Module Code: MKT216SL
Business And Market Research
University Of Plymouth
Depth Interviews
An unstructured, direct, personal interview in which a single respondent is probed by
a highly skilled interviewer to uncover underlying motivations, beliefs, attitudes, and
feelings on a topic. A depth interview may take from 30 minutes to more than an
hour.
Techniques
Laddering
In laddering a line of questioning proceeds from product characteristics to user
characteristics. Laddering provides a way to probe into consumers’ deep underlying
psychological and emotional reasons that affect their purchasing decisions.
For example, When determining why a person buys a product, researchers want to
know more than simply “quality” and “low price.” Therefore, to examine the in-depth
underlying motivators a laddering technique should be used.
Hidden issue questioning
In hidden issue questioning, the focus is not on socially shared values but rather on
personal “sore spots,” not on general lifestyles but on deeply felt personal concerns.
Example: In this study, the researcher was investigating attitudes toward airlines
among male middle managers.
Hidden issue questioning - Respondents were questioned about fantasies, work lives,
and social lives to identify hidden life issues.
Symbolic analysis
In this the symbolic meanings of objects are analyzed by comparing them with their
opposites. To learn what something is, the researcher attempts to learn what it is not.
Logical opposites of a product that are investigated are no usage of the product,
attributes of an imaginary “nonproduct", and opposite types of products.
Example: In this study, the researcher was investigating attitudes toward airlines
among male middle managers.
