Qualitative data is primarily unstructured non-numerical descriptive data used to gain understanding of an issue. It can be used to determine consumers wants and needs or it can be used to provides a rationale for consumer behavior or opinions. It tends to focus on why something occurred, why an action was taken, or on the feelings and emotions conveyed by consumers in relation to products/services or a situation. It is used to gather deeper insights into a problem or to generate new ideas for research.
Some examples of qualitative data would be:
- Why customers purchased the product/service
- What colors customers like
- What opinion customers have of a company
- What hobbies do customers have
- How customers feel about the product/service
- Why are customers dis/satisfied
Some methods for collecting qualitative data:
Individual interviews, also known as in-depth or depth interviews, are discussions with an individual where you ask questions concerning a topic of interest. They can be conducted over the phone, via the Internet, or face-to-face.
A focus group is a discussion with a group consisting of four to eight individuals and a moderator. Questions are pre-selected and presented by the moderator in a semi-structured manner. Participants can respond individually, and they can bounce ideas off each other thus providing a more nuanced dialog.
Observation is conducted by shadowing an individual while they perform some type of activity. Allows you to observe behavior in real-time.