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QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH

A quantitative study or survey allows to know the opinions, attitudes or behaviours to investigate expressed as percentages that are applicable to the entire population. To obtain them a questionnaire to be answered by a representative sample of that population is prepared.

Each sample size implies a certain margin of error in the results. So, attention must be paid to the size of the sample both when designing the study (to make sure that the sample is big enough) and when interpreting the results (for not giving importance to non-significant differences).

A fundamental aspect of Quantitative Research is to ensure the representativeness of the sample so that results can be extrapolated to the entire population. It is therefore important to properly define the universe, to select the sample correctly, to define the variables for setting quotas, etc..

Methodologies in Quantitative Market Research

QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGIES

Personal interviews (face to face)
CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviews)
CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviews)
CAWI (computer-assisted web interviews)
Postal Surveys
Panels
Online Research

TYPES OF RESEARCH

Tracking Studies
Ground and Image Studies
Diagnostic Studies
Motivational Research
Concept / product / packaging / sales promotions Test
Pre and Post Advertising Tests
Distribution Studies
Perceived Quality / Customer Satisfaction Studies
Mystery Shopper

MORE INFORMATION

The questionnaire

The first step in a quantitative study is the detailed definition of the objectives or contents to study. The questions to make to the interviewee are prepared from the list of contents.

A technician prepares the questionnaire (or advises the client in their design) and is responsible for prevent biases. To this end, controls the order of questions, tries to avoid respondent fatigue (we always recommend avoiding excessively lengthy questionnaires) or adapt the statement to the language of the interviewee to make the question understandable and without confusions.

A pre-test of the questionnaire should be always done to detect any possible bias or difficulty of understanding.

Quality Fieldwork

Once the questionnaire has been developed , we establish the universe under study and fix the procedure of selection of the sample and after that, the fieldwork or data collection phase starts.

Collection of information through questionnaire can be made in person (face to face), by phone (CATI system), by post or online. Each of these procedures has advantages and disadvantages.

The successful implementation of fieldwork and a meticulous control in its quality is fundamental to guarantee the quality of a study.

What results do I get?

Once the fieldwork is done, the responses are recorded in a database for further processing and statistical tabulation.

From these data the client obtains numerical tables and a full graphical report with key findings and conclusions that should answer the needs considered in the investigation and help the customer in their decision making.