I started qualitative research training very early in my career and I’ve moderated dozens of my own focus groups and hundreds of depth interviews since then. But the more experienced I’ve become as a strategist-who-researches, the more I’ve realised that there is qual…and then there is qual.
Really, really good qualitative research, the kind that points towards solutions for difficult problems, requires really, really good qualitative researchers, who work in partnership with their strategist counterparts on the project. While I could happily and effectively knock out six focus groups next week on how people feel about advertising for fresh orange juice (in fact I did in 2008ish), these days the kind of questions I’m trying to help answer through qual research are often much more complex and require the kind of research expertise that can take a decade or two to acquire.
So I’m working a lot more with research specialists rather than cracking on myself. And based on that, plus doing my time at the discussion guide end of things, here’s what I wish I’d known when I started out:
Don’t go into a project with a definite methodology, be guided by the experts.
You might think that the project needs 10 depths and 6 groups, but your research experts may have a better idea. Perhaps they want to do some ethnographic observation and street interviews at the start of the project to help define the brief. Perhaps they think virtual groups would be a better fit to reach your niche audience. I know it makes comparing quotes a pain if they aren’t like-for-like, but if you build up a great relationship with one or two research agencies that you can trust to quote fairly, you can take price comparisons out of the equation.
Look for experience in the type of people you’re talking to, not the category.
It doesn’t matter that much if they’ve never worked on the particular category or issue before, you can get them up to speed. It does matter that they’re used to engaging with people who are similar to your target audience, especially if that means children, elderly people or people from a particular ethnic background or economic group.
Beware brief creep.
Once news spreads in an organisation that research is taking place, you get the almost inevitable “can you also ask them about…”, or “could you drop in a question about”. I understand that they want the best value possible from their investment in research, but it steals time and attention from the original topic, affecting the resulting depth of insight. Sometimes it really can’t be avoided, but at least try to get some extra budget so that you can expand the methodology to accommodate it. And apologise to the research team.
Check the paperwork.
Check the recruitment spec yourself as mistakes at this stage from miscommunication can be really expensive and often logistically impossible to fix later. I once sat through a debrief (that I had thankfully not commissioned) where they had used a demographically representative sample of the UK, including by age…to research opinions about hearing aids.
Go to the groups.
Whenever possible, go to at least some of the groups. It helps to keep research and strategy workstreams connected and you’ll be able to drop references to what you heard and saw into client meetings for months afterwards. I’d also highly recommend making sure that someone who understands both research and the project babysits any clients who are viewing groups. It’s really easy for them to get the wrong end of the stick, become obsessed by what the woman in purple in Group 3 said or get frustrated that the moderator hasn’t moved on to the next section yet. Having someone in the viewing room that can nip this sort of thing in the bud and gently encourage clients to actively listen and understand is invaluable and it’s a great opportunity to build client relationships too.
But gatekeep the depths.
Some clients, especially global consumer brands in my experience, can be obsessive about wanting to sit in on every single depth interview. It must be massively off-putting for someone who has turned up for their first ever 121 interview to find a random extra bloke sitting there, “from the brand we’re talking about today”, and the quality of resulting insight will suffer accordingly. Even if it’s something as innocuous as floor polish, keep 121 interviews exactly that. If the client really wants to view every minute of the research, get participant’s buy-in at the recruitment stage to video them all. If the clients are desperate for 121 time with their target audience, or you’re working on something where their in-person input would add value, arrange a co-creation workshop or e.g. some accompanied shops where the session can feel more collaborative and informal for the respondent and everyone gets what they want from it.
Finally, know what you’re talking about.
I believe that anyone who commissions research as part of their job should know enough about it to have an educated opinion on the approach and outcomes. You can’t do this if you don’t understand how research works generally and the pros and cons of different methodologies and approaches. As a junior I was sent on some excellent MRS training courses that gave me a grounding in the basics and I was also lucky enough over the years to work alongside some talented researchers who were generous with their time and knowledge. Anyone who calls themselves a strategist should know enough about qual (and quant, data science, digital analytics, workshop design, advanced desk research etc.) to have an intelligent conversation with a good researcher so that you can work as partners on the project.