Paula Scott and Weiwei Yang continue our series looking at different research techniques. This month we examine Statement pools, also known as truth games.
Paula Scott 
Weiwei Yang 
25 Aug, 2009
Statement Pools: A Game of Truth
Projective and enabling techniques are used in qualitative research to help access and explore different world wide brands. These methods are applied to encourage respondents to express their feelings and thoughts, and help to understand why they feel the way they do. Amongst many techniques, one which can be used to portray different attitudes is Statement Pools, otherwise known as Truth Games.
Statements
pools/truth games is a very simple technique and relatively easy for respondents
to undertake. Respondents are presented with a range of different statements,
designed to show a variety of attitudes towards a range of situations or a
marketplace. Respondents are then asked in a variety of different ways, to
identify those in which they feel sympathy or empathy. Their responses are
analysed and placed into categories, based on their attitudes towards the statements.
Using this technique, the research can be used to explore key motivations and
can be very useful in identifying respondents feelings and attitudes about
particular situations, that otherwise could be hard to capture. It is also
ideal for indentifying target audiences for marketing purposes.
More specifically, this technique can be used in market research to test some key hypotheses that have been developed to reflect issues in a marketplace. For example, to explore the potential of developing an online auction and shopping platform, a number of statements could be formulated such as:
- The benefits of online auction and shopping are clear
- Ebay has been central in encouraging the use of online auction and shopping
- Online auction and shopping websites are useful for small rather than large trading companies
- The online auction and shopping market is currently under-exploited
- Customers feel very comfortable about using online auction and shopping websites
Statements such as these are created to more overtly show certain attitudes towards an issue or a situation. This is to encourage respondents to best express their own attitudes or feelings by supporting or challenging the statements.
Responses to Statement Pools help to generate discussions around physicians’
use of and attitudes towards drug classes or brands as well as their key motivations
(or not) for prescribing treatments. From this, (and further discussions around
specific brands if relevant) it will be possible to identify which physicians
are key target audiences for a particular therapy or therapies or indeed a
specific brand. This approach is especially useful in needs research and can
help to provide a direct approach into the development of brand models or blue
prints.
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