In-depth Interviews
Overview of In-depth Interviews in China
In-depth interviews are a qualitative data collection methodology ideally used in the identification of attitudes, opinions, and beliefs of target populations. Conduct of market research in-depth interviews in China can be done through telephones or face to face interview that normally extend from a several minutes to one hour. This method can be used in place of focus group discussions to give way for the respondents to feel comfortable in sharing their personal views with the researcher. Isolated experiences of consumers such as testing product usability or the compelling impact of product messaging can be also handled effectively through in-depth interviews.
The flexible nature of this method allows ease and convenience to both the researcher and the interviewer and will derive effective results as to perception about a particular product or service or depending upon the nature of data being collected. In general in-depth interviews are used to collect history of behavior, reveal experiences that are divergent, provide an avenue to gain easy access to norms of the community, and highlight importance of topics that can be openly discussed in individual interviews.
Recommendations for In-Depth Interviews in China
By way of application, market research in-depth interviews are efficient-wise if applied to populations with low literacy rates as subjects from this subset find it hard to answer structured questionnaires. One important aspect to consider with this method is the expertise of the interviewer. Experienced interviewers are able to make respondents engage and share their genuine perceptions and point of views. Underlying motivations, feelings, and beliefs are uncovered in the process resulting to a successful research activity. In-depth interviews can be applied through different subjects, to name a few: children, competitors, sensitive topics, and complicated behavior. Interviewers should attempt to be engaging and at the same time conversant to encourage intimate, friendly, and genuine conversation with the respondents.
In-depth interviews can be used in business to business research when looking for strategic market opportunities because it can identify behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes of consumers and business buyers. This method can also be used in defining consumer motivation which is an important component of business to consumer research. The experiences, beliefs, and opinions of consumers about a particular product can be defined from a range of questions pointed at them in varying degrees and lengths. It is important to keep in mind that in-depth interviews could be best conducted in conducive and not crowded places to avoid any interruptions that will harm the smooth conduct of the interview. Additionally, interviews should not last more than two hours for one single respondent. This can be done through avoiding unnecessary topics and making use of simple and easy to understand questions.
It is also noteworthy not to interrupt respondents when answering the questions to allow smooth transition of ideas in the interview. As for the method’s effectiveness, in-depth interviews can be time consuming and costly due to the fact that some interviewers spend more time in unrelated issues. If interviewers are unfriendly, respondents tend to be reluctant to share personal feelings about a subject. This will render results to become subjective leaving reports to form biased judgments.