impression. That is, expert or bystander observers examine the data, interpret it via forming an impression and report their impression in a structured and sometimes quantitative form.

Coding
Coding is an interpretive technique that both organizes the data and provides a means to introduce the interpretations of it into certain quantitative methods. Most coding requires the analyst to read the data and demarcate segments within it. Each segment is labeled with a code usually a word or short phrase that suggests how the associated data segments inform the research objectives. When coding is complete, the analyst prepares reports via a mix of: summarizing the prevalence of codes, discussing similarities and differences in related codes across distinct original sources/contexts, or comparing the relationship between one or more codes. Some qualitative data that is highly structured (e.g., open-end responses from surveys or tightly defined interview questions) is typically coded without additional segmenting of the content. In these cases, codes are often applied as a layer on top of the data. Quantitative analysis of these codes is typically the capstone analytical step for this type of qualitative data. Contemporary qualitative data analyses are sometimes supported by computer programs. These programs do not supplant the interpretive nature of coding but rather are aimed at enhancing the analysts efficiency at data storage/retrieval and at applying the codes to the data. Many programs offer efficiencies in editing and revising coding, which allow for work sharing, peer review, and recursive examination of data. A frequent criticism of coding method is that it seeks to transform qualitative data into quantitative data, thereby draining the data of its variety, richness, and individual character. Analysts respond to this criticism by thoroughly expositing their definitions of codes and linking those codes soundly to the underlying data, therein bringing back some of the richness that might be absent from a mere list of codes.

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Recursive abstraction
Some qualitative datasets are analyzed without coding. A common method here is recursive abstraction, where datasets are summarized; those summaries are then further summarized, and so on. The end result is a more compact summary that would have been difficult to accurately discern without the preceding steps of distillation. A frequent criticism of recursive abstraction is that the final conclusions are several times removed from the underlying data. While it is true that poor initial summaries will certainly yield an inaccurate final report, qualitative analysts can respond to this criticism. They do so, like those using coding method, by documenting the reasoning behind each summary step, citing examples from the data where statements were included and where statements were excluded from the intermediate summary.

Mechanical techniques
Some techniques rely on leveraging computers to scan and sort large sets of qualitative data. At their most basic level, mechanical techniques rely on counting words, phrases, or coincidences of tokens within the data. Often referred to as content analysis, the output from these techniques is amenable to many advanced statistical analyses. Mechanical techniques are particularly well-suited for a few scenarios. One such scenario is for datasets that are simply too large for a human to effectively analyze, or where analysis of them would be cost prohibitive relative to the value of information they contain. Another scenario is when the chief value of a dataset is the extent to which it contains red flags (e.g., searching for reports of certain adverse events within a lengthy journal dataset from patients in a clinical trial) or green flags (e.g., searching for mentions of your brand in positive reviews of marketplace products). A frequent criticism of mechanical techniques is the absence of a human interpreter. And while masters of these methods are able to write sophisticated software to mimic some human decisions, the bulk of the analysis is nonhuman. Analysts respond by proving the value of their methods relative to either a) hiring and training a human team to analyze the data or b) letting the data go untouched, leaving any actionable nuggets undiscovered.

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What Type of Research is done?

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DISCIPLINES THAT HAVE INFLUENCED QUALITATIVE RESEARCH METHODS

DISCIPLINE

AREAS OF INFLUENCE

SOCIAL LINGUISTICS

semiology semantics discourse analysis observation methods participatory methods structural analysis group dynamics depth interviewing conflict and power dynamics and their resolutions in group situations symbolic communication projective techniques - culture specific group interactions projective techniques symbolic communications and analyses TAT (Thematic Apperception Tests), personality techniques and segmentation methods Transactional Analysis dream interpretation and analysis brainstorming synectics creative techniques

SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY/ CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY

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Research Design:
A description of the conceptual topic and aspect of social relations to be studied A review of what is already known about this and the ways in which that knowledge was produced What is not known and needs to be explored Identification of the population or setting about which the researcher will draw conclusions or develop hypotheses (theories), (e.g. who will be observed, interviewed, differentiated by status? gender? organizational location?) Justification of the focus on these population(s) and setting(s) as likely to be generative for what needs to be explored further from what is already known What forms of data will be collected (e.g. observations, interviews, documents) How the data will be put into a form appropriate for manipulation and analysis (e.g. through notes in computer files, visual images, transcribed tape recordings) How these data sets will be analyzed and synthesized (e.g. by conceptual coding, by textual or narrative structure) How the results will be reported

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Procedure Followed at Quantum:

Brief By the Client

Proposal to the Client by Quantum

Sending RQs and FILs

Preparation of Discussion Guide (DG)

Recruitment for the study

Fieldwork by the Moderators

Transcription of the FGD /DI

Analysis

Presentation/Debrief

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BRIEF FROM THE CLIENT TO QUANTUM:

The whole process of the research study starts from the Brief. It is sent from the client to Quantum specifying the research questions and the need for the analysis. The Brief consists of the background and profile of the client company. It also consists of the success and failure of the recently launched products or services in the market. The client may approach Quantum for conducting qualitative research for a better understanding of consumer mindset and behavior. The Brief consists of the information on the products or services that the client provides in the present trend of market and it also clearly specifies to the company the key research questions that have to be answered followed by the research study conducted by Quantum. After receiving the Brief from the client, Quantum understands the key questions the client has and formulates a methodology to carry on the research study as per the requirements.

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SENDING PROPOSAL TO THE CLIENT:

After receiving the Brief from the client, Quantum formulates methodology and the efficient ways of conducting the study specifying the target Socio Economic Class (SEC) in various centers as per the requirement of the study. The procedure followed by Quantum is explained as below: Framing a Research Question: Identify and articulate a research question, demonstrate its importance or relevance as an area of inquiry. Identifying and framing a research question is essential because the research question will guide subsequent methodological choices. Articulating the research questions or aims in a grant is different than articulating the research question in a manuscript.
o

When preparing a manuscript, typically the research has already been completed and the findings are being reported. It is the authors job to provide a description and rationale for the research steps taken. For grants, the opposite is true. Qualitative research is meant to proceed inductively, not deductively. In other words, the researcher is not proposing to test hypotheses (deductive). Instead, the researcher is proposing an investigation from which understandings, theories and findings will emerge. To prepare a proposal for qualitative work one needs to develop a framework, using all of the available literature that supports a qualitative study. The proposal needs to maintain a tension between reviewing the literature and developing a framework and rationale for one's study while still proposing an inductive qualitative inquiry.

Selecting the Method The methods selected for a qualitative study will follow from the research question. In general:

Research questions designed to understand the beliefs, feelings, perceptions of a group of people generally require investigators to ask members of a group questions via an interview or focus group. Research questions designed to understand the behaviors of a group of people generally require some type of observational method.

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Research questions designed to understand the culture of a group may require a combination of observational and interviewing methods. Researchers will also want to consider collecting material artifacts produced and used by members of a culture.

Sampling and data collection Sampling is an important consideration in qualitative studies.

The sample selected must be one that will allow the researcher to address the research question posed. Theoretical or purposeful sampling is generally the most highly regarded sampling method in qualitative research. However, there are a range of methods for generating a qualitative sample. Sample size considerations in qualitative research focus on achieving saturation.

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PREPARATION OF DISCUSSION GUIDE:

The next step followed by Quantum after sending the brief to the client is the preparation of the Discussion Guide. The Discussion Guide is a Questionnaire prepared by Quantum that has to be sent to the client for acceptance. The Discussion Guide will obtain the desirable data for the analysis of the research and fetch the answers for the key questions of the client. After the client confirms back the Discussion Guide to the company, the company then starts the preparation for the Fieldwork. The Discussion Guide has to be sent to the Moderators who carry on the Depth Interviews (DI) or the Focus Group Discussion (FGD) in various centers as per the requirement of the research study. The Moderator is supposed to guide the complete DI or the FGD in the manner as per the Discussion Guide without any distractions by the respondents who participate in the DI and FGD. The Discussion Guides are prepared by the research analysts at the company after a long brainstorming session. The Discussion Guides are prepared keeping in mind the age group and the SEC the participant/participants belong to so that they do not feel any discomfort when the question is asked to them. The most important part during a research study is the preparation of the questionnaire. Hence much of interest and time will be allotted for this section.

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SENDING RQ/FIL:
What is a Respondent Questionnaire (RQ)?
A Respondent Questionnaire is a set of questions asked to the respondents to shortlist the target users for the research. It has a section dedicated to find out the Living Standards Measure (LSM) of the various respondents and check if they are suitable to be picked as participants for the research. This is the basic requirement for any selection. The other section is tailor made to suit the needs of the research and the questions are designed in a way so that it becomes possible to zero in on to the exact kind of respondent that would be required for the research to meet its objectives. So, in totality, an RQ should look at the following: Selection of Target Group: Who do I want to talk to : Age : Sex : Education : Occupation profile : Lifestyle : Attitudinal Profile

Am I getting information on all aspects of the issue : Positive and Negative Views : Primary Vs Secondary group : Opinion Leaders Vs Followers : Dominant Vs Timid : Progressive Vs Conservative : Labor Vs Management Are these people prepared to be interviewed : Have Time, Inclination, Trust

A sample RQ is given below:

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Part - I Recruitment Questionnaire/Pr. Gravy Train / JN: 111870 Mumbai 3 Mini Group Discussions with in-home cooking observation [23.06.10 NS]

PERSONS TO BE CONTACTED

Housewives & working women LSM 5+ 21-35 years Must prepare home made bhuna masala

Good.I am from Quantum Market Research Pvt. Ltd., a leading market research company in India. We regularly conduct surveys among consumers like you and would be grateful if you could spare some time to answer a few questions. ASK ALL RESPONDENTS Could you please tell me if you or any member of your family works in any of the following organizations? Advertising Agency/Market Research Agency 1 Owners of large departmental stores & retail business 2 Employees of food & beverages industry 3 Doctors/ nutrition experts/ dieticians 4 Terminate Owners of bakeries/ restaurants 5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Govt. Services 6 Private Services 7 Businessman/self employed 8 CONTINUE Self Employed Professionals 9 Bank Employees 10 Housewives 11 Others ______ (specify) 12 2. 2a. 3. Have you ever been a part of a Group discussion/ Depth Interview before? NO: ELIGIBLE YES: TERMINATE Have you been interviewed by a market research agency in the last six months? NO: ELIGIBLE YES: TERMINATE Would you like to be a part of a Group discussion that will last for 1 1.5 hours? YES: ELIGIBLE NO: TERMINATE Please code LSM as applicable Attached as part III in the RQ Could you please tell me which age group you belong to? Could you please tell me your current occupation? Please tell me which of the following dishes do you prepare at home regularly? 8. How often do you prepare these dishes at home?

1.

4. 5. 6. 7.

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Q10. Which of the following do you personally have? READ OUT. CIRCLE ALL RELEVANT CODES Cc Post Office savings account Credit Card Bank Account Bank locker Passport 1 2 3 4 5 67 68 69 70 71 Scor e 0 0 0 0 0

ADD UP ALL THE SCORES AND ENTER BELOW SCORE TOTAL REFER TO SCORE SHEET FOR GROUP CODE. ENTER THE GROUP CODE BELOW: GROUP CODE QM!#)(@))$ 11/04/05 SCORE SHEET GROUP CODE Lower limit for Group score Upper limit for Group score

1. 2 3 4 5. 6 7 8 9 10. 11 12 13 14 15. 16 17 18

0 9 15 22 28 35 41 48 54 61 67 74 80 87 93 100 106 113

8 14 21 27 34 40 47 53 60 66 73 79 86 92 99 105 112 999

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PART - III LSM EVALUATION SHEET PROJECT NO. QM!#)(@))$ cc 18-22 YEAR cc 23-26

BRANCH CODE HOUSEHOLD NO.

cc 27 cc 30-33

TOWN CODE WEEK NO.

cc 28-29 cc 34-35 cc 36 1 2

URBAN RURAL Q1. Which of these items do you have in working order in your home?

READ OUT CIRCLE ALL RELEVANT CODES cc Video recorder/player Refrigerator Deep freezer Vacuum cleaner Floor polisher Hi-Fi or music centre/system Eletric kettle Pressure cooker Microwave oven Washing machine Telephone Dish washing machine Kitchen sink Radio clock Video camera/camcorder PC/Home computer Still camera Fax/telephone answering machine Home Entertainment Centre Cell phone / Mobile Radio ASK Q.2 ONLY IF RADIO CIRCLED ABOVE Q2. How many radios do you have in working condition? NO. OF RADIOS cc 58 Code Scor e 0 0 1 2 2 3 3 5 4 6 5 8 6 1 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 2 3 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 Scor e 5 5 5 5 4 5 4 1 6 5 5 5 5 4 6 6 5 6 5 6 -

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What is a Field Intimation Letter (FIL)?

A Field Intimation Letter is sent out to the field to inform them about the requirements of the group discussion or the Depth Interview as the case may be. This letter contains details about the project and the equipment required. It is sent after the proposal has been approved by the client. A sample FIL is given below:
QUANTUM MARKET RESEARCH PVT LTD FIELDWORK INTIMATION LETTER
To FE From RE Job Number 1. Details of Project Job Commissioned Type of Study Fieldwork Dates Centres No. of fieldwork units : : : : : : : Shuchita Ruchi 111870 Date To : Station From : Station Project Name

: : : :

23 June, 2010 Mumbai Bangalore Pr. Gravy Train

Duration of fw etc 2. Enclosures RQ Yes

YES Product Evaluation Study June 25, 2010 Mumbai MGDs with inhome cooking observation 3 1-1.5 hours PROPOSAL ANY OTHER

3. Type of Venue& Arrangements Required Venue : 4. Equipment Required i) TV ii) VCR iii) VCD / DVD iv) CCTV v) Stereo : cassettes / CDs (Pl specify) vi) Extension speakers / head phones( Pl specify) vii) Video Recording with only handy cam viii) Laptop ix) Still camera / film rolls x) Handicam xi) Projectors xii) Any Others: (pl Specify) 5. Group Requirements i) Magazines (Pl Specify names & quantity) ii) Collage materials(Chart paper, scissors, glue stick, sketch pens) iii) Flip Charts iv) Product Samples (Pl specify brands, size, quantity) v) Pantry requirements eg glasses, cups, bowls etc vi) Placement : Diaries Products Magazines to be placed are vii) Stationery : Specify viii) Gifts : Specify- regular; gift vouchers etc : : : : : : : : : : : : Yes Yes Yes -

: : : : : : : :

Rs.125 LSM 5 8 RS.150 LSM 9

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RECRUITMENT:
LSM Introduction The SAARF LSM (Living Standards Measure) has become the most widely used marketing research tool in marketing research. It divides the population into 10 LSM groups, 10 (highest) to 1 (lowest). Previously eight groups were used but this changed in 2001 when the new SAARF Universal LSM consisting of 10 groups was introduced.

LSM stands for Living Standards Measure. Developed by the South African Advertising and Research Foundation (SAARF), LSM has become the most widely used segmentation tool in South Africa. It is a means of segmenting the South African market that cuts across race, gender, age or any other variable used to categorise people. Instead, it groups people according to their living standards. LSMs are calculated based on ownership of household assets and a few other requirements. There are 29 variables: Hot running water Fridge/freezer Microwave oven Flush toilet in house or on plot VCR Vacuum cleaner/floor polisher Washing machine Computer at home Electric stove TV set(s) Tumble dryer Telkom telephone Hi-fi or music center Built-in kitchen sink

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Home security service Deep freeze Water in home or on stand M-Net and/or DStv Dishwasher Metropolitan dweller Sewing machine DVD player House/cluster/town house 1 or more motor vehicles No domestic worker No cellphone in household Only 1 cellphone in household None or only one radio Living in a non-urban area outside Gauteng or the Western Cape The LSMs range from LSM 1 (typically rural folks who don't have access to hot running water, much less DStv) to LSM 10 (typically someone who's well employed with a house and car). Some key LSM points (as of September 2005): - Just under two thirds of South Africa's adult population is in LSM 1-5. A little more than 1 in 10 are in LSM 9-10. - Over half of all LSM 1-5 live in Kwazulu-Natal, Eastern Cape or Limpopo. For other LSM groups, over half live in Gauteng or the Western Cape. - LSM 9-10 are still predominantly white (74%), and LSM 1-5 are almost exclusively black (95%). - LSM 9-10 are mainly in professional and technical, clerical and sales, administrative and managerial professions. For LSM 1-5, the spread is more uniform with most in service, production and mining, and clerical and sales. In addition to income classification and consumer classification, Indian households can also be segmented according to the occupation and education levels of the chief earner of the household (the person who contributes most to the household expenses). This is called as Socio-Economic Classification (SEC), which is mainly used by market planners to target market before launching their new products. SEC is made to understand the purchase behavior and the consumption pattern of

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the households. The urban area is segregated into: A1, A2, B1, B2, C, D, E1, E2.

Socio-Economic Classification: Occupation Education Less 5-9 yrs than 4 School Some PostIlliterate of Graduate yrs in certificate college graduate school school Skilled Unskilled Shop owner Petty trader Employer ofAbove persons Below persons None Clerk Supervisor 10 10 B1 C D D D B1 B2 C D D D B1 C A2 B2 B2 D C D B1 C A2 B1 B1 C C B2 B1 B2 A1 A2 A2 B2 B2 B1 A2 B1 A1 A1 A1 B1 B1 A2 A1 A2 A1 A1 A1 B1 A2 A1 A1 A2 E2 E2 D E2 E1 E2 D D D E1 C D C D B2 C C D B2 C B2 D A2 B2 B2 D A2 B2

Professional D Senior executive Junior executive Source: B1 C

Indian

readership

survey

(IRS)

Sections A & B refer to High-class- constitutes over a quarter of urban population Sec C refers to Middle-class-- constitutes 21% of the urban population

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Sections

&

refer

to

Low-class--

constitutes

over

half

the

urban

population

To understand the table, consider an example: A trader whose monthly household income (MHI) is more than that of a person in section A cannot be included in this SEC because his educational qualification or occupation do not qualify him for inclusion.

Costs for Different Kinds of Research:

Advertising Research Rs 18,000 per group Category understanding Rs 25,000 per group Equity Research Rs 28,000 per group U&A Rs 25,000 per group Profiling Rs 6,000 per interview Expert interviews Rs 8,000 per interview

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FIELDWORK:
TYPES OF GROUP DISCUSSIONS

TYPE

APPROPRIATE USAGE

EXTENDED CREATIVITY GROUPS

Usage and Attitude Studies; Positioning and Creative Development Studies; Exploratory Research; Concept and Product Evaluation Studies

MINI-GROUPS

sensitive issues; lifestyle information; problemsolving information understand peer influences and how these affect product and brand decisions to assess factors that are most likely to trigger an attitudinal change; to understand the strengths and weaknesses of competition to assess reactions to product and product concepts post usage to assess consumer reactions in a real environment to assess reactions to flavoured and fragrance products at all levels of sensory evaluation

PEER GROUPS

to

CONFLICT GROUPS

RECONVENED GROUPS

COMMANDO GROUPS

SENSORY GROUPS

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TYPES OF DEPTH INTERVIEWS

TYPE

APPROPRIATE USAGE

INDIVIDUAL DEPTH INTERVIEWS

to gather longitudinal information e.g. purchase processes; decision making sequences to obtain details on method of usage of products to understand sensitive, private issues to obtain personal, unbiased responses

PAIRED INTERVIEWS

children, adolescents, couples where joint decision making or peer pressure may be operative where the two-to-one situation offers security

FAMILY INTERVIEWS

to understand attitudes towards or impact of products or decisions on the family unit e.g. purchase of video or attitudes to leisure, saving, spending etc. to understand the attitude of the consumer and the role of key influencers in the decision making process

TRIADS

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TYPES OF OBSERVATION METHODS

TYPE

APPROPRIATE USAGE

NON-PARTICIPANT OBSERVATIONS

accompanied shopping, observations at retail outlet; observation of transactions (patient/doctor, client/consumer, parent/child, shopkeeper/consumer etc.)

PARTICIPANT OBSERVATIONS

observation and interviewing that is valuable for researching behaviour (food habits, shopping habits, utilisation of services etc.) using gossip as a mode of data collection, to observe behaviour of informants in such sessions; corporate studies, organization network studies etc.

GOSSIP SCENARIOS

USES OF PROJECTIVE AND ENABLING TECHNIQUES

Projective techniques use symbolic, metaphorical and associative communication to facilitate the transference of subconscious, concealed or intuitive feelings, wishes, desires, attitudes and values. These techniques encourage respondents to imbue objects or events with characteristics or meanings which are derived from the subconscious and allow the researcher to access the creative and intuitive recesses of an individual's mind.

Researchers at Qunatum Market Research are closely acquainted with such techniques and have done some seminal and path-breaking work with respect to adapting techniques from Social Anthropology, Clinical Psychology and Linguistics to understand consumer attitudes, behaviour and response patterns.

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SYNECTICS Using creative, metaphorical and play techniques to solve marketing problems by thinking in an innovative, open-minded and lateral manner Respondents are selected on certain creativity and personality criteria :

- Lateral thinking - Convergent thinking - Creativity - Extroversion - Communication skills

Facilitator has an active, catalytic role Useful for :

- Repositioning brands - New product or packaging development - Gaining creative inputs towards advertising and communication development

SENSITIVITY PANELS Respondents selected on demographic and usage characteristics Trained or sensitized to enabling techniques Group is then used to solve marketing problems :

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- Where can we take this product? - What unique benefits can we generate? - Product improvements - Packaging innovations

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TRANSCRIPTION:
The fieldwork carried out by the Moderators across centers as per the requirement of the project will be recorded in audio and video format. These formats usually will be in the local language wherever the interview/DI has been carried out. The recorded audio and video data are sent to the company by the moderators by mail. These recorded data is then given to the transcribers who work for Quantum for the translation. After the translation, the transcribers convert the audio file into an English Word document and send it to the company for further analysis. The research analysts at Quantum take these Word documents as the reference and extract the required data that helps in analyzing the key research objectives mentioned by the client.

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Analysis:
Data Analysis One of the common pitfalls in analyzing qualitative data is that the researchers fail to develop an indepth analysis of the data and interpret the meaning of the rich data they have collected. In general it is recommended that:

Sample generation and analysis co-occur or take place iteratively and continue until saturation is reached Researchers immerse themselves in analyzing the details of the data, intermittently emerging from this process in order to identify and refine emergent themes It is the job of analysts to get beyond what people say to understand the meaning behind participants' words. A research report should not merely relay verbatim what is ascertained in an interview without adequate analysis and interpretation across cases Researchers should take adequate steps to identify and analyze cases that disconfirm emergent understandings. This lends strength to one's argument and can also lead to a more refined and developed understanding of a phenomenon Researchers should describe, in adequate detail, the analytical steps taken (or to be taken) in a study. This account should limit the use of jargon and explain the steps and the rationale for each step in plain language

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Presentation/Debrief
After the data analysis, Quantum prepares a presentation mentioning all the extracted information from the field work. The presentation summarizes the complete research study starting from the discussion guide till the data analysis. The quotes by the respondents are extracted and presented here for the reference of the client and then based on these, the summarization is done. After presenting the Quantums findings from the research study, the last part of the presentation deals in answering the key questions by the client. After answering the key questions of the client, Quantum then suggest suggestions and way forward for the client company based on the analysis from the research. Employees of Quantum visit the client and make a presentation on their findings in the study.

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CONCLUSION
Qualitative research has been criticized and regarded with suspicion and hostility, because its general characteristics remain poorly understood and consequently its potential remains underdeveloped. A familiar criticism of qualitative methodology questions the value of its dependence on small samples which is believed to render it incapable of generalizing conclusion. Those researchers forcefully argue for the value of every single study providing that parameters are guided by the goals of the study, and have met the established objectives. The general applicability results from the set of methodological qualities of the study, and the rigor with which the study is constructed. Attention to such rigor may serve to offset some of the criticisms of qualitative research as a 'soft approach' utilizing subjective procedures that provides corresponding weak explanations. Qualitative research, often thought to be pre-experimental, and commonly criticized for its lack of generalization, is making valuable contributions to the nursing education literature, as well as other professional education literature, despite resistance. I salute the importance of the qualitative method, and believe that, to the extent that it contributes to knowledge and promotes action in the area of the circumstance studied, it is exonerated in the broader framework of social life. As advanced by Kuhn, there is more than one way of knowing, and qualitative research is one such way. In communicating--or generating--the data, the researcher must make the process of the study accessible and write descriptively so tacit knowledge may best be communicated through the use of rich, thick descriptions. In answering questions, what counts as a question depends to a large measure upon the assumptions made by the interrogator.

Myths About Qualitative Research That Need To Be Debunked

Imprecise, researcher dependent Small samples hence not reliable Arbitrary : analysis will vary by researcher Quick and inexpensive Substitute for quantitative research If I have attended the group I dont need to wait for the analysis/report What the consumer says is what she means