Big Data isn't just about numbers and charts; qualitative research provides rich insight to help with any business question you may have. This presentation provides an overview of qualitative research methodology and the importance and process of developing scalable research questions. Learn more about Levelwing's research capabilities: http://ow.ly/gcSXU

1. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
DEVELOPING QUESTIONS + WHY THEY ARE IMPORTANT

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AGENDA
Research Questions:
§ Why do we need a research question?
§ How to develop research questions
Research Methodology:
§ What is qualitative research?
§ Different forms of qualitative research

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS

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WHY DO WE NEED A RESEARCH QUESTION?
§ Frames the study
§ Narrows the scope of the research
§ Enables the researcher to ensure the research
project is manageable

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DEVELOPING A RESEARCH QUESTION
Ask yourself:
§ What are we trying to examine?
§ What do we or our client want to learn from
this research?
§ What is the purpose of this research?

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WORDS TO USE WHEN DEVELOPING RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
§ Begin with how? or what?
§ Use language such as: discover, generate,
explore, identify or describe

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RESEARCH QUESTION CONSIDERATIONS
§ Is the question easily and fully researchable?
§ What type of information do we need to fully
answer the question?
§ Is the scope of the research question
reasonable?
§ Given scope, is the question too broad or too
narrow?
§ Do I have access to the necessary sources?

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OTHER RESEARCH QUESTION CONSIDERATIONS
§ What research has been done previously?
§ How can we expand or improve upon pre-
existing research?
§ What is the timeframe of study?

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WHY IS ALL THIS IMPORTANT?
§ We can use these same steps when
designing a new research project for a client
§ Research questions will allow us to be more
focused on exactly what the client is looking to
have answered

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INFO NEEDED FOR NEW RESEARCH PROJECTS
§ Research Objective
§ Research Budget
§ Project Timeline
§ Data Timeframe (i.e. 6 month historical, 12 month
historical, monthly monitoring)
§ Target Demographics
§ Project Focus (products, events, consumers)
§ Main Question to be Answered through Research

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS
§ What are the shared experiences of female fans of Major
League Baseball?
§ How do the experiences of female MLB fans differ from
each other?
§ How do female fans of MLB perceive other female fans?
§ How do female fans of MLB believe male fans perceive
them?
§ How do female fans of MLB believe other female fans
perceive them?
§ What effect do societal gender norms have on female fans?

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RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?

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NOW WHAT?
§ We have our research question, now what do
we do?
§ The next step is to design a research study
that will answer the necessary question(s)

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WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
§ First we need to define qualitative research
§ When you hear someone mention “qualitative
research” what comes to mind?
Grbich, 2007

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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IS…
§ Seeking to understand human behavior and the
reasoning behind that behavior
§ Focuses on the why and how
§ Generally used in the social sciences and for
market research
§ Sample size is often small and focused (10-12)

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DIFFERING APPROACHES TO QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
§ Iterative (hermeneutic): seeking meaning and
developing explanations through feedback and
repeated process
§ Subjective: focuses on the researcher and what
takes place in their mind
§ Investigative: understanding signs and symbols
within a cultural context
§ Enumerative: classifying items by percentages,
frequencies, ranks
Grbich, 2007

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ANALYTICAL APPROACHES
§ Grounded Theory: theory emerges from the
analysis of the data
§ Ethnography: describe or examine a culture or
cultural phenomenon
§ Phenomenology: explore lived experiences to
understand their meaning
§ Feminist Theory: focus on gender inequalities
present in society
Grbich, 2007

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METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
§ Interviews (one-on-one, focus groups, etc.)
§ Observations
§ Open-ended survey
§ Written documents
Grbich, 2007

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TYPES OF ANALYSIS
§ Narrative Analysis
§ Content Analysis of Text
§ Discourse Analysis
§ Visual Interpretation (film, art, news images,
photos, etc.)
Grbich, 2007

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ANALYSIS: CODING
§ When coding we focus on whatever is
necessary to answer our research question
§ This may require: emotion coding, holistic
coding, in vivo coding, initial coding, etc.
Saldana, 2009

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ANALYSIS: THEMING
Theming of the data:
§ Reducing data into meaningful and
manageable groups
§ May focus on repeated words or
phrases
§ Evidence that answers the research
question
Grbich, 2007; Saldana, 2009

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RESEARCH: NEXT STEPS
§ Use additional information to support your findings
§ The final research presentation can vary based on
the needs to the project
§ In research it is now acceptable to submit findings
visually, as a poem, a narrative or even a script

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LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? WANT TO SEE MORE?
Visit our sponsors at Levelwing.com
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graphs) that can impact your MARKETING, MERCHANDISING, INVENTORY or even TALENT
RECRUITMENT. Levelwing helps companies utilize data to OPERATE WITH GREATER CLARITY +
PROFITABILITY.
Bottom line, they move your business forward by helping you make sense of your data so that
you can ACHIEVE WHAT COULD BE.
For additional information, please contact:
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Co-Founder & Managing Partner
steve@levelwing.com
1 + 843.631.4587