New Qualitative Research

By Jay Zaltzman and Betsy Leichliter

Today, researchers have a myriad of choices available when it comes to qualitative methods, including time-tested classics and newer approaches enabled by digital communications — for example:

Real-time (live) qualitative options

• Face-to-face one-on-one or group sessions, at research facilities or other locations
• Online text chat groups, or concurrent one-on-one text chat interviews
• Phone one-on-ones or groups — with or without web support for showing multi-media information or concepts, collaborating with markup tools, sharing computer screens remotely, and more
• Webcam one-on-ones or groups

Non-real-time (asynchronous) qualitative options

• Online discussion board one-on-one or group interactions — which may include Q&A dialogues as well as online journaling, video diaries, or other multi-media activities
• Longer-term insight communities, co-creation networks, or other longitudinal approaches
• Social media — listening/observing, or engaging users in market research

As smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices gain penetration, new options are emerging for qualitative research with participants while they are in mobile situations — using voice, voicemail, texting, email, audio/video/photo uploads, or mobile video conferencing.

Infinite combinations of these options are possible, and hybrid qualitative designs have become very popular. This includes closer integration between qualitative and quantitative methods (such as embedding quant modules within larger-scale qualitative research where appropriate).

The question is, how do we choose the best qualitative methods to meet our research objectives?

With so many new options, qualitative research providers and users are asking, “How do we choose the best qualitative methods to meet our research objectives?”

In this article, we will discuss the strengths and challenges of various qualitative options, and propose some parameters for choosing among them. We’ll also talk about how to encourage clients to gain experience with newer methods. Following are some of the strengths and challenges to consider when choosing to use newer remote methods for qualitative research.