Editor's note: Grace Chin is managing director of Asian Perspective, a New York research firm.

More and more companies are paying greater attention to the growing Asian market in the United States. As a result, many market research firms have added divisions and subsidiaries to specialize in the Asian market. The Asian-American market is unique, and researching it requires very specific sensitivity, understanding and knowledge.

There are three factors that are critical to the success or failure of research with Asian-Americans: language, cultural matching and techniques of communication.

Language

Knowing the language is more than just being able to speak Korean, Japanese, Tagalog, Mandarin, Cantonese or Vietnamese. Interviewers must use the right phrases and wordings and the right tone of voice to create the proper bond with the respondent. An interviewer needs to give a new immigrant reason to trust him or her, so it is also important to for everyone involved in the study, from interviewer/recruiter to moderator and supervisor, to project an unintimidating, concerned and sincere image. This puts respondents at ease and makes them more willing to listen to a stranger.

A client recently told me that in a pinch he could just ask his staff, most of whom are Chinese, to sit at their desks and conduct telephone interviews with his potential Chinese customers. The problem here is not the ability to speak the language but the ability to communicate wisely. Respondents will almost always refuse when scripts are read to them in a flat and unbiased tone or if they feel information is being concealed from them. This approach makes the purpose of the call mysterious and raises suspicion.

Cultural matching

To conduct successful Asian studies, researchers should have a good sense of how research methodology can adapt to cultural differences. For example, researchers should know that Asians in general are more reserved about their feelings. This is especially true among new immigrants. It is difficult, if not impossible, for an interviewer to whom they cannot relate to ask them how they feel or think about certain issues.

Researchers must be fluent in the respondents' culture as well as their language. We feel it's best to have "real" Cantonese researchers (as opposed to Cantonese-speaking Americans) recruit Cantonese respondents, Korean researchers interview Koreans, a Japanese moderator lead Japanese group discussions, and so on. Only by being part of the culture can we effectively communicate with respondents and dispel any initial fears they might have of the interviewer/moderator as an intruder - someone dangerous, untrustworthy and trying to get something out of him or her.

Effective interpersonal skills in mainstream American culture will not necessarily transfer to Asian culture. For example, it is extremely important to establish trust before the researcher ever mentions the purpose of the call or the reason for stopping a respondent in the street.

To recruit someone from Chinatown, for instance, a skilled recruiter or interviewer will know how to greet the Chinese person and project a tone of formality, politeness and sincerity. This interviewer then identifies the company he represents and points out that he is not trying to sell the respondent anything but rather is conducting a study, and that participating will not waste too much of his or her time.
The immigrant may want to participate but may not feel comfortable opening up or may feel that their response isn't important. Once a small level of trust is established (i.e., the person does not hang up or walk away) then the researcher explains the purpose of the study and how it is going to benefit Chinese people as a group.

The word "we" should be used frequently to establish bonding, and therefore it is important that the interviewer is a member of the group being researched. It should be made clear that the information taken from the study will benefit Asians as a group. This will avoid getting too personal with the respondent while at the same time giving them a sense of helping their people, making them feel important and culturally responsible.

Techniques of communication

Traditional research calls for randomness and projectability. Recruiting is thus usually done through random telephone dialing. However, since trust is such an important factor in recruiting Asian immigrants, a more effective way to increase the response rate is to utilize face-to-face recruiting or interviewing within the community. When an Asian respondent actually sees the Asian interviewer, he or she will immediately identify the interviewer as one of his or her group, and therefore will be more receptive.
Recruiting or interviewing over the phone is not as effective with Asian immigrants because of the threat associated with a personal call from a stranger. Since market research, telemarketing and direct marketing are not common practices in Asia -- with perhaps the exception of Hong Kong and Taiwan - it is therefore not easy to establish trust with the new immigrant over the phone. Respondents will feel more comfortable, relaxed and secure if they can see the person, and if the interview is conducted in their neighborhood.

Cultural differences call for a change in research methods. However, researchers must bear in mind that it is not the theory itself that has to be adapted to Asian research, but the approach and execution. Telephone interviews, focus groups, one-on-ones, street intercepts, etc., are all valid research methods, but thought and consideration must go into the choice of method and its execution to ensure success.