Qualitative research enables you to explore an issue in detail with a select number of participants. Participants are purposively selected according to the demographics you wish to target.
This type of research gives you an in-depth view of opinions and attitudes to the topic in question.
Qualitative methods include:
One-to-one interviews (face-to-face or telephone)
This is the method that will yield the most in-depth results. In a one-to-one interview, a skilled researcher can really drill down into the detail of a subject and explore an individual’s opinions, beliefs and attitudes. Face-to-face interviews are preferable, but telephone interviews are a good alternative when participants are busy or widely dispersed.
Focus groups
Focus groups usually involve up to eight people who are asked to express their views, understanding and attitudes on a subject. Focus groups are a great way to get people bouncing ideas off each other and generating conversation about the topic. They enable an experienced facilitator to quickly obtain a broad spectrum of views. However, they do not produce the depth of individual insight that you get from a one-to-one interview.