Data collection was arguably the most important part of the class. Without data it would be impossible to discuss the differences between the US and Japan in regards to mobile consumer behavior. As I mentioned before I wanted qualitative and quantitative data to provide a more complete picture so I set about buying lunch for my PhDs in marketing and picking their brains about what not to do. The first topic to tackle was qualitative data. I had a pretty good feel for quantitative data but was unsure of qual.
Dr. Akaka – From discussing qualitative data collection/analysis with Dr. Akaka, I learned several things.
- Unlike quant, where statistically you need a minimum of 30 respondents, qual had no such guidelines.
- Qual involved asking open-ended questions and essentially seeing where the information took you. I like this as it can lead to discovery.
- Qualitative interviews is what most researchers do to determine what questions should be on the quantitative portion of the data collection. This makes complete sense but given my knowledge of the field, I was pretty sure what information would be the most compelling.
From my discussion with Dr. Akaka. I created the following open-ended questions.
- How do you use your smartphone?
- How do you interact with mobile advertising?
- How do you use the mobile web?
- How do you use mobile applications?
- Do you use any “location aware†applications?
- How do you user your smartphone while in your car?
- How do you use social networks on your smartphone?
- How do you use your smartphone at events?
- How do you use your smartphone when shopping?
- How do you use your smartphone to text/message people?
- What do you think about wearables?
Along with how people do things on their smartphones, I also wanted to know why? Why don’t you click on mobile advertising? Why do you use mobile applications more than mobile websites? Why do you share shopping deals with some friends and not others.
