Abstract
A number of techniques can be used to probe consumer responses to new products in addition to the traditional mode of inquiry using questionnaires and large statistical samples. Exploratory research methods often use small numbers of participants but allow for greater interaction and deeper probing of attitudes and opinions (Chambers and Smith, 1991). As a class of methods, they are referred to as qualitative techniques to distinguish them from quantitative survey work that stresses statistical treatment of numerical data and representative projectable sampling. This chapter reviews the principles and application of qualitative research methods. Very little experimentation has been conducted on this form of consumer research from the perspective of sensory evaluation. For this reason, the chapter is written as a summary of the authors’ experience, drawing heavily from the overviews of the area by Casey and Krueger (1994), Krueger (1994), Chambers and Smith (1991), Stewart and Shamdasani (1990), and Goldman and McDonald (1987).
The decision to use a focus group or some other research tool must be based on the appropriateness of the method for obtaining answers for specific research questions. It has been noted before that to a man with a hammer, everything is a nail. ... Focus groups are useful for particular purposes and specific situations—for exploring the way particular groups of individuals think and talk about a phenomenon, for generating ideas and for generating diagnostic information. For these purposes, focus groups represent a rigorous scientific method of inquiry.”—Stewart and Shamdasani (1990, p. 140)
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Lawless, H.T., Heymann, H. (1999). Qualitative Consumer Research Methods. In: Sensory Evaluation of Food. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7843-7_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-7843-7_15
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