Social Marketing

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Research
Research
Quantitative research
Essentially surveys. Actually, surveys are best constructed after some qualitative work has been
done. Many of the source research findings may be surveys completed by others in the past.
Surveys require a good deal of professional experience to put together, administer, and analyze.
But they are the only sure way of determining how representative your conclusions may be.
Qualitative and quantitative research may sound similar, but they serve two very different purposes.
Each type of research can answer different types of questions as illustrated in figure 6.
Figure 6: Purposes of Qualitative and Quantitative Research
Qualitative
(such as focus groups)
- Provides depth
- Asks “why?”
- Studies motivation
- Is subjective
- Is exploratory
- Provides insights
- Interprets
Quantitative
(such as surveys)
- Measures occurrence
- Asks “how many?”
- Studies action
- Is objective
- Is definitive
- Measures levels
- Describes
Doer/Nondoer Analysis
One of the most practical research tools is the “Doer/Nondoer” exercise. It allows you to compare
people who perform the new, safer behavior with those who don’t, looking at determinants
– like whether something is fun, easy and popular. You can draw some conclusions using a relatively
small number of respondents (80 to 150 in many cases), as long as you have pre-identified
both groups (that is, the doers and the nondoers).
Often this analysis can help identify important differences that can be factors in social marketing
planning. For instance, in one study of condom users versus nonusers, the key factor that
distinguished users of condoms from non-users was the acceptability of the condom by the
user’s partner. This information was used to develop messages about talking to a partner about
condom use.