Consumer & Buyer Behaviour

Assessment briefing & interview data analysis

• Assessment 2 structure, requirements, and marking criteria
• Conducting qualitative research: in-depth personal interview techniques
• Analysis of qualitative data: techniques and exercises

Assignment 2: Elements

• Cover page
• Executive summary/abstract
• Background section
• Study and results (interview and interpretation of results)
• Integration with theory
• Recommendations
• References
• (Appendices)

weighting
• Executive summary/abstract and background
• Study and results
• Integration with theory
• Recommendations
• Professionalism

Theory Integration

• Interpret key findings in the context of course contents - what theory/theories align with the finding?
• Again, don`t just present - describe, interpret, and synthesise
• What alternative/multiple theories help explain the findings, either (1) not covered by the lecture contents, or (2) provide interpretation from a different perspective?

Recommendations

• Recommendations for consumers
• Recommendations for firms/brands/products/government institutions/policy makers (one or several of them - depending on your topic)
• Recommendations are meaningful, detailed, and practical (based on your findings, should consumers/firms/policy makers do differently given their current practice? Why? And how?)

Qualitative consumer research entails the intensive interviewing of a small number of individuals to acquire detailed, in-depth insights into their attitudes, beliefs, motivations, and lifestyles.

• Qualitative research seeks to provide a better understanding of why people act as they do rather than numeric descriptions of what people do and think.

"What are the names of all the brands of soda that you have consumed within this month?"

• "How did you feel when you discovered the chips had no fat but 880 mg. of sodium per serving?"

Ask respondent to reconstruct a routine, procedure, activity, or event that took place at a particular time in his or her life

• Provides an understanding of both what a person did, as well as
- why they made certain decisions, and
- the feelings associated with those decisions.

"You mentioned that you purchased a new smart phone last month. Can you describe for me the events or steps that led up to the purchase and selection of your particular phone? Start at the point when you first decided you needed a new phone, and tell me your thoughts and actions at each step in the process."

"Can you please describe the ideal dishwashing detergent?"

• "What would be the characteristics of the best smart phone in your view?"

Used to follow-up on from the prior questions with nonthreatening challenges couched in the form of detached questions

• Asks for elaboration within the context of an anonymous, absent person

"You said that you think unlimited international call is the most important factor in the selection of a mobile phone plan. Several others whom I`ve talked to say the same thing.
But, I`ve also heard quite a few individuals who have said that data quota and rolling over are the more important considerations. What do you think about this point of view?

• Qualitative analysis attempts to reduce the vast amount of verbal or observational data to a set of well-defined and clearly explained patterns and themes

• A theme is a consistent and recurring idea found either explicitly or implicitly in the data

• Identify tentative themes
• Code data (for your project, list the frequency of participants mentioning or implying a particular theme)
• Evaluate themes (organise and discuss themes in sequence; no requirement on the number of themes discovered/discussed, but at least 1 should present for each RQ)

• Document the interview by taking notes OR audio- recording (e.g., using a smartphone - Remember to ask the participant for consent. You don`t need to submit the notes/recording as part of the report).
• Brief description of the interviews/interviewee (gender, age, relationship to you, location(city), approximate interview duration)
• Use number, letter, or assumed names to designate the
interviewees; don`t reveal real name.

Task:
(1) Review the set of interviews and responses from participants.
(2) Analyse the data to discover underlying themes.
(3) Prepare a memo that presents each identified theme and your support for the validity of that theme.