Exploratory surveys

Exploratory surveys are often conducted in the discovery phase. They aim to:

• • Identify unsolved problems
  • Formulate the problem in accurate and detailed terms
  • Identify alternative, viable solutions to the problem

Usually of a qualitative nature, these kinds of studies interview (or/and observe) small groups of experts (persons knowledgeable about the context we are interested in) in order to collect unstructured comments, reactions, ideas, opinions, and other relevant inputs coming directly from the involved experts. There are two common approaches to collect qualitative data:

• • Individual interviews (one-on-one)
  • Group talks (focus groups).

Because in most cases the researcher is not very knowledgeable of the subject of the study, the research design of exploratory research is quite flexible and allows the collection and use of any sort of relevant information that contributes to reaching the objective of the study. Often, secondary data sources are used. In other cases, qualitative surveys are employed to collect first-hand data. Given that no clear hypothesis has been formulated yet, the study is supposed to help in formulating detailed research questions and hypothesis about the problem, which will then be answered with other research studies, often of a quantitative kind.

In order to not mislead respondents, the interview moderator may use video and audio inputs to stimulate reactions in the respondents.

Auto-projective techniques are commonly used to describe situations and to reduce ambiguity. Some popular techniques are:

• • Collage of images
  • Chinese portrait
  • Animated drawings
  • Sentence completion
  • Word associations
  • Verbal imagination test
  • Visual imagination test
  • Balloon test
  • Talking pictures
  • Adjective test
  • Role play

Some examples of exploratory studies include:

• • Focus groups to identify the features used to measure customer satisfaction with brands and companies
  • Focus groups to identify advantages and disadvantages of the new packaging of pharmaceutical products
  • Observation of and one-on-one conversations with mothers of new-born babies about problems they face when replacing diapers
  • Observation (ethnographic) study on how men from different cultures shave
  • Observation of in-store traffic of a supermarket chain
  • Focus group on problems associated with the use of certain surgery devices

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