Qualitative surveys are a window to the thought process of a customer. They can candidly share their purchasing process, the reason for the rating and how they feel with a certain experience. In this blog, we will discuss the meaning of qualitative survey, steps to create and how to create responsive qualitative surveys for maximum response rate.
What Are Qualitative Surveys?
Qualitative surveys are open-ended questions that focus on opinions, motivations, emotions, and experiences of the customers about their experiences. It is designed to gather non-numerical and descriptive insights from respondents. It provides a deeper understanding of the respondent’s thoughts and feelings in a situation.
While the focus of qualitative surveys is to understand the “what”, adding qualitative components help understand the “why” behind the what.
Examples of qualitative survey questions
- “Please explain the meaning behind your rating:”
- “What motivated you to choose our service over others?”
- “How do you feel about the customer service you received?”
Distinguishing Qualitative Surveys from Other Qualitative Methods
Qualitative surveys are often confused with broader qualitative research methods, but they serve a distinct purpose in data collection. While both aim to gather in-depth insights, qualitative surveys are specifically structured to collect open-ended responses from a larger audience. Understanding these differences helps in choosing the right approach for research needs.
Key characteristics of qualitative surveys
- Structured format – While responses are open-ended, all respondents receive the same set of questions for consistency in data collection.
- Broader reach – Open ended surveys are designed to gather insights from a larger sample compared to other qualitative research methods like focus groups or ethnographic studies.
- Specific focus – Questions are tailored to elicit responses related to specific topics.
- Survey channels – Qualitative surveys can be conducted through WhatsApp surveys, interactive emails, phone interviews (CATI), or AI-driven chatbots, making them flexible for different research needs.
How do qualitative surveys differ from other qualitative research methods?
Aspect | Qualitative Surveys | Other Qualitative Research Methods |
Scope | Gathers structured open-ended responses from a broader audience | Focuses on smaller sample sizes for in-depth analysis |
Methodology | Uses structured, written open-ended questions | Includes interviews, focus groups, ethnographic studies, and case studies |
Application | Ideal for identifying general attitudes and themes | Used for deep exploration of social processes, human behavior, and cultural phenomena |
Data Collected | Written narratives and thematic responses | Rich contextual data, including recorded interviews and observational insights |
Qualitative and Quantitative Surveys: Key Differences
1. Nature of data: narrative vs. numerical
Quantitative Surveys
Quantitative surveys generate structured, numerical data that can be easily analyzed using statistical methods. These surveys typically consist of closed-ended questions mapped on a Likert scale, emoji scale or poor to excellent rating scale. This enables businesses to make data-driven decisions.
Qualitative Surveys
In contrast, qualitative surveys produce unstructured, narrative data. Respondents provide detailed, free-form responses to open-ended questions. This type of data is rich and nuanced, capturing the respondents’ thoughts and feelings. It requires thematic analysis to identify common themes and insights.
2. Methods of Data Collection
Qualitative Surveys
Qualitative surveys gather in-depth responses through open-ended questions. Respondents can express their thoughts in their own words. These surveys can be conducted online or in face-to-face interactions to capture diverse perspectives.
Quantitative Surveys
Quantitative surveys collect numerical data using structured questionnaires with closed-ended questions (multiple-choice, Likert scale, or rating scales). Common data collection methods include:
- Structured Questionnaires: Surveys with predefined questions and answer choices, distributed via online platforms, messenger applications, or paper forms.
- Online Polls: Quick surveys conducted online, often using multiple-choice questions for instant results.
- Multiple-Choice Questions: Pre-defined answer options that ensure data is easy to quantify and analyze.
3. Analysis Techniques
Qualitative Analysis
Qualitative data is analyzed by identifying patterns, themes, and insights from narrative responses. Common techniques include:
- Thematic Analysis: Identifies and codes recurring themes within the data.
- Content Analysis: Categorizes textual data to interpret its meaning and context.
- Narrative Analysis: Examines how respondents structure their experiences and assign meaning to them.
Quantitative Analysis
Quantitative data is analyzed using statistical techniques to identify patterns and test hypotheses. Common methods include:
- Descriptive Statistics: Summarizes data using measures like mean, median, mode, and standard deviation.
- Inferential Statistics: Uses hypothesis testing and confidence intervals to draw conclusions about a larger population.
- Regression Analysis: Examines relationships between variables to predict trends and identify influencing factors.
How to Conduct Qualitative Surveys: A Step-by-Step Process
Step 1: Define the survey objectives
- Goal Setting: Clearly articulate what you aim to achieve with the survey. What specific insights or information are you looking to gather?
- Focus Areas: Identify key topics or areas that the survey will cover based on your objectives.
Step 2: Design the survey with Merren
Merren is an AI-driven customer experience platform. Merren has templates for every industry that can be customized as per the survey objectives.
Question development
- Open-ended questions: Clear and focused open-ended questions designed to elicit detailed responses.
- Pilot testing: Conduct a pilot test with a sample respondent to refine questions based on feedback. Merren enables clients to test their surveys across multiple platforms.
Format and structure
- Logical flow: Organize questions in a logical sequence that guides respondents naturally through the survey.
- Flexibility: Allow for multiple response formats, such as text, voice, or video. Merren empowers CX leaders to collect responses via videos, voice forms, photos or plain text.
- AI-driven probing: Often, responses to open-ended questions can be short and lack depth. To address this, Merren has AI-driven probing that can curate customized questions based on respondent’s previous answers. This method enables respondents to answer based on the very specific context. Find out how it works in this blog.
- Customer’s language: Create survey guides in the language that the respondents are most comfortable with. This ensures clarity and helps respondents provide more accurate and comprehensive responses.
Step 3: Select sample respondents
Choose a sample size that accurately reflects the population you are studying. Find out your ideal sample size with our sample size calculator here.
Ensure the sample includes a diverse range of perspectives.
Step 4: Choose the right survey channel
Survey channels
Use Merren to build a qualitative survey and distribute it through the channels you respondents are most comfortable with like email, WhatsApp surveys, Facebook messenger surveys etc
You can also conduct face-to-face interviews or phone interviews for more in-depth responses.
Ensuring respondent comfort
- Confidentiality: Assure respondents that their responses will be kept confidential.
- Comfortable environment: Ensure respondents are in a comfortable setting to encourage openness.
Step 5: Collect responses
Gather responses securely from all chosen survey channels. rganize and store the data systematically for easy analysis.
Step 6: Analyze customer data
Qualitative analysis techniques
- Thematic Analysis: Identify patterns and themes within the narrative responses through coding.
- Content Analysis: Categorize the content systematically to understand the frequency of themes and concepts.
- Narrative Analysis: Examine how respondents construct their narratives to understand their stories and experiences.
Step 7: Report findings
- Comprehensive Report: Compile a detailed report presenting the themes and insights gathered from the survey.
- Visual Aids: Use charts, graphs, and word clouds to visually represent the data.
- Executive Summary: Provide a summary of the key findings and their implications for stakeholders.
Step 8: Refine surveys after feedback
Use feedback from the survey process to refine questions and methodology. Make iterative improvements to enhance the effectiveness of future surveys.
Challenges of Conducting Qualitative Surveys
Time-consuming methods
Collecting and analyzing detailed responses is inherently time-consuming. Each respondent’s narrative must be carefully examined to extract meaningful insights, which can significantly prolong the research process.
High effort required
Conducting qualitative survey requires skilled moderators to guide interviews and focus groups. Trained analysts need to interpret the data accurately. This also reduces the scale and speed at which this kind of research can be executed.
Potential for interviewer bias
Interviewer bias can affect the responses in qualitative surveys. The presence of the interviewer and their mannerisms or tone can inadvertently influence the respondent’s answers. This is also known as the Hawthorne Effect.
Hard to reach diverse populations
Qualitative surveys, due to their in-depth nature, often struggle to reach a large and diverse sample size. This can limit the generalizability of the findings.
Cost considerations
Qualitative surveys typically require skilled moderators, analysts and physical travel which can drive up the cost and time investment needed for the research.
Qualitative Surveys with Merren
Merren is an AI-driven customer experience platform. Merren has automated tools for survey building, translation, voice recording, transcription, coding, and analysis.
- Survey Building: Use AI survey builder to design effective surveys instantly.
- Automatic Translation: Translating surveys from English to over 100 languages.
- Removing Interviewer Bias: Standardizing the tone and structure of questions to minimize bias.
- Capturing Responses: Recording open-ended responses as audio files.
- Transcription and Translation: Automatically transcribing and translating responses into English.
- Data Analysis: Utilizing advanced techniques like sentiment analysis and thematic coding to analyze data.
Audio forms with Merren
Merren enables audio forms in the form of voice note responses. Merren’s speech to text feature transcribes audio responses and detects emotionally charged text. It can highlight segments of happy, sad or frustrated metrics. Merren’s word cloud highlights important features or services people are looking for based on their experiences.
AI-driven probing for open ended questions
Artificial intelligence can assist in the initial stages of data analysis by identifying patterns and themes in the responses. Merren’s AI driven probing works dynamically with respondent’s answers. Clients can activate AI probing on the surveys.
How does AI-driven open ended probing work?
When respondents share their feedback via open ended questions, the AI creates a follow-up question in context with the response. This enables people to offer in-depth insight and genuine responses for experiences that they were hesitating to share. This AI-driven probing can detect frustration from users such that marketers can close the customer feedback loop with feasible solutions.
Combination surveys
Combining qualitative and quantitative methods to get responses via numerical and non-numerical format. Hybrid surveys can include both open-ended and closed-ended questions for comprehensive data collection.
Best Practices for Conducting Qualitative Surveys
1. Build effective open-ended questions
- Ensure questions are direct and focused. Instead of “What do you think about our product?”, ask “Describe a specific experience with our product and how it made you feel?”
- Avoid Leading Questions: Use neutral language to prevent bias. Instead of “How much did you enjoy our excellent service?”. Here it assumes that a customer already had a good experience. Instead ask “Can you describe your experience with our customer service?”
- Encourage detailed responses with prompts like “Describe,” “Explain,” and “Tell me about” to elicit rich insights.
2. Ensuring respondent confidentiality
- Create a safe environment where respondents can share their views without scrutiny.
- Guarantee confidentiality: Assure participants that responses are anonymous and used only for research.
- Obtain informed consent: Clearly explain the survey’s purpose and respondents’ rights before participation.
3. Minimizing bias in data collection
- Use neutral wording: Avoid suggesting preferred answers or influencing responses.
- Train interviewers: Ensure consistency in question delivery and avoid showing approval or disapproval.
- Researchers should reflect on their own biases and how they might affect data interpretation.
4. Making surveys easy to answer
- Avoid jargon and complex sentence structures. Instead of “What is your perception of our service quality relative to expectations?”, ask “How well did our service meet your expectations?”
- Offer Multiple Response Options: Allow respondents to answer via voice, text, or video for greater accessibility.
- Encourage Voice Responses: Voice input can capture more nuanced feedback and reduce respondent effort. Use voice forms via Merren for an interactive experience.
Conclusion
Qualitative surveys are indispensable for gaining deep, nuanced insights into customer experiences and opinions. Merren’s innovative solutions provide a comprehensive platform for conducting qualitative research. Embrace the power of qualitative surveys with Merren and unlock deeper understanding and actionable insights from your customers.