Qual-Online the Essential Guide : What Every Researcher Needs to Know about Conducting and Moderating Interviews Via the Web

The core skills required to be a good Qualitative Research Consultant (QRC) are the same for online qualitative as they are for in-person research. Clear research objectives, an effective screening questionnaire, an unbiased discussion guide and insightful analysis are the foundation of any good qualitative research study.

If you are new to your career in qualitative research, learning how to do online qualitative is a foundational skill, as important as learning how to do in-person research. Learning at least some of these approaches is a stepping stone to the new tools that will continue to come along.

If you're a seasoned QRC, congratulations! Whether you've ignored, dabbled-in, or fully embraced online qualitative research, this book will help you.

From learning about the types of tools at your disposal, to planning your first online study, this extensive guide will help you understand the sequence of steps to follow, timing, and costs involved. It will also help you manage all of the useful insights you will gather--making your job of sharing information with your client that much easier and your reports that much more robust.

Looking five years ahead, it seems obvious to us that most researchers will be offering their clients new ways and new approaches using online methods. Don't be left behind with nothing to offer but old ideas and expensive pricing. Offering your clients the option of online qual is a way for you to welcome them into the future.

This book will help you embrace the future with confidence.

Jennifer Dale and Susan Abbott met at a qualitative research conference. Both are active members of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA), where each has served in a variety of leadership capacities. They share a passion for excellence and are enthusiastic practitioners of qualitative research in all its many forms. Collaborating on this book was a joyful experience, completed start to finish on a virtual basis.

Jennifer is President and CEO of InsideHeads, LLC, a full-service marketing research company conducting both quantitative and qualitative research via the web to clients across the globe.

Jennifer has been at the forefront of online qualitative since 1997, when she was employed as a bright young researcher at Research Connections, Inc. She obtained her MBA in 1995 while working full-time as the Director of Marketing for Philips-Van Heusen, maker of such iconic brands as Izod and Geoffrey Beene.

When not working, you'll find her hiking, kayaking, and playing with her adopted shelter pets at home in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Susan is President of Abbott Research + Consulting, and co-founder of Think Global Qualitative, a global alliance of master qualitative researchers. Her professional focus is bringing customer insight, creative thinking and focused innovation to business challenges. She has a particular passion for customer experience design.

Before launching her business in 2001, she was a vice-president of TD Bank Group, where she held diverse general management positions.

When not working, she likes to paint outdoors, ride a Vespa, and pick up sparkly ideas at conferences. A previous book, The Innovative Organization, was published in 2006. She is based in Toronto, Canada.