Qualitative Research Tools

Dr. Ranjul Rastogi

ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
Ethnographic research refer to the investigation of a culture through an indepth study of the members of the culture; it involves the systematic
collection, description, and analysis of data for development of theories of
cultural behaviour.
It studies people, ethnic groups and other ethnic formations, their ethno
genesis, composition, resettlement, social welfare characteristics, as well
as their material and spiritual culture.
Data collection is often done through participant observation, interviews,
questionnaires, etc.
The purpose of ethnographic research is to attempt to understand what is
happening naturally in the setting and to interpret the data gathered to see
what implications could be formed from the data.

Focus Groups
Focus groups: small group discussions led by a trained
moderator
Objectives:
Generate ideas
Understand consumer vocabulary
Reveal consumer needs, motives, perceptions, and
attitudes on products and services
Understand findings from quantitative studies

Focus group
Focus Group Interviews
An unstructured, free flowing interview with
a small group of people.
Group interview
Start with broad topic and focus in on
specific issues

Focus Groups
Advantages:
Generation of fresh ideas
Client interaction
Versatility
Ability to tap special respondents
Disadvantages:
Representative of the population?
Subjective interpretation
High cost-per-participant
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In-Depth Interviews (IDIs)

In-Depth interview
A set of probing questions posed one-on-one
to a subject by a trained interviewer so as to
gain an idea of what the subject thinks about
something or why he or she behaves a
certain way.
Depth interviews are those interviews that are
designed to discover underlying
- motives and desires and are often used in
motivational research. Such interviews are held to
explore
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IDIs
needs, desires and feelings of respondents. In other words,
they aim to elicit unconscious as also other types of material
relating especially to personality dynamics and motivations.
As such, depth interviews require great skill on the part of the
interviewer and at the same time involve considerable time.
Unless the researcher has specialised training, depth
interviewing should not be attempted.
Depth interview may be projective in nature or it may be a
non-projective interview. Thus for instance, the informant may
be asked on his frequency of air travel and he might

IDIs
again be asked at a later stage to narrate his
opinion concerning the feelings of relatives of
some other man who gets killed in an airplane
accident. Reluctance to fly can then be related to
replies to questions of the latter nature. If the
depth interview involves questions of such type,
the same may be treated as projective depth
interview.
psycho-social situation for understanding the
attitudes of people.

Content-analysis
consists of analysing the contents of documentary materials
such as books, magazines, newspapers and the contents of all other verbal materials
which can be either spoken or printed. Content-analysis prior to 1940s was mostly
quantitative analysis of documentary materials concerning certain characteristics
that can be identified and counted. But since 1950s content-analysis is mostly
qualitative analysis concerning the general import or message of the existing
documents.
The analysis of content is a central activity whenever one is concerned with the
study of the nature of the verbal materials. A review of research in any area, for
instance, involves the analysis of the contents of research articles that have been
published. The analysis may be at a relatively simple level or may be a subtle one. It
is at a simple level when we pursue it on the basis of certain characteristics of the
document or verbal materials that can be identified and counted (such as on the
basis of major scientific concepts in a book). It is at a subtle level when researcher
makes a study of the attitude, say of the press towards education by feature writers.

Delphi
A forecasting method based on the results of
questionnaires sent to a panel of experts. Several rounds of
questionnaires are sent out, and the anonymous responses
are aggregated and shared with the group after each
round. The experts are allowed to adjust their answers in
subsequent rounds. Because multiple rounds of questions
are asked and because each member of the panel is told
what the group thinks as a whole, the Delphi Method seeks
to reach the "correct" response through consensus.
The word "Delphi" refers to the Oracle of Delphi , a site in
Greek mythology where prophecies were passed on.

Delphi Technique
The Delphi Method seeks to aggregate
opinions from a diverse set of experts, and can
be done without having to bring everyone
together for a physical meeting. Because the
responses of the participants are anonymous,
individual panelists don't have to worry about
repercussions for their opinions. Consensus
can be reached over time as opinions are
swayed.