Methods Choices

1
Methods Choices

• Overall Approach/Design
• Qualitative or Quantitative
• Primary or secondary data
• Survey, experiment, case study, etc.
• Who to study - population, sample
• individuals, market segments, populations
• What to study - concepts, measures
• behavior, knowledge, attitudes
• Cost vs Benefit of Study

2

• Quantitative Framework
• Inquiry into a social or human problem based on
• testing a theory,
• composed of variables,
• measured with numbers,
• and analyzed with statistical procedures
• to determine if predictive generalizations of
  the theory hold true

3

• Qualitative Framework
• An inquiry process of understanding a social or
  human problem, based on
• building a complex, holistic picture,
• formed with words,
• reporting detailed views of informants
• and conducted in a natural setting

4
Qualitative vs Quantitative Approaches
Qualitative Focus Group In-Depth
Interview Case Study Participant
observation Secondary data analysis Quantitative
Surveys Experiments Structured
observation Secondary data analysis
5
Qualitative vs Quantitative
Quantitative Genl Laws Test Hypotheses Predict
behavior Outsider-Objective Structured formal
measures probability samples statistical
analysis
Qualitative Unique/Individual case Understanding M
eanings/Intentions Insider-Subjective Unstructur
ed open ended measures judgement samples
interpretation of data
Purpose Perspective Procedures
6
Primary or Secondary Data

• Secondary data are data that were collected for
  some purpose other than your study, e.g.
  government records, internal documents, previous
  surveys
• Choice between Primary /Secondary Data
• Costs (time, money, personnel)
• Relevance, accuracy, adequacy of data

7
Research Designs/Data Collection Approaches
8

• Survey vs Experiment
• Survey - measure things as they are, snapshot of
  population at one point in time, generally refers
  to questionnaires
• (telephone, self-administered, personal
  interview)
• Experiment - manipulate at least one variable
  (treatment) to evaluate response, to study
  cause-effect relationships
• (field and lab experiments)

9
General Guidelines on when to use different
approaches

• 1. Describing a population - surveys
• 2. Describing users/visitors - on-site survey
• 3. Describing non-users, potential users or
  general population - household survey
• 4. Describing observable characteristics of
  visitors - on-site observation
• 5. Measuring impacts, cause-effect relationships
  - experiments

10
Guidelines (cont)

• 6. Anytime suitable secondary data exists -
  secondary data
• 7. Short, simple household studies - phone
• 8. Captive audience or very interested population
  - self-administered survey
• 9. Testing new ideas - experimentation or focus
  groups
• 10. In-depth study - in-depth personal
  interviews, focus groups, case studies