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Memorandum
To: Karen Thompson
From: Griffin May
Date: February 16, 2013
Subject: Extended Technical Definitions and Developed Technical Descriptions

This memo fulfills the requirements for a technical definition and description of a term in my
area of study, Public Relations. I have chosen Qualitative Research as the term I will define and
describe. Qualitative Research is a method used by many Public Relations professionals to gain
an in depth understanding of human behavior and the reasoning behind such behavior.
Qualitative Research allows Public Relations practitioners to successfully understand the
audience they are targeting.
Audience
The audience when defining Qualitative Research would include any potential company
interested in developing a marketing and research plan for whatever their product/campaign may
be. Assuming the company initially knows their goals and expectations, Qualitative Research
would be one of their most important tools.
Problem/Purpose
Often times Qualitative Research is the tool used when finding the problem/purpose of outlining
a Public Relations campaign. Qualitative Research is used to find how the target audience feels.
Essentially, it is a form of research that expresses the opinion of the product without using hard
facts or statistics. Many of the problems cannot be defined with numbers and that is where
Qualitative Research comes into play.
Placement
The placement of Qualitative Research would be found in the final research analysis behind the
Public Relations campaign. This Qualitative Research would describe what exactly the method
discovered.
The extended technical definition would be placed at the beginning of the research analysis
overview. This way employees of the company will have a better understanding of the exact
research method that was used in the campaign.
The developed description of the Qualitative Research may be explained towards the end of the
research analysis overview to describe to employees why this specific method of research was
used and why it was necessary for the certain campaign.

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Technical Definition: Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research is a method of inquiry employed in many different academic disciplines,
traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts. Qualitative
researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that
govern such behavior. The qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making,
not just what, where, when. Qualitative Research is used to outline and develop the approach you
will use to complete the desired campaign.
Examples of Qualitative Research
Examples of Qualitative Research include focus groups, face to face interviews, and observatory
studies. Focus groups are a research method where several people are interviewed all at once.
This creates group discussion and the participants are more likely to voice their real opinions
when in the company of others who feel the same. This is useful when determining how the
general public feels towards a certain product or commercial. Face to face interviews generally
use open ended questions. The researchers then record the answers given exactly as they are said.
An issue with face to face interviews can be the interviewer affecting the interviewees response.
It is critical that the interviewer does not encourage or discourage any of the participants answer.
Observatory studies essentially take place in all Qualitative Research. An extra set of eyes is
needed to determine how the research method went. Determining things like facial expressions,
body gestures, and vocal tones can determine the truthfulness of participant answers.
Qualitative Research vs Quanitative Research
Qualitative Research should not be confused with Quantitative Research. Qualitative Research is
much more about understanding the opinion of participants. While Quantitative is much more
scientific in that it seeks explain the reason for these opinions. Quantitative is more reliant on
objective measurements. In Qualitative research the researchers are immersed in the study while
Quantitative research aims for the least amount of bias as possible by detaching the researchers
from the study all together. Examples of Quantitative research would be methods like surveys or
experiments. Qualitative Research digs deeper than just the answers to the questions. It discovers
the participants knowledge level of whatever the subject may be. And from there it can be
determined how reliable on participants answer may be.
History
Qualitative Research was developed in the early 1900s when researchers began to reject the idea
that there was always a positive objective answer. Researchers began to understand that people
may answer questions because they are forced to do so. This can lead to outliers in the research.
Where people answered, but really had no idea what they were being asked or answering. With
this, Qualitative research becomes a little bit more flexible in the questionnaire process.



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Technical Description: Qualitative Research
Qualitative Research aims to gather an in-
depth understanding of human behaviors and
the reasons behind those behaviors.
Qualitative Research methods investigate the
why and how of decision making. They often
use smaller samples compared to larger
samples.
One of the main tools to collect Qualitative
Research would be the method of a focus
group. In a focus group, participants are asked
questions about their opinions and attitudes
towards a certain product, idea,
advertisement etc,. The group is interactive
and participants can converse with each
other while being lead by a moderator. In Public Relations, focus groups are an excellent way in
receiving feedback regarding their clients product.
Figure 1 depicts what an ordinary Qualitative Research focus group would look like. Participants
are guided by a moderator while their answers are recorded and analyzed by observers on the
other side of the transparent glass. The moderator guides the participants through the questions
that the client wishes to be answered. From there researchers can analyze the way the questions
were asked and the participants reactions and answers to the desired questions.

Figure 2 depicts the steps
that go into planning the
final Qualitative Research
focus group plan. In phase
1 you define what you hope
to discover. In phase 2, you
develop what type of
people should be chosen for
the focus group and how to
get into contact with them.
In phase 3, you find basic
information on the
demographics of the people
that will be participating in
the focus group. From there, the
moderator can practice catering to the
participants. And the final phase 4 is where the actual focus group takes place. This is also where
you compile all of the recorded information and analyze the data you collected.
Figure 1- Conventional Focus Group set up
Figure 2 The typical process that goes into planning a focus group.