Abstract:

The first part of the paper puts the case for undertaking qualitative research within a comprehensive model of consumer dynamics that cover the basics of product and brand use and choice. It discusses the role of qualitative research in going beyond simple cognitive exploration, and using a 'psychoscopic' approach to collect cognitive, or emotional material. The questions of interpretation and validity are addressed. The second part presents four case histories, covering a range of different problems and product fields, and seeks to demonstrate how a greater detail and richness of data was achieved using the approaches described in part one.