Qualitatively Speaking is a regular column in which a revolving cast of authors offers their thoughts on various aspects ofthe multifaceted world of qualitative research - in 1, 000 words or less! Submissions are welcome. Send your ideas or man-

uscripts to Quirk's Editor Joe Rydholm at joe@quirks.com.

By Margaret R. Roller

Editor's note: Margaret R. Roller ispresident of Roller MarketingResearch, Urbanna, Va. She can bereached at 888-227-8999 or atrmr@rollerresearch.com.

R esearchers, in general, tend to fallinto one of two broad categories:those who specialize in qualita-

tive research or those whose expertiseis in quantitative. Even researcherswho provide all types of research ser-vices commonly focus their attentionon one of the two areas, depending ontheir own perceived strengths or inter-ests. This is certainly true among qual-itative researchers who may cringe atthe thought of working with numbersor harbor at least some anxiety whenhearing words such as "sampling" or"error." More than cringe, some maydenounce quantitative research as lessimportant than the rich, real-life con-sumer behavior uncovered in the qual-itative process. Indeed, qualitativeresearchers take pride in the fact (andrightly so) that their research findingsdo not neatly fit into a structured com-puter-analyzed framework.

situation and thereby better serve theusers of our research. For example, Iwas once asked to conduct a series offocus groups concerning a new prod-uct design for the residential lightingmarket. In my initial discussions withthe client it became obvious that pric-ing was a focus of the research.Further probing showed that the clientwas actually intending to use theresearch results to justify a particularprice point. This was clearly a misuseof qualitative research and an appro-priate central location quantitative testdesign was proposed (and conducted)instead.

Similarly, qualitative researcherswith a broader understanding of theresearch process can more effectivelypropose two-stage or multi-stageresearch designs. Even if theresearcher needs to subcontract withanother research firm for the quantita-tive piece, the researcher benefits fromhaving better served the researchneeds of the end user. This can be par-ticularly,important when the client isunsure which direction to take and

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I know this because I am very mucha qualitative researcher. But I am alsoa quantitative researcher with anunderstanding of many researchdesign methods, and one who attemptsto incorporate the vibrant results fromqualitative into the total researchobjective. In this sense, my ability asa qualitative researcher is only as goodas my knowledge of quantitative. Iwould argue that qualitativeresearchers owe it to themselves, andto their client partners, to gain anappreciation of quantitative designmethods and utilize this knowledgewhen designing, executing, and ana-lyzing their qualitative projects.

The point is this: Researchers shouldfocus on being researchers, not quali-tative researchers or quantitativeresearchers. On some level,researchers should by definition striveto become methodologists. By widen-ing their knowledge and appreciationof quantitative design issues, qualita-tive researchers will reap several sig-nificant benefits. First, we will becomebetter able to understand the "best"design solution to any given research

20 www.quirks.com Quirk's Marketing Research Review