CM A147 - Qualitative Research Method*, Q4 *NOT ESTABLISHED*

Faculty
Torsten Ringberg

Course Coordinator
Torsten Ringberg

It is recommended that students have a basic knowledge of theories about consumer behavior and marketing (bachelor level). The course is especially relevant for graduate students involved in Marketing and other areas that depend on a Qualitative Approach (although each area may adopt a slightly different one). All students are welcome to attend.

Qualitative research taps into the symbolic worlds of consumers which include influential, yet often tacit mental (socio-cognitive) frameworks. The latter frameworks are influenced by the socio-cultural fabrics as well as individuals’ unique life experiences. The goal of this course is for you to come away with a better understanding of the richness of these symbolic worlds which affect how consumers make sense of self, others as well as consumer brands. We will look at several qualitative approaches each of which focuses at eliciting different levels of consumers’ mindset. We will also explore potential strategic implications of such findings. The course relies on both conceptual and “hands-on” learning methods.

The course covers conceptual and methodological areas in qualitative research. The philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of qualitative research will be covered. We will also focus on analytic tools and strategic implications. The assigned texts are essential for your understanding and appreciation of qualitative research. It is imperative that you come to class prepared and ready to share ideas, comments, and questions. Throughout the course there will be hands-on projects. The class sessions will include a variety of lectures/discussions, cases/articles/presentations, exercises, and industry presentations. The hands-on aspects of the course involve following students actively engage in following activities:

There will be a particular focus on semi-structured in-depth interview techniques (including laddering and metaphor eliciting) as these techniques provide eminently useful insights into what drives consumers’ product/services preferences. Many firms employ some form of in-depth research of consumers that surface how people relate to, conceptualize, and actually use products. This is how the French anthropologist Rapeille came up with the insight that the cultural code for hospital in the U.S. is a “processing plant” - pointing to its depersonalizing routines and that cheese is perceived as sterile and dangerous if alive (best kept cooled and zipped up like a body in a body bag). OlsonZaltman Inc.’s work illustrates how a Children’s Hospital in Pittsburg was able to improve patient satisfaction througa positive transformation enabled by a change in interior design and more personalized routines. IDEO helped Allen Edmonds reposition its 85-year-old luxury men’s brand toward younger consumers making them feel it was part of their life journey.

While four methods will be explored particular emphasis will be on ZMET (Zaltman’s Metaphorical Eliciting Techniques). These techniques are patented but can used in an academic setting. They include:

In the qualitative field, good research convinces the critical and knowledgeable reader by demonstrating that the data are genuine and the analytic interpretations are plausible, reasonable, and provide new/useful insights. You will be required to identify and interview real consumers. You will also be asked to identify and seek out consumer brands/ communities.

The course will be based on lectures, in-class workshops, field observations and interviews, and guest lectures from the industry.

The outcome of the course depends on your active participation (i.e., field work, interviews, transcription, data analysis, and write-up) – all aspects of qualitative research is time consuming (i.e., no computer program will do the conceptual work for you although it may help organize the data). You will be required to actively participate in group project (max 4 students per group), as well as turn in a final in-depth report. Within a few weeks in the course you will begin interview exercises (in small teams). For this you need to have access to an audio recording device.

At the end of the course, you should be able:

Oral examination based upon a mini-project.

The lectures are based on the following texts:

Selected pages/chapters from following books:

Articles: