Last month, Arijit Ray looked at Balloon Games. As he explained, this stimulating (and often entertaining) technique, in which respondents debate the pros and cons of a particular product or concept, is ideally suited for a group setting. This month, Jen Mallett continues the series by looking at a technique more suited to individual interviews; Diaries.
Jennifer Mallett 
16 Jun, 2009
Qualitative Corner: Diary Techniques
Qualitative research embraces a number of research techniques that help the researcher uncover more about the respondent and their ideas, beliefs and values that may otherwise remain hidden. Each technique has one key thing in common with the others - that is, the flexibility to adapt it to many different respondents within a variety of different situations. Such techniques help ensure that qualitative research can be adapted to suit the situation and can delve beyond the surface and deeper into the psyche of the respondent. By moving beyond the ‘stock’ post-rationalised answers and exploring the emotional aspects surrounding a brand, a clearer picture of positioning and other key brand parameters can emerge. This information can then be utilised to direct brand development, positioning or marketing strategies.
When we think about diaries, we are likely to think about a mechanism which
keeps track of our day to day activities, our business or personal meetings.
Many people also keep diaries in which they write down events, inner feelings,
thoughts and ideas; the diary becomes a detailed record not only of what happened
at a particular point in time but the feelings evoked by events. The latter
type of diary can be a very useful and insightful tool in market research.
In research, diaries are very versatile tool. They can be used in a number of different ways with many different respondent types. Typically the respondent, whether it is a patient, a doctor or a nurse will be asked to complete a daily diary over the course of a few day or weeks (a type of ‘pre-task’) which will then be explored during the research discussion. What is written in the diary can be highly variable. A doctor may be asked to keep a track of what patients he has seen, their symptoms, their treatment and how they felt about managing these patients. A patient on the other hand may be asked to write down what impact their condition had on their daily activities, relationships and express their feelings about their condition. Typically, respondents will be given some guidance or pre-defined questions in order to keep the diary ‘on track’.
Diaries are particularly useful in the one to one interview situation because
they can generate a wealth of detail about one individual. Diaries can help
to uncover the influences and emotions behind an interviewee’s day to day behaviour
in some detail – and these influences may be subtle or “taken for granted”,
which can easily be overlooked or are hard to express.
Diary research can often be useful when looking into chronic conditions which impact on patient lifestyle such as pain or MS. While paper-based diaries are most frequently used, the approach can be further extended to include video diaries. Many respondents also find this technique a very therapeutic way of talking candidly about their condition in a manner they may not normally with an HCP, and the implications of this for the depth of the research are obvious.
Finally, there is one other key application which is perhaps more immediately tangible. If diary research is conducted with a larger number of respondents, the everyday behaviours displayed will provide valuable insight into how products are used and which brand attributes are rated most highly over others. This can then be used directly to inform any future positioning and promotional activities, helping to maximise brand appeal.
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