The Monograph will try to explain what is meant by 'quality' and how it may be achieved and improved upon. Its contributors argue that to achieve real quality requires discipline - in the design, execution, analysis, interpretation and presentation of qualitative studies and their results. It requires the acceptance of certain rules that guide what should be done; and it requires the rejection of practices or 'sins' that mitigate against quality. It requires both a sense of order and of creativity, two notions that might appear to contradict but, when truly aligned, are indeed complementary.
This paper aims to illuminate and investigate the discrepancy between the excellent knowledge of good qualitative research and the practice of applied qualitative research.
This paper has two parts. The first deals with the theory of qualitative research and is based upon an earlier paper in the 1987 Monograph on Qualitative Research published by ESOMAR. The second part is based on two further papers, one in the same Monograph and the other in the 1993 Proceedings of the ESOMAR Qualitative Research Seminar held in Rome.
The fundamental aim of qualitative research is to understand the relevant aspects and isolate them from circumstantial factors; this is why its purpose has been radically modified. From now on, the aim is to provide the client with information on what is significant, on aspects which mean something to him and which are linked to his communication.
This paper is devoted to issues related to the planning and implementing of market research studies with the use of ethnographic and observational approaches. This paper addresses these issues according to a consistent set of principles developed through practice. It also describes how decisions should be made about research implementation according to the QualiData Worldwide Ethnography model.
There is a good deal of misunderstanding about how qualitative researchers work with participants and how participants react in qualitative studies in Asian countries and especially in Japan. In fact, when we do cross-cultural qualitative research in Japan, there are always some issues regarding Japanese culture/society that do not fit into the Western way of thinking. This paper discusses how and why such issues occur in data collection, analysis/interpretation, and recruitment - from the perspective of Japanese social and cultural characteristics and that of Japanese people. Finally, to meet those issues, the author proposes possible approaches for qualitative researchers in Japan to deliver results in a global context, while satisfying the demands of two major conditions: standardisation and cross-comparability.
The premise of this paper is that the use of a single qualitative research methodology - especially one which searches for understanding and insights away from the context in which behaviour is taking place - can result in misleading recommendations and is therefore professionally irresponsible. The paper will argue that the nature of the window through which human behaviour can be interpreted differs depending on which methodology is used.
The theme of this paper is that qualitative research, as it travels through the world exploring new terrain, is now in serious danger of falling into a foul smelling swamp and remaining stuck there. There are, however, challenging peaks to climb which give a different perspective of the way forward - a direction that is exciting and inspirational to all who wish to follow it. The second section of this paper discusses some of the other factors that have undermined the effectiveness of qualitative research in the marketing context of the 90's.