Qualitative Research

Hearing the "voice of the customer" can do more to motivate internal behavioral change than a thousand charts of data. But basing decisions solely on the insights gained from observing people discuss a topic in a group setting, can also be gut wrenching and wrong. There’s the qualitative research rub. We need the in-depth information available from qualitative research but we don’t want to base strategy on the opinion of one loud voice in a focus group room.

Sentient's Hybrid Research™ approach capitalizes on the power and avoids the pitfalls by employing qualitative research solutions that are geographically balanced, complementing focus group insight with one-on-one interview insight to ensure group bias is reduced, and employing senior level qualitative moderators and analysts with the skills to redirect, probe and drill down to gather deep insight from rich qualitative data. Qualitative methods include focus groups, IDIs, and ethnography, and our end results are used for new product development, innovation and marketing.

"The only measure of what you believe is what you do. If you want to know what people believe, don’t read what they write, don't ask them what they believe, just observe what they do." Ashley Montagu

What sets Sentient's qualitative research apart from other research firms?

• Hybrid Research™ approach utilizes qualitative and quantitative together to quantify the gut feeling
• Fieldwork blogs keep moderators, interviewers and ethnographers in touch with the client team via daily postings of narrative, video and photos during fieldwork
• Research learnings are communicated at the conclusion of fieldwork in Sentient Rapid Infusion™ sessions which enable engineers, marketers and creatives to action learnings quickly and effectively
• Sentient reports are multi-media presentations utilizing video, audio and digital photography
• Observational approaches are often used in conjunction with self-reported formats such as focus groups
• Qualitative researchers are experts in utilizing qualitative research approaches, and work in partnership with quantitative researchers
• Our research network allows us to conduct fieldwork globally without regard to global borders, time zones, and language barriers

We take into account our clients' team models and we adapt our communication models to meet your needs. With researchers in the field almost every day of the year, this flexible structure ensures accessibility, mobility and rapid infusion of research learnings from the field to your team.