Hugh Carling
Co-founder of Liveminds. I love to bring like-minded people together. Whether that's growing businesses, running online communities, staging events or captaining my village cricket team, nothing makes me happier than seeing people with a shared passion, coming together and making the most of it.
Any uncertainty surrounding the value of online qual as a methodology has been long since put to bed. Though there is still caution amongst some researchers who aren’t yet completely comfortable with putting their trade to practice online, by and large the industry is beginning to embrace the online methodology, and rightly so.
Modern technology coupled with increasing consumer savvy means that we now have the ability to obtain an unbelievable amount of insight from consumers online. The benefits of using online qual research are no longer limited to the ‘convenience factor’ or the ability to overcome peer group pressure and conquer geographical barriers. Instead market researchers are turning to online for the trade tools that it adds to their research toolbox.
The features available now in platforms like Liveminds enable the market researcher to perform a wide range of methodologies, anything from pre & post tasking right through to ongoing MROCs (Market Research Online Communities). So we thought it helpful to share with you some of the key methodologies and their key benefits to give you some food for though for your next research project.
Pre & Post tasking
Conducting either 1-1 interviews or group discussions with respondents to get a real understanding of their attitudes and opinions surrounding a topic either before or after a focus group.
Self Ethnography
Eliminate the social dynamics that colour responses by getting your respondents to conduct their own ethnography in an environment they are comfortable with, by themselves and in their own home. Arm them with a portable camera or ask respondents to capture footage on their smartphone and upload it online to view the ethnography as if you were in the same room.
Blogs & Diaries
Enter the mind-set of your respondent by getting them to upload blogs or complete regular diaries. Set respondents tasks to address or let them use their own creativity to tell you how they feel and what they have been up to on a daily/weekly basis. Ask respondents to upload videos, collages and images to add colour and context to their posts.
Q & A sessions
Get quick feedback from respondents by conducting a question & answers session. Make this a private conversation if the topic is sensitive, or open it up to a particular segment or the entire group to stimulate discussion and debate.
MROCs
Have your respondents online and at your fingertips to address any questions you have or to discuss and debate amongst themselves over a longer period of time. Custom brand the community page to really make it your own and increase participant engagement.
We’ll be discussing these methodologies in more detail here on the blog, sharing customer stories, tips and ideas, and we look forward to discussing them with you.
