Interview a career-oriented woman and a traditional housewife of a similar age. Report on
the difference in attitudes towards shopping, products, and so forth
Answers
Answer:
Marketing research data is essentially of two types, that have already been defined: secondary and primary. With respect to primary research, the foremost tool is the personal interview. The face-to-face contact between researcher and respondent is not equal in terms of the potential quality of data that can be obtained. In the face-to-face interview it is possible to record more than the verbal responses of the interviewee, which are often superficial. When human beings communicate directly with each other much more information is communicated between them. When two people face one another, the dialogue is conducted on several levels. It goes beyond verbal expression. The nature of words used, facial expressions and body language all communicate what the other party means. This chapter explains the role of personal interviews in marketing research.
Chapter Objectives
Having read this chapter of the textbook the reader will:
· Become aware of the different forms which personal interviews can take
· Learn how to structure both individual and group interviews
· Recognise the main difficulties encountered when conducting interviews, and
· Understand the role of the moderator in focus group sessions.
Structure Of The Chapter
The chapter begins by drawing a distinction between structured and unstructured interviews before proceeding to advise on how interviews can best be conducted. Sources of bias arising in personal interviews are then discussed. This is followed by a detailed account of focus groups covering the role in marketing research, structuring of group sessions, screening of participants and the role of the moderator.
Types of personal interview
The two main types of interviews conducted in marketing research are structured and unstructured.
Unstructured informal interview
The unstructured informal interview is normally conducted as a preliminary step in the research process to generate ideas/hypotheses about the subject being investigated so that these might be tested later in the survey proper. Such interviews are entirely informal and are not controlled by a specific set of detailed questions. Rather the interviewer is guided by a pre-defined list of issues. These interviews amount to an informal conversation about the subject.
Informal interviewing is not concerned with discovering 'how many' respondents think in a particular way on an issue (this is what the final survey itself will discover). The aim is to find out how people think and how they react to issues, so that the ultimate survey questionnaire can be framed along the lines of thought that will be most natural to respondents.
The respondent is encouraged to talk freely about the subject, but is kept to the point on issues of interest to the researcher. The respondent is encouraged to reveal everything that he/she feels and thinks about these points. The interviewer must note (or tape-record) all remarks that may be relevant and pursue them until he/she is satisfied that there is no more to be gained by further probing. Properly conducted, informal interviews can give the researcher an accurate feel for the subject to be surveyed. Focus groups, discussed later in this chapter, make use of relatively unstructured interviews.
Structured standardised interview
With structured standardised interviews, the format is entirely different. A structured interview follows a specific questionnaire and this research instrument is usually used as the basis for most quantitative surveys. A standardised structured questionnaire is administered where specific questions are asked in a set order and in a set manner to ensure no variation between interviews.
Respondents' answers are recorded on a questionnaire form (usually with pre-specified response formats) during the interview process, and the completed questionnaires are most often analysed quantitatively. The structured interview usually denies the interviewer the opportunity to either add or remove questions, change their sequence or alter the wording of questions.
Depth interviews
Depth interviews are one-to-one encounters in which the interviewer makes use of an unstructured or semi-structured set of issues/topics to guide the discussion. The object of the exercises is to explore and uncover deep-seated emotions, motivations and attitudes. They are most often employed when dealing with sensitive matters and respondents are likely to give evasive or even misleading answers when directly questioned. Most of the techniques used in the conduct of depth interviews have been borrowed from the field of psychoanalysis. Depth interview are usually only successful when conducted by a well trained and highly skilled interviewer.
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