Abstract:

The South African market research industry has been strongly influenced by its segregationist past, and Qualitative research is no exception. Political and geographical isolation of the country, and of the research industry, has resulted in little innovation and change in beliefs in the local research industry. Qualitative research traditionally has been conducted with respondents of similar demographic characteristics, and moderated by a moderator of the same gender and skin colour as the respondent group. Political changes during the five years since the release of Nelson Mandela in February 1990 the unbanning of the ANC and its governing of the country as well as the scrapping of apartheid legislation, have created a new breed of Qualitative researchers. Whilst still few in numbers, they are heralding important changes in the industry. This paper details how psychographically based group respondent composition, through recruiting respondents with similar beliefs and usage patterns, can be as successful and effective as groups based on a demographically recruited respondent mix.