TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 6 indicated two broad approaches to data collection for made-to-measure research. One is the qualitative approach, where a large amount of data is collected from a relatively small number of people in a fairly unstructured way, usually using group discussions or depth interviews. The quantitative approach is where a smaller amount of data is collected from a large number of people in a structured way, usually using questionnaire surveys often involving 500 1000 or more respondents. What happens to the answers will depend on which approach has been used for data collection. In this chapter the analysis and interpretation of both quantitative and qualitative data are explained. The emphasis in the section on analysis of quantitative data is deliberately confined to a straightforward description of what various statistical techniques will do. It aims to introduce the non-statistical reader to the usefulness of these techniques, but does not attempt to teach how they can be applied.
Group discussions or depth interviews represent the most common ways in which qualitative data is collected. In both cases it is normal for the moderator, in the case of group discussions, or the depth interviewer, to tape-record each data collection session, which normally will last from one and a half to two hours. Group discussions may also be held on premises where they can be watched through a one-way mirror or recorded by video camera, so that behaviour, as well as verbal responses, can be observed.
