dear diary: practical guide to meaningful respondent journals
DESCRIPTION
Having a respondent track a particular behavior, feeling or time of day can lend powerful insights into a client’s research question. But creating an outstanding diary or journal exercise is so much more than giving a respondent a blank notebook or URL and lots of white space in which to write or type. This presentation takes an in-depth look at how to get the most from diaries and journals by exploring issues such as: Why and when to include a journal as part of a research study Choosing a platform: comparing paper, online, and mobile options Handwriting, drawing, typing, voice, photos, videos – which is right for a study? Structuring the actual diary and best practices to solicit insightful entries Dealing with timing, recruiting, logistics, and reporting Drawing upon Abby’s experience having conducted journals or diaries with hundreds of participants, lasting from several days to several months, this session will leave attendees armed with tools and techniques to create great ‘Dear Diary’ adjuncts to their research. These slides will be presented at the QRCA 2012 Conference in Montreal.TRANSCRIPT
Dear Diary: A practical guide to creating meaningful respondent journals
Abby Leafe New Leafe Research www.newleaferesearch.com 1
What is a diary?
Which medium is best?
Exercises to try
Case studies
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Respondent-generated
Captures a defined activity, behavior or experience
Over time
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Diary Homework
Diaries can be given as ‘homework’ prior to another qualitative encounter…
…but not everything you give as homework is a diary.
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We can’t be with respondents all the time…
…and we might not want to be!
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Respondents might have trouble remembering
Researchers might not be privy to
Happen over an extended period of time
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Usage
Process
Experience
How is a product being used? What product features are…
Useful or important?
Missing?
Misunderstood?
What pain points exist?
How do consumers execute a specific task/process?
What does the purchase decision look like in a particular category?
What is it like to _____?
What types of messages/products/people are
consumers exposed to? 7
Usage
Process
Experience
Needs Opportunity
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“Just the facts, ma’am”
More reflective and analytical
A combination of the two
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“Just give it to me in a medium that works for me”
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Every medium has advantages and drawbacks. Know which door to walk through.
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Smaller budgets
Creative assignments
Low tech respondents
Easy access to diaries during follow-up research
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No researcher access during data collection
Hassle factor – printing, shipping, collecting, scanning, etc.
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Detailed instructions are important.
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“Model” what you want with an example, if appropriate.
Use space to show how much you want respondents to give you.
Provide a place to go for help.
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Paper can take the longest to set up and execute, especially if you want a facility or recruiter to distribute it.
Consider whether you can enlist respondents to
print it themselves. (Risky, but can save time, cost.)
Do you want to collect it prior to in-person work? Early collection allows you to analyze it in advance;
make copies for client
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Engaging clients Learning about respondents before they get
in the room
Pre-screening respondents for follow-up research
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Not portable (although this is changing!)
Can feel sterile – need to work to create warm environment
May not be a fit for all respondent types
Cost usually not free
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www.newqualitative.com
But also consider creative free solutions: blogging sites like Blogger, photo sharing sites like Flickr, etc.
Evernote
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Free is not always = practical
For example – using a free photo site to share photos…
Issues around existing accounts, getting new ones
Multi-step process means you will lose some people
How to share with clients?
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Many online bulletin boards are set up for threaded discussion – not what’s needed for a diary
Some providers have a more robust “diary” functionality
What do you want respondents to give you? Text, video, photos, all of the above?
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Look for the ability to offer a “recurring
activity”
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Capturing data at the time it’s happening • Shopping • Travel • Dining out
“Just the facts”-type information collection Smartphone users
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Mobile vs. online is a false distinction
Mobile capabilities can be integrated into many online research platforms
Mobile can expand the number of daily interactions with respondents
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Data entry can prohibit longer responses, more introspection
Can’t use in all environments
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All ‘mobile qual’ providers are not alike: What do you need?
Respondents send in voice, photo, video entries to a central repository
Mobile access to an online bulletin board application
A full-fledged app for smartphone users
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Excel
Text/SMS
Voice
Video
Photos
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Works great on paper
Use a visual aid: easel paper, calendar, etc.
Ask respondents to fill in activities relating to the topic at hand
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Sample Timeline
Lends itself well to storytelling
Vacations
Shopping
Purchase decision
Product usage
Etc.
Captions are as important as pictures
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Photo Album idea
Goes beyond the basic ‘who, what, where, when, why”
Can capture the emotion or feeling around a particular product or category
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Share at least 10 snippets of your “beer moments” over the next week, to be completed by Sunday, March 11th. CAPTURE THE MOMENT Create and send snippets when you actually have a beer. It can be beers you have at home or out on the town, just take ‘em and send ‘em as they happen. Don’t wait! We know you’re enjoying your beer but if you don’t send right away there’s a good chance you’ll forget what went into that choice later. JUST BE YOURSELF You’ve probably already had some good practice with posting party pics to Facebook! So don’t be shy, try to faithfully document what goes into “beer-time” for you. The more descriptive you are the more we’ll be able to learn about you and your beer preferences. MIX IT UP Get creative. Aim for a variety of photos to give us a well-rounded view of your experiences. It doesn’t always have to be a picture of a bottle. It can be a beer menu or have a friend get a shot of you with your drink! ALL ABOUT THE BEER We are focusing specifically on beer, not wine or liquor. It can be domestic, craft, cheap, expensive, hoppy, or malty, but just make sure you capture every beer.
Thank you!
dScout 38
Works with any polarity: Yum/yuck
Best/worst
Good/bad
Etc.
Forces respondents to think about what’s
working and not working about a product or service
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As you go about your week, think about the things that you do related to cash management that are particularly easy or particularly hard. They might be online, on your computer but not using the internet, or on paper. As these things happen, record them in the space provided.
• Task name (or photo of the task) • Describe what you’re doing • Easy or hard? • Why?
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Helpful when clients want to understand consumer attitudes/ beliefs around a higher order benefit
Works when respondents may find it hard to articulate what they really think
Also great for ad development!
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Capture 5 snippets completing the sentence “Clean is…” in the title of your snippet. Think of it like a Mad Lib as it applies to how you think about cleanliness. Try to make sure each snippet captures a different aspect of cleanliness. WHAT makes you feel clean? HOW do you feel when you feel clean? WHEN do you feel the cleanest? Give us the full “clean” picture.
Thank you!
dScout 42
Can be a variant of a more basic journal (maybe 1 day of a longer diary)
Ask respondents to ‘go without’ for the day and journal their experiences at set intervals
Allow them a certain number of ‘cheats’ if possible – but they have to journal about the cheat(s)
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This week, you’ve told me all about your
coffee moments (and I’ve enjoyed reading
them!). Today…I want you to go without
coffee for the day. So instead of telling me
about your coffee moments, tell me about
your “non-coffee moments”: those times
when you would have had coffee but didn’t.
•What was happening at the time?
•What did you have instead?
•How did you feel during? Afterwards?
Thank you!
Revelation, 20/20, dScout
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Case studies will be included in the actual live presentation but are not included in this advance copy of the deck.
