Question

What are the advantages and disadvantages of qualitative data collection strategies, like semi-structured interviews and focus groups? How could interviews enhance your evaluation results, even if you have proposed an experimental or quasi-experimental design?

Answer 1

Advantages of qualitative data collection strategies are:

a. These strategies provide information about choices and preferences of individuals which give a sense of ida about customer needs rather than only focussing on quantitative data,

b. Also different aspects of human nature and choices that they make when put in that situation get noticed through these techniques which wont be available otherwise.

c. Expert opinions also get to be known due to these techniques.

Disadvantages are:

a. These strategies only give qualitative information but quantitative information such as data, logical reasoning, numbers etc are not obtained through this data.

b. Current information is generally available but past information about trends, practices, past data etc is not available through it.

2. Interviews could enhance evaluation results by getting to understand the opinions, choices and decisons taken by different individuals under different scenarios, giving a set of data which would be applicable for all the individuals from which they would base their choices or decisions. Hence the human nature and the perceived thinking is closely understood through interviews by studying the evaluation results.