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A quantitative survey allows you to collect data on the number of phenomena that occur and present the results clearly in the form of figures or graphs.
- Qualitative research focuses on the process and allows for in-depth and unique information, but the results are unrepresentative and incomparable, making analysis difficult. Qualitative research must be preceded by quantitative research to identify the p
- henomena on which to focus.
- Conducting only quantitative studies carries the risk of reaching erroneous conclusions and interpretations of the results, since they do not take into account the context and causes of the phenomena that occur.
- Qualitative research, such as interviews or observations, allows you to select th
- e right research tools and ask the right questions, which helps to avoid the problems associated with quantitative research.
- Once quantitative data has been obtained, qualitative research allows for a bet
- ter understanding of the causes of the phenomena that occurred and helps to avoid misinterpretations of the results.
More details below.
In order not to give anyone false hope, let us point out from the outset that there is no cl
ear and universal answer to the question of which market research method is better – qualitative or quantitative . The two approaches are completely incompatible with each other and serve different purposes. Therefore, the choice of method depends on what we want to invest
igate and find out. This statement will lose its triviality when we consider in more detail what each method is used for.
Quantitative research, or the power of numbers
Quantitative survey addresses the size and scale of certain phenomena. The most typical question it answers is “how much?”, for example:
- How many people find your product interesting?
- How many people prefer your product to your competitors’ offering?
- How much has your brand awareness increased this year phone number list compared to last year?
The above questions will allow us to investigate how frequently a phenomenon occurs
among the people surveyed, and the results can be clearly presented in numerical or graphi
cal form. Another advantage of this method is the strict standardization of measurement too
ls, which allows comparing results obtained from different sources and at different times define the best solution to a problem using force field analysis Simplicity of the questions, on the other hand, allows a large group of subjects to be surveyed in a relatively short period of time. Quantitative research is usually carried out in the form of q
uestionnaires or surveys.
Qualitative research, i.e. data alone is not enough
Unlike quantitative research, qualitative research is process-oriented. Characteristic questions will be “how?” and “why?”, for example:
- How have we promoted the brand in the last year?
- Why do you prefer our product over our competitors’ offering?
We then give the respondent a wide range of freedom in formulating his or her response. Not only will this qatar data allow us to gain in-depth, unique information about a particular phenomenon, but it will often draw our attention to issues that were previously overlooked. However,
the results obtained in qualitative research will be unrepresentative and incomparable, making their analysis much more difficult. The basis of qualitative research is often the results obtained in quantitative research. Only when we have these can we see which phenomena we should focus our questions on. Unfortunately, the exhaustive nature of this form of market research will mean a higher cost of time and, consequently, a much smaller group of respondents. Qualitative research can be conducted in the form of an interview or experiment/observation.
For a more extensive discussion of specific quantitative and qualitative interview methods, I invite you to go here.
The most commonly used research techniques
The most commonly used methods in quantitative and qualitative research are the following:
- CAWI ( Computer Assisted Web Interview) online surveys ,
This method consists of making an online survey available to respondents who are invited to complete it online. These surveys are usually hosted on specialized online survey platforms, which make it easy and quick to complete the survey and analyze the results.
- CATI ( Entrevista telefónica asistida por ordenador ) Telephone Interviews
It is a technique for conducting quantitative research in which interviewers conduct telephone interviews with respondents using special computer programs for data entry and storage.
- Individual In-Depth Interviews IDI (English: In-depth interview ),
This is a research method that consists of individual interviews with a single respondent,
which usually last between 30 minutes and several hours. The objective of these interviews is to gain a more detailed perspective of the topic being investigated, for example, how people think, feel, have attitudes or experiences.
- Individual in-depth interviews TDI (English: Telephone in-depth interview ),
This research method involves conducting individual telephone interviews with respondents to obtain detailed information about their behavior, beliefs, and opinions.
On the art of choosing, or why you should choose in the end
At first glance, it seems very tempting to conduct only a quantitative survey. The large number of respondents or the easy comparability of unambiguous numerical results are tempting arguments for decision-making. However,
it must be borne in mind that relying solely on quantitative studies entails risks. This means that, regardless of the number of phenomena studied, the relationships between the results obtained will be a matter of intuition alone,
which can lead to erroneous conclusions. Indeed, if in a given village a significant relationship is observed between the number of storks and the number of children born, does this mean that storks really bring children? It is quite unlikely, and experts can cite as a reason, for example, the occurrence of a harsh winter the previous year. However trivial this example may seem, we will face very similar problems in real market research.
Seeing that our chain of stores is losing customers and our competitors are increasing their sales, we do not know whether:
- We have lost customers due to overpriced prices or inferior service,
- the product we offer has become obsolete,
- competing companies have managed to change their business profile.
After all, the number of potential causes is enormous.
Even if we were to find out that customers have in fact recently
rated the quality of service in our network as lower, we would still not know whether sales are actually declining due to poorer service if staff are demotivated and fatigued due to fewer customers in the store.
The second problem that can plague us when conducting quantitative
research is that we somehow impose a suggested answer through a poor choice of research tools. Unambiguous answers are the essence of this method, and they lead to a wide range of misunderstandings and insinuations.
The best remedy for the above problems is a qualitative study. Previous interviews or observations will allow us to choose the right research tools and ask the right questions, while, once we have concrete quantitative data, qualitative research will allow us to determine the reasons why specific phenomena occur.