Hybrid Qualitative & Quantitative

Conducting both qualitative and quantitative research in the same study (qualiquant) is a tried-and-true concept. A typical approach employs focus groups or IDIs in a discovery phase to inform the design of quantitative research, and follow-up qualitative work might be used to help interpret or validate results. According to the latest GRIT Insights Practice Report, an average of 30% of brand-side market researchers’ projects are qualiquant, and the average proportion is even higher for their data and analytics counterparts (39%).

The drawbacks of this traditional mixed methodology approach are readily apparent, especially when exposed under the clear bright light of new technology. It’s expensive, and the tasks can be very time-consuming. Qualiquant projects also tend to eat up large amounts of calendar time, and a lot can happen between the statement of work and the deliverables. Competitor actions might change the market landscape, innovations might alter the desirability of certain features or enable completely new ones, and let’s not forget changes in economic fortunes that could shrink the market for high end products or erase the price barriers that separate product classes, with or without a pandemic.

Of course, time and money are very commonplace concerns that can be eased via research automation for surveys and for focus groups and IDIs. An integrated platform for hybrid qualiquant projects, however, can do more than increase speed and lower costs: it can address pain points you might not have even named yet because a cure seems unimaginable.

Who wouldn’t want to tap into a virtually continuous stream of timely insights? And who doesn’t wish that the fruits of qualitative and quantitative research could be blended together into a tangy punch instead of arranged as attractively as possible for the least compelling kind of still-life portrait? And how come we can integrate qualitative and quantitative results in our minds to identify new insights but can only mix them in the outside world? Technology has been stomping the qualiquant grapes long enough to break down the distinctions between the two sets of methods and produce a fine new varietal that everyone should at least sample.

A truly hybrid, integrated platform breaks down the barriers that force you to organize data collection and analysis into separate projects, transforming research and insights from activities punctuated by events into a more continuous and accessible real-time information flow. You can turn insights projects into ongoing insights programs.

This tech showcase is for anyone who works with qualitative and quantitative research (and those who would like to!). If you are new to research automation, this showcase will demonstrate the benefits of automating both kinds of methods. If you have already adopted independent platform solutions for qual and quant, it will open your mind to the possibilities of integrating sample sources, data collection, and analysis of the two kinds of data. If you are already living in a world of continuous real-time insights enabled by hybrid research platforms, you clearly would want to know what’s new and what’s coming next.