The toolkit of an online researcher is composed of quantitative research tools and qualitative research tools.
Both types of research are necessary to gain a complete understanding of the market and make informed decisions about product development, marketing strategy, and other key areas.
But how do you decide between one methodology or the other? Is one better than the other?
It all depends on what you’re looking for and the goals you’ve set.
In any case, we can tell you that the winning combination may be in using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In this article, we’ll break down the key points for you.
Quantitative research focuses on collecting numerical and statistical data through surveys, online surveys, and standardized interviews. These data are used to analyze patterns and trends in market behavior. It’s useful for getting an overall view of a particular market and understanding the size and structure of a market.
Qualitative research, on the other hand, focuses on collecting qualitative data through non-standardized interviews, focus groups, or observation. This data is used to gain a deeper understanding of consumer motivations, opinions, and attitudes. Qualitative research is useful for understanding the reasons behind purchasing decisions and developing a more effective marketing strategy.
Both types of research are necessary to gain a comprehensive view of the market under analysis and obtain information and data to make decisions in key areas such as marketing, product and service development and improvement, etc.
Qualitative research is primarily exploratory in nature and helps to better understand needs, motivations, processes, and justifications for behaviors. It provides in-depth insights into a situation and helps form ideas or hypotheses for possible quantitative research.
Quantitative research, on the other hand, focuses more on numbers and can help evaluate hypotheses that arise in qualitative research. Adding the quantitative aspect to qualitative research will undoubtedly provide a quantifiable dimension to the research topic.
At the same time, qualitative research can also positively contribute to quantitative research. Qualitative research helps understand the reasons in the customer’s consideration process, their «whys,» what they think. And understand the context in which different behaviors occur.
As you can see, the combination of both types of research allows market research to provide valuable information for decision-making.
Update date 15 April, 2024
