Common Qualitative Research Challenges (and the Online Solution)
By Leon Bourner, itracks VP, and Rachel Gorman, Marketing Specialist
Qualitative research has always been about getting closer to people. We need to understand what people think, why they behave the way they do, what they struggle with, and what they might not say in a traditional survey. That depth is what makes qualitative research so valuable, but it also creates some practical challenges.
Have you ever struggled with recruiting the right people? How about finding time that works for everyone? Managing research across markets and languages? Keeping projects moving? Getting participants to open up? Or, increasingly, keeping clients involved throughout the research rather than asking them to wait for the final report?
Online qualitative research can't eliminate these challenges completely. It does, however, give researchers some very different ways to address them. In many cases, it also changes what is possible in the first place. In this article, we’ll go over six of the more common challenges unique to qualitative research, and how these can be overcome by performing your research online.
1. Getting the right participants in the right place.
Traditional qualitative research often comes with a simple constraint: people have to be somewhere at a particular time. That can mean travel, parking, waiting, childcare, time away from work, or simply trying to fit another appointment into an already busy day. For researchers, the geographic limitation can be just as significant. A facility-based focus group naturally limits the pool of potential participants to people who can reasonably get there.
Online research removes much of that geographic friction. Participants can join from home, work, or another suitable location without having to travel to a research facility. For asynchronous studies, they can participate when it fits their schedule rather than having to be available at one specific time. That can make research more accessible to people who might otherwise find participation difficult, including people with limited mobility or demanding schedules.
There is an important caveat: going online does not automatically mean the study is immediately accessible to everyone. Technology, internet access, digital literacy and accessibility requirements still need to be considered when designing a study. When choosing your methodology, consider what works best for participants. This might mean taking a little extra time to help participants get the right set up for a video call, or choosing an option like a text chat focus group that requires lower internet bandwidth.
Online research isn't perfect, but there is no doubt that going online gives researchers more options.
2. Managing research across markets and languages.
Going global is easier with online research. Different markets mean different recruiting requirements, schedules, time zones, languages and logistics. When research is conducted in person, the operational burden can increase significantly with every additional market.
Online research can simplify some of that complexity. Participants from different geographic locations can take part in the same overall project without researchers having to travel from market to market. Multiple markets can also be managed within a common research framework, making it easier to compare discussions and responses.
Language is another consideration. Online platforms can support multilingual research through translated study materials, automated translation tools and other language-support technologies. Online platforms such as itracks can be customized for local participant languages, allowing researchers to conduct discussions across markets within the same project.
Of course, translation technology isn't a substitute for cultural understanding. A literal translation doesn't always capture meaning, context or nuance. Multilingual online research still requires thoughtful planning around language and moderation. Research into online multilingual interviews similarly points to the importance of accessibility and preserving meaning across languages. When properly designed, online research can make a multi-market qualitative study considerably easier to coordinate.
3. Keeping the research moving.
Qualitative research involves a surprising amount of logistics. There are participants to recruit and schedule, sessions to coordinate, materials to prepare, moderators to brief, clients to manage and data to organize. None of those activities is the reason a client commissioned the research. The goal is to understand the customer.
Online research can reduce some of the administrative and logistical work surrounding data collection. Scheduling tools, participant management, automated communications and centralized project environments can make it easier to keep a study moving. Researchers don't necessarily need to move between physical locations to conduct multiple groups or interviews. Asynchronous approaches can also allow researchers to engage participants over several days rather than trying to fit every interaction into a single session. That matters because time saved on logistics can be redirected toward the work that actually requires research expertise: moderating, probing, interpreting and understanding.
4. Getting from data collection to insight faster
One of the frustrations with qualitative research is that the end of fieldwork isn't necessarily the end of the work. Once the interviews or focus groups are finished, there are still transcripts to review, responses to organize, themes to identify and findings to synthesize. Online tools can shorten some of these steps.
Text-based research can provide immediate written responses, and video and audio sessions can be transcribed using increasingly capable technologies. Search, filtering and analysis tools can help researchers work through large volumes of qualitative data.
AI can help researchers organize, summarize and identify patterns across large amounts of qualitative data in record time, but speed shouldn't become the objective on its own. The value of qualitative research is not simply getting through the data faster, but finding the meaning within the data. Technology should help researchers spend less time wrestling with the mechanics of analysis and more time applying their experience and judgment to what participants are actually telling them. A balance needs to be struck between time saving measures and getting quality results. AI is most effective when wielded as a tool, not a shortcut.
5. Hearing more than the loudest voices.
Anyone who has moderated a focus group knows that participants don't contribute equally. Some people are naturally comfortable speaking in front of a group, while others need more encouragement. Some participants think carefully before responding and may have valuable perspectives that never emerge when the conversation moves quickly.
Different methodologies create different opportunities for participation. In a video-based focus group, extroverted participants can naturally become more prominent, while quieter participants may contribute less. Online environments can provide moderators with additional ways to engage those less vocal participants. Facial expressions, body language, surroundings and in-the-moment behaviour can also provide context that isn't always captured in a transcript.
During a live text chat, participants can sometimes have more space to formulate their thoughts before responding. Asynchronous approaches can go even further by giving participants time to reflect and contribute when they're ready.
Mobile research can also allow participants to show researchers what they are doing in their natural environment rather than relying entirely on recall.
The result isn't necessarily more data, but quality data.
6. Keeping clients engaged throughout the research.
There is another challenge that doesn't always get enough attention: client engagement. Research teams can spend weeks designing a study, recruiting participants and conducting fieldwork, only for clients to see most of the research once the analysis and final report are complete.
Online qualitative research can change that dynamic. Virtual observation environments can allow clients to watch live research without interacting directly with participants. Moderators and clients can communicate during sessions, identify areas that deserve additional probing and discuss emerging themes while the research is still underway.
Virtual backrooms are a way for clients to provide real-time feedback, clarify terminology, identify comments for further probing and become more involved in the research process. This can be particularly valuable when research is exploratory. Sometimes the most interesting question doesn't appear until the third or fourth interview. If the client is engaged throughout the process, the research team has an opportunity to recognize that and adapt.
Instead of:
Research → Analysis → Report → Client reaction
the process becomes more collaborative:
Research → Observe → Question → Probe → Learn → Adapt
The capability for feedback and adaptation within the research process can be invaluable. Sometimes the right questions don't reveal themselves until halfway through the process, and online research allows for unexpected ideas to be followed.
Online qualitative research is more than just doing traditional research online.
The conversation around online qualitative research has changed. At one point, the primary question was whether online research could replicate the experience of face-to-face research.
There are genuine methodological, technological and social considerations to address. Researchers need to think about participant access, privacy, technology, group dynamics and the type of interaction their research question actually requires. But the more interesting question may be a different one:
What becomes possible when we design the research around the online environment rather than simply moving an existing methodology online?
- Participants can take part from different locations.
- Research can span multiple markets simultaneously.
- Asynchronous methodologies can extend the conversation beyond a single interview.
- Video can capture participants in their own environments.
- Clients can observe and engage while research is happening.
- And technology can help researchers manage, organize and analyze increasingly large volumes of qualitative data.
Those aren't simply substitutes for what happens in a research facility, but an entirely new way of understanding and conducting research.
How itracks can help
itracks provides purpose-built online qualitative research technology for researchers conducting interviews, focus groups, discussion boards, digital diaries, ethnographies and other online research methodologies.
From participant management and live research to asynchronous engagement and centralized research data, itracks helps research teams manage the practical complexity of online qualitative research while keeping the focus on what matters most: the people and the insights.