Overview

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"Qualitative Research Interviews" is a beginner course for aspiring market analysts and professionals who need to uncover the "why" behind customer behavior. This course moves beyond theory to provide the practical skills needed to conduct high-quality interviews that yield deep, actionable insights. You will learn to distinguish between key qualitative methods, including interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic studies, and understand when to use each one effectively. The focus is on using interviews to inform business decisions, a common task for analysts, helping organizations clarify problems before committing to larger research projects. The curriculum centers on the most critical tool for any interviewer: the discussion guide. Through a hands-on process, you will learn to apply a professional framework to structure your interviews, craft powerful open-ended questions, and align every part of your guide to your core research objectives. By the end of this course, you will have the confidence and practical ability to design a complete interview guide, enabling you to gather the rich, narrative data that drives meaningful product and business decisions.

Syllabus

Selecting the Right Qualitative Method

This module introduces the core methods of qualitative research. You will learn to define and differentiate between interviews, focus groups, and ethnography, understanding the unique value of each. Using real-world examples like the "Got Milk?" campaign and Airbnb's user research, you will learn to select and justify the most appropriate method for different research goals. Rather than focusing on memorizing definitions, effective researchers consider why a particular method is suitable for a specific research situation. In practice, qualitative methods are selected based on the type of insight needed, the research objective, and practical constraints such as time, access to participants, and scope. You will practice evaluating which method is appropriate based on the problem being explored.

Designing an Effective Interview Guide

This module provides a practical, step-by-step guide to creating a professional discussion guide. You will learn how to structure an interview, translate research objectives into powerful and open-ended questions, and build a guide that ensures that you gather rich, narrative data needed to drive informed decisions. The goal of this module is not just to write questions, but to ensure that each question is aligned to a clear research purpose, so that you can learn to fulfill your role and responsibilities as an analyst. While qualitative research provides rich, in-depth insights, it is not designed to produce statistically generalizable results. Qualitative findings reflect the perspectives of specific participants and should be interpreted within the context of the study's scope, sample, and limitations. In professional settings, qualitative research is often used to inform hypotheses, refine understanding, or explore underlying motivations, rather than to measure prevalence or make population-wide claims. As an analyst, your work will be done as part of a team, so understanding standard research methods and tools will help you communicate as part of your research group with your supervisors and peers.