In with the old and in with the new

“New Qual” is sweeping the qualitative research industry. Online, video, audio and mobile formats have made the qualitative world incredibly more robust.

“New Qual” is sweeping the qualitative research industry. Online, video, audio and mobile formats have made the qualitative world incredibly more robust.

I recently stumbled across a notebook from the Qualitative Research Consultants Association’s 14^th Annual Conference in 1999, where one workshop, “Using Technology Efficiently” by David Nelems, presented new technologies such as digital telephones, Microsoft Excel, Lotus, Corel WordPerfect, CD-R devices and the revolutionary idea of video conferencing. The conversation has certainly progressed since then!

While traditional methods of focus groups will always have a place, there is a plethora of blogs, directories, articles, presentations and conversations focused on an unparalleled variety of new and exciting qualitative methods, tools and applications.

In its recent studies, Pew Internet, a project of the Pew Research Center, found that 65% of adults online use social networking, 32% of Internet users have posted online product comments and 46% of American adults use Smartphones. The dramatic evolution of a comfort level and openness with sharing, along with the tools to basically share any time and anywhere have been a remarkable windfall for market research. In a recent study I conducted with homeowners of varying ages, a screener question identified the types of things people were comfortable doing on the internet. Uploading photos, videos, SMS texting, email with attachments, shopping, bill paying, web browsing, and even communicating via webcam or Skype seem to have become commonplace for many. Research participants in the study very easily and quickly shared pictures and videos, “virtually” taking my clients into their homes, garages and back yards to tell rich, revealing and important stories.

The project that was recently selected as the 2012 QRCA Qually Award winner used online discussion boards, as QRCA member Layla Shea strategically designed a qualitative study that would allow respondents to feel more comfortable revealing and discussing details of their struggle with a disease.

Ilka Kuhagen, a QRCA member in Munich, Germany, shared findings from recent research she conducted at the Qualitative Research 360 Merlien Conference in Milan titled, Integrating Online and Mobile Research. Talking with young adults (18-22) on nutrition, she compared responses using SMS texting, email, webcams, online forum discussions, online diaries and voicemail.

Some very intriguing hands-on use of new innovation was described by QRCA members Dana Slaughter and Kristin Schwitzer in a very interesting article and blog post on the topic NewQual Diaries. They explain how capturing respondents’ thoughts and feelings in the moment allows researchers to get closer to the actual consumer experience.

I feel with qualitative research, it’s “in with the old and in with the new.” The expansion of methods, tools and techniques that we experience today makes 2012 a very exciting time for qualitative research. The creative research designs afforded by these tools provide for a richness of insights only dreamed of in 1999. Perhaps David Nelems had a crystal ball when he said,

 “For as much hype that has been written about the Internet, it does not even scratch the surface of how it will change the way all companies do business. It will continue to evolve rapidly and cause profound changes in our life and our work practice.”

Susan Thornhill is president of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association. She founded Thornhill Research in 1984 in the Los Angeles area and has more than 20 years of experience as a professional consultant, interviewer and researcher, consulting with a broad range of clients in diverse industries.