Everything You Need To Know About Online Qualitative Research
Online qualitative research is the collection of data about the thoughts, attitudes, beliefs of a person towards a certain product or service. It is conducted online via forms, face-to-face online interactions, etc. The research could focus on a certain group or individuals depending on the need of the research.
Online qualitative research helps save the time that is lost on doing surveys in person. It also reduces the cost of research significantly. The additional anonymity it gives especially in surveys makes people comfortable enough to answer truthfully. Apart from online research, a huge database of secondary research is available online for use wherever and whenever needed.
Post the pandemic, online research has become even more prevalent than before. But there are a few things to keep in mind before conducting a survey online.
● Firstly, it is important to be clear on what you want. When your objectives are set, going about the research becomes easier. Depending on your needs, choose your target group and also which type of research you want to conduct. Accordingly, build your questions to get detailed information about what the market is looking for. A comfortable environment produces more honest answers than one that is not.
● Being online can cause exhaustion, so the researchers must create a sensorily stimulating environment. Keeping discussions engaging and exciting keeps the room lively and willing to answer and discuss more. Employing animations, videos, and fun topics can help overcome the monotony of these researches.
● Conducting online research might require data collected through multiple channels. Such channels must be separated and differentiated to prevent any confusion or wrong feedback.
● A researcher should have clarity as to what they want from the research. Questions must be framed, participants segmented and the flow of discussions decided accordingly.
● Decide which type of interview you want — structured or free-flowing. A structured interview is more like a survey with a set of questions pre-decided by the researcher. But a free-flowing one will allow room for more vibrant discussions and explore topics unthought of. The issue is that it may go off-track quite easily.
Choosing the medium for online research is also essential. Prepare your links, set the date, time and send it to participants a day or two prior. Don’t forget to send them a reminder as well.
