Editor's note: Patricia Sabena is owner of Patricia Sabena Qualitative Research Services, Westport, Conn. She is a past president of the Qualitative Research Consultants Association (QRCA). This article originally appeared in the June 1999 ESOMAR NewsBrief.

The last decade and, more specifically, the last few years, have seen a number of developments in usage and attitudes regarding qualitative research in the U.S. and around the world. This article will examine the 10 most notable of these trends.

1. Remarkable growth.

Total U.S. dollars spent on domestic market research have almost doubled in the past decade ($2.1 billion in 1989 versus $3.8 billion in 1997, according to Honomichl/CASRO data). Qualitative research accounts for a growing portion of those expenditures (17 percent or $357 million in 1989 versus 22 percent or $836 million in 1997, according to the best estimates from ARF/AMA surveys). It is not unreasonable to expect that U.S. domestic qualitative research expenditures by 1999 may well reach $1 billion! Qualitative research in Europe, Latin America and Asia has been reported with a similar growth curve.

Part of the reason for this remarkable growth is that demand for qualitative research seems counter-cyclical, that is, good in bad years and great in good years. In the almost 60 years since the first "focussed" group conducted in the U.S. by Drs. Robert Merton and Paul Lazarsfeld, qualitative research has become a more respected, less controversial methodology. It is rightfully seen as complementary rather than competitive to quantitative research, with less shyness about the value of its actionability. Accordingly, even hardcore quantitative shops (ACNielsen, for example) have launched qualitative research departments in the past few years - as an additional profit center, as input for modeling and custom research design, and as a way to sharpen quant questionnaires and elucidate quant findings.

2. Expanding application arenas.

Another foundation for such remarkable growth is the popularity of qualitative research in virtually all industries and arenas. Once the province primarily of packaged goods, qualitative research is now applied to an ever-widening array of problems and issues. Hospitals sponsor research among breast cancer and AIDS patients. Federal and local governments conduct focus groups on public policy issues. Universities conduct focus groups among potential student enrollees. Employer-employee tensions are subjected to focus group feedback prior to mediation. Software, hardware and Web site development are explored in the qualitative setting, in traditional in-person as well as on-line venues. Even corporate alliances and mergers between major companies often begin in focus groups aimed at exploring their respective and complementary "brand" equities. Similarly, category management is not only a subject for quantitative analysis but often involves qualitative research among retail store shoppers who use the category captain's or its competitors' brands. More alarmingly, both Tony Blair and Bill Clinton are believed to have constructed their election campaigns as well as their day-to-day decisions and speeches with input gleaned from their own focus groups!

3. Faster, faster, faster.

Like everything in life today, the qualitative research project has faster turnaround. Although most U.S. clients know that good respondent recruiting takes time to do right, they are increasingly impatient for the findings once the project has ended. It is not unusual for clients to be debriefed about the preliminary conclusions within a couple of days of the last interview, with the final report deliverable in two weeks. While some are alarmed by this trend, others realize that one beauty of qualitative research is its fluidity and timely actionability. It is certainly richer to write a qualitative research debriefing and report when the comments and body language of respondents are still fresh and vivid, rather than weeks later when these impressions have dimmed. It is also important for the qualitative research professional's expertise and interpretation to be considered in the post-research decision-making, rather than relegated to an academic afterthought destined for the file drawers.

4. Changing analysis formats.

This speed to delivery, as well as changes in the public's visual acuity, have affected the way qualitative research analysis is delivered. Reports are shorter but highly strategic, with reportage of verbatims more often punctuating the conclusions as key sound bites, rather than strung together endlessly as stream of consciousness. Typically, the report is formatted in presentation-style PowerPoint documents rather than gray pages of academic text. However, it is important not to misconstrue length for depth. Presentation-style software actually helps the qualitative researcher to think and write more strategically. It is useless to bemoan the reality that almost all successful printed matter these days - including magazines, newspapers, instruction manuals and research reports - rely on bulleting, bolding, pull-quotes and sidebars to deliver information clearly.

5. Increasing format variety.

Focus groups still account for most of U.S. qualitative research these days, with rough estimates at around 80 percent. However, methodology configurations are increasingly varied to reflect different objectives. One-on-one interviews have always had cycles of popularity, buffeted by each manufacturer's or ad agency's rhythm of wariness of group-think or weariness with endless hours observing individual interviews. Today, however, triads, dyads or couples groups are sometimes used to explore confrontational issues or joint decision-making. Ethnography observation - in the home, in the store, or in the workplace - is certainly increasing, especially by advertising agencies anxious to capture slice-of-life realities and ironic differences from perceived or reported behavior. On-line research - whether in 90-minute live chat rooms, or in deeper week-long interactive e-mail - is increasingly practiced. Mock juries and car clinics can also be said to fall under the rubric of qualitative research.

Often, a blend of methodologies is chosen - ethnography before or after focus groups, for example, or one-on-one interviews or dyads as a prelude to focus groups. While two-hour focus groups are still the norm in the U.S. (a place where respondents expect to arrive and depart on time) three-hour groups or one-hour mini-groups are sometimes chosen as more appropriate to a particular project. There is also an increase in Friday night groups, Saturday groups, and breakfast and/or lunch groups - to capture respondents who are otherwise unavailable or too busy or tired to attend at the conventional weekday evening or daytime hours.

6. Increasing role of technology.

The increase in videoconferencing of qualitative research seems in direct proportion to the number of research agencies and facilities worldwide who now have state-of-the-art equipment. While key market research or brand people often still prefer to be on-site in the backroom, videoconferencing encourages higher-level management to watch from the comfort of their headquarters, which makes them more receptive to the eventual findings and strategic steps or outcomes. In addition to the surge in on-line qualitative research, focus groups or one-on-one interviews are increasingly used for hardware or software labs. There is some use of hand-held polling devices in groups, especially to allow for respondents to reveal advertising reactions or risky sexual or other behaviors, which can then be discussed more anonymously in the group setting. Video reports or video clips are increasingly popular ways to give non-attending management a glimpse of the affect and body language of consumers as they react to concepts or advertising or handle prototypes. E-mailed or faxed screeners speed the recruiting process, while there is some trend toward e-mailed final reports. While there are at least three brands of backroom verbatim notetaking and sorting software, it is likely that the next couple of years will yield even better ways to provide immediate and codable transcripts of qualitative interviews.

7. Pressure for new techniques.

Qualitative users and practitioners alike continue to seek new projective and other interviewing techniques. In particular, advertising agencies often "invent" new techniques to gain media attention and establish niche points of difference in their highly competitive arena. As often as not, these "new" techniques have been in use for years, but have been given a new twist or, even more frequently, merely a new name. While there are pitfalls in newness for its own sake, it is highly appropriate to choose and adapt interviewing techniques creatively to maximize the likelihood of fulfilling the objectives of a particular research project.

8. Improved viewing facilities and recruiting practices.

 Even the U.K. is joining the rest of Europe in moving toward the one-way mirror viewing facilities or agencies that are so popular in the U.S. After all, these are practical and secure central locations for respondents to come together in focus groups or to be interviewed in dyads or one-on-ones. These comfortable settings - with big mirrors, audio and videotaping, hardware ports, computer support services, healthy and plentiful food, and knowledgeable staff - allow respondents to talk and clients to watch intently without distractions. Thanks to the modern efficiencies of database recruiting and to the extensive educational materials and programs provided by the Marketing Research Association, recruiting in the U.S. is better and cleaner than ever. Nevertheless, cheaters (who lie about demographics or category or brand usage) and repeaters (who manage to participate more than once in six months) are still a problem, especially in larger cities such as New York and Los Angeles. The Sigma past-participation check has helped somewhat, as has the now-common practice of asking for photo identification before seating respondents to be interviewed. Ethical and legal consequences have emphasized the importance of respondent confidentiality. Screener information and respondents' last names and personal data are guarded carefully in the back room by the qualitative research professional and the primary client contact, so that there is no post-research sales effort or intrusion.

9. Changing client management.

Internationals on all continents paint an unflattering portrait of the U.S. client as arrogant, demanding, narrow-minded, and insensitive to cultural differences. They say they feel like "talking lips" when U.S. clients insist they do not deviate from lengthy discussion guides that are handed to them 30 minutes before the first group begins.

In fact, this imperious behavior by U.S. clients has given impetus to the myth that there are two models of qualitative research - the superior European model and the inferior U.S. model. Internationals assume, wrongly as it turns out, that U.S. clients behave the same with U.S. qualitative researchers. In fact, what U.S. clients want most from qualitative research are two things - to obtain the richest, most constructive data, and to make sure that nothing goes wrong to embarrass or delay them in their quest for information. It is the latter insecurity that makes them rude and rigid when dealing with non-U.S. qualitative researchers. Internationals need to state politely but firmly to U.S. clients that the richest data comes from understanding and honoring local cultural differences.

In the U.S., the favored qualitative research suppliers are the ones who become objective members of the larger team approach to marketing and moving the brand toward growth and success. It is true that clients are more pressured, that marketing research departments are leaner, that brand managers are often young and green, that marketing is more complex and challenging than ever before, and that everybody gets scanner data. The U.S. client is awash in information that needs consumer insights to be understood and managed.

When it comes to qualitative research, therefore, the U.S. client is highly engaged in the process. This enthusiasm is increasingly harnessed by U.S. qualitative researchers who put clients to work in the back room with aids to active listening and observing. These include worksheets, index cards, flip charts and Post-it notes for clients to jot down surprises, new insights, confirmation, and new language as each interview unfolds. This proactive back room makes for more coherent debriefs, more productive outcomes, more actionable results, fewer hidden agendas, and fewer half-cocked opinions. Instead of "the big bad client," the best U.S. qualitative researchers find the U.S. client to be loyal and grateful when qualitative research proves enlightening and useful.

10. Smarter and more articulate consumers.

U.S. consumers these days are more articulate and less subject to group-think than ever before. In this so-called "tabloid decade," many know what they feel, and are blunt in expressing it, even if their views are unpopular or controversial. Many exhibit declining brand loyalty, at least in certain categories. Numerous sources report that 70 percent of purchase decisions these days are made in the store, where the point-of-purchase clutter is often overwhelming. Consumers develop coping stratagems to get them what they need and to get them out of the store and back to the demands of their hectic lives.

A trend in qualitative research is to harness the intelligence and intensity of the U.S. consumer by requesting more advance homework. Some respondents are asked to use a disposable camera at home to capture things about their life or the category that are important to them. If appropriate to the project, they are sometimes asked to wear a favorite item of clothing or jewelry, or bring in a lifestyle symbol or picture torn from a magazine. Perhaps a prototype product or magazine is sent to them beforehand, or they are asked to deprive themselves of a particular product or service for a week before the interview. Sometimes they are asked to visit a store, navigate a Web site, or keep a workbook or diary before being interviewed. These tasks often enhance and deepen the participation and disclosure once the qualitative research begins.

Despite these mostly optimistic trends, there are, of course, continuing concerns about the future of qualitative research. These include: newness for its own sake; the negative consequences of faster, faster, faster; the perpetuation of the behavior of the big, bad U.S. client; ongoing debate about the feasibility of requiring certificates of proficiency from qualitative researchers; passing the torch to new generations of qualitative researchers; the need for cultural partners to collaborate in multinational studies; any public blurring of perceptions of research versus telemarketing; cynicism about politicians who govern by focus groups and polling; and media spin that distorts the true nature of qualitative research in sitcoms and tabloid television news. The proven value and contribution of qualitative research challenges users and practitioners of this methodology to seek remedies to these concerns.