Qualitative Market Research

Individual Assignment

Submitted By: Ashish David Bodra 2012PGP067

Research problem:
Is targeted marketing effective in hiring/recruitment processes? Further, how can liked in improve its services to get more business from recruiters and companies interested in promoting their products.

Qualitative Technique to be used

The most appropriate qualitative technique to be used would be In-depth Interview backed by observation

Rationale behind the technique

Interview is appropriate because we can test out what peoples responses would be for this particular strategy. It may throw a completely different light on the issue in hand we had previously never considered. Interview also provides freedom for the respondent to answer how they wish to which is really important in this scenario. We can also gain insights through a set of directed interview questions as to what the recruiters like to see when they are hiring and what the skill pool(applicants) look for in a job. This way can do a better profiling (clustering) know what attracts the skill pool(applicants) in a web site, how often do they notice these kind of micro ads Is there a particular reason for them to notice these ads how likely are they to click on a link(ads) and get directed to the main sites how often will they want to receive these links and ads without getting frustrated The interview should be backed by observation of the online behavior of the respondents to support the interview findings and give the research more credibility. What is the rationale for observation technique? What data you are interested in collecting through observation?

Detailed profile of the respondents

The profile of the respondents would consist of: Job seekers who spend at least 1-2 hours on Internet Are active linkedIn users Visit LinkedIn Profile at least once in a day Visit Job Sites for recent openings Demographics: Age group: 21 Plus Sex: both Male and Female Educational Background: Any (including Engineering, medical, Mba, Science/Commerce/Arts graduate etc)

Normal linkedIn users-to know the pattern as what is noticed and what is not in terms of ads Demographics: Age group: 21 Plus Sex: both Male and Female Educational Background: Any (including Engineering, medical, Mba, Science/Commerce/Arts graduate etc)

You may include some important recruiters who use the profiles from Linkedin for their purpose to get the views from other side. You can also talk to those companies which are interested in promoting themselves in the website.

Detailed guide with relevant questions to facilitate data collection

We should conduct interviews to enable face-to-face discussion with our subjects. While interviewing we can make use of Taking notes (avoid getting distracted) tape the interview (accurate but time consuming) write in their answers (verbatim) But the final objective should be to not miss-out on any of the insights. The following sequential steps can be taken to plan out the interview Identify the sample. Prepare an interview schedule Draw up a set of questions that seem appropriate to what we need to find out. Start with some basic closed questions (name etc.). and make them feel comfortable Should not ask leading questions and let them answer the way they want to Try them out with a colleague. Pilot them, then refine the questions so that they are genuinely engaged with the research object. Contact your interviewees and ask permission, explain the interview and its use. Transcribe. Questions can be either closed or open questions, or a mixture of these. Closed questions tend to be used for asking for and receiving answers about fixed facts such as name, numbers, and so on. They do not require speculation and they tend to produce short answers. With closed questions we could even give your interviewees a small selection of possible answers from which to choose. If we do this we will be able to manage the data and quantify the responses quite easily(If we have a paucity of time). However closed questions might limit the response the interviewee give and will not enable them to think deeply or test their real feelings or values. Therefore we would also want to include open ended questions to elicit an almost endless number of responses. This would give us a very good idea of the variety of ideas and feelings people have, it would enable them to think and talk for longer and to show their feelings and views more fully. But it might be difficult to quantify these results. Therefore including a mixture of open and closed ended

question would be a better solution. Steps to conduct the interview: Draw up a set of questions that seem appropriate to what we need to find out.(Open as well as closed ended) Start with some basic closed questions (name etc.). No leading questions. Try them out with a colleague. Pilot them, then refine the questions so that they are genuinely engaged with your research object. Contact the interviewees and ask permission, explain the interview and its use. Carry out interviews and keep notes/tape. Transcribe. Questions to be asked (Job Seekers): What is your name? What is your educational qualification? Do you have any prior work experience? How long have you worked in that organization and what did you like about the job? Are you looking for jobs at present? On an average how much time do you spend on the internet? Do you have a linkedIn profile? If you choose people already registered in the Linkedin website you dont have to ask all the above questions. You may directly get to the point of your research interest. What drives you to maintain your linkedIn profile? If you see a job advertisemnt in your LinkedIn profile what all content would you want to see the most? When you look for a recruitment advertisment what excites you the most? Do you click on the Job related advertisment links while surfing the internet? What makes you click the job related advertisements while surfing the internet? Do you become frustrated with the job advertisment which are not related to your profile? What do you look in the advertisments? Which section of LinkedIn profile attracts you the most and why? Do you watch advertisements of products and services in the space? If so do you get influenced to purchase them? What kind of communication would you prefer to convince you?

Plan for carrying out analysis of data

We will need to read all the comments through and to categorise them after we have received them, or report them in their diversity and make general statements, or pick out particular comments if they seem to fit our purpose.

Try to fit initial codes Add comments/reflections = memos Look for patterns, themes, Look for relationships, sequences, Also look for differences Explore patterns Elaborate, small generalisations Link generalisations to body of knowledge to construct theory

Assessing data quality Representative Weighting evidence Checking outliners Use of extreme cases Cross-check codes Check explanations Look for contradictions Gain feedback from participants

Validate the Analysis

Data collection and management Organising and preparing data Coding and describing data Conceptualisation, classifying, categorising, identifying themes Connecting and interrelating data Interpretation, creating explanatory accounts

Expectations from the study

What are the Conditions under which the LinkedIn Profile user see the ads How likely the user is to click on the displayed ads What Causes the user to click that ad

 Is there any Opposites or repercussions? What are the most prevalent Contingencies?