Katie Warners Blog: Qualitative Research and Non-Profit Organizations

Katie Warners Blog: Qualitative Research and Non-Profit Organizations: "Qualitative Research is a topic we have spent a good deal of time discussing in class. A broad definition of Qualitative research is the ma..."

Qualitative Research and Non-Profit Organizations

Qualitative Research is a topic we have spent a good deal of time discussing in class.  A broad definition of Qualitative research is the mass media observing what people say and do, it measures and counts the number of responses and attempts to look into into concepts, ideas, definitions, characteristics, symbols and meanings.  When dealing with any business it is important to utilize Qualitative research because knowing what behaviors people are exhibiting and their motivation is a key part in a business’s success.  Some of the different types of Qualitative research include personal interviews and focus groups.  Non-profit organizations are a group that more so than any other company need to make use of Qualitative research.  With their constant reliance on consistent consumers, it is important to understand the behaviors of these consumers to keep their attention focused towards your company. 

An article titled “Nonprofits making changes, keeping track” in the Philanthropy Journal, discusses the recent launching of innovative programs or services through non-profits.  When a non-profit makes the decision to launch a new program, there needs to be a considerable amount of research not only before the program but after the program.  In any good business setting it is important to conduct the research before the program begins to find out what your audience is willing to participate in.  All successful non-profits conduct various amounts of research prior to the program or service, but not all participate in the post research that is done after the program or service.  “Eighty-five percent of nonprofits responding to the survey measure the effectiveness of at least part of their programs and services at least once a year, and two-thirds measure effectiveness for at least half their programs or services.”  With non-profits constantly struggling for more funding and audience awareness, it is essential that they formulate a research method to make this possible.  After a program or service is launched a study should be done to show the effectiveness of the program, and how the audience reacted. 

One of the main components of non-profits is to get inside of their consumers minds, this way they are able to continue a successful business.  But according to this article not all non-profits have spent the time getting to know their consumers behaviors.  Qualitative research is the answer to non-profits problems.  By using Qualitative research they would be venturing into the minds of their consumers, which would inevitably gain more company awareness.  The article says that “only minorities of non-profits reported using the kinds of techniques that ‘assessment experts insist are needed to make such measures truly convincing, such as random assignment comparisons and social rate of return estimates.’” Non-profits cannot expect to run a successful organization without putting a good amount of their efforts into research. 

In my opinion Qualitative research is the perfect solution for non-profit organizations.  Focus groups would be a great way to discuss the programs and services put out by the non-profits, you would then get to explore of the feelings of your consumers while also studying their natural behaviors.  Focus groups would be an inexpensive way to conduct Qualitative research, and in my opinion it would be a successful way to gain more insight into the consumers.  I am shocked that not all non-profits haven’t picked up on Qualitative research, it is a simple way of making an organization successful.

Katie Warners Blog: A Different Perspective on Unobtusive Research

Katie Warners Blog: A Different Perspective on Unobtusive Research: "Last week in class we discussed unobtrusive research, as I wrote in my blog last week unobtrusive research is where the subject of your rese..."

A Different Perspective on Unobtusive Research

Last week in class we discussed unobtrusive research, as I wrote in my blog last week unobtrusive research is where the subject of your research is unaware of the research that is taking place.  This type of research I found to be useful in the case of Non-Profit corporations, it is crucial to research your target audiences to figure out what messages are the most effective.  When it comes to non-profits donations need to be given in order for the company to remain successful, therefore unobtrusive research can show you the true likes and dislikes of potential donors.  Although my blog is directed towards Non-Profit, I believe that it is important to read about other topics to gain more awareness on the topic of unobtrusive research.

A fellow classmate, Lisa Perez directed her blog towards celebrities.  In her blog about unobtrusive research she discussed the various types of unobtrusive research conducted on celebrities.  When conducting research on celebrities you have to follow their every move, the research collected is then distributed to various media outlets where we hear all about their lives.  These celebrities are sometimes unaware that they are being followed; one mishap and they are exposed to the entire world.  Lisa’s blog made me think about the ethics behind unobtrusive research.  The researcher conducting the research is invading the personal lives of not only celebrities but any unknowing participant. 

The topic of ethics is a large issue that goes along with unobtrusive research.  In another classmates blog Ashley Halyard talks about whether unobtrusive research is ethical or not.  She discusses how because you are not getting the participants permission it can be considered unethical, but the other side of the argument is that the information they are receiving is open to the public.  Both of these sides make unobtrusive research very difficult, you do not want to cross any lines but at the same time the research that you could receive is open to anyone. 

In my blog I had discussed how non-profits should use social media outlets, such as facebook to discover a new target audience.  They should follow people’s every move to discover what interests them, I had not thought of this to be unethical at first but after thinking more about ethics I realized that in a sense the non-profits would be manipulating their audience to invest in their company by observing facebook users patterns.  In my personal opinion even though you are conducting research that the participants do not know about, if they put themselves open to the public then their information and actions are open to whoever.  Unobtrusive research in the case of non-profits using social media outlets as ways to observe people is not unethical and should be allowed, if you are on a social page such as facebook then you should be aware that people will use your information for their personal benefit. 

Katie Warners Blog: Non-Profits, Facebook and Unobtrusive Research

Katie Warners Blog: Non-Profits, Facebook and Unobtrusive Research: "When conducting research it is important to distinguish a measure in which you are going to base your research off of. In Public Relations ..."

Non-Profits, Facebook and Unobtrusive Research

When conducting research it is important to distinguish a measure in which you are going to base your research off of.  In Public Relations Research class we have spent time discussing unobtrusive research which is the method of studying social behavior without affecting it.  The subject of your research is unaware of the research that is taking place.  This research increases the likelihood of a reliable result; because the subject is unaware that they are participating in research they do not act any differently than they would normally act.  This research is an effective way of studying behaviors, and can give you honest and accurate results if do it correctly.  .

Nonprofit corporations are companies funded by donations; they rely heavily on the amount of public's that are attracted to their message in order to remain successful.  Because they are constantly struggling over which public's to reach and how to effectively reach these public's any type of research is essential.  Nonprofit corporations need to attract their target audiences more so than any other company because they are constantly searching for ways to keep their company afloat.  An article titled “Social Media Success: Know the Frequent Users” by John Klein talks about the importance of social media, and how it is important to utilize the various media outlets to attract your target audience.  Research done showed that 150 million people in the U.S. have a Facebook page and 39 million people are frequent users who “use social media several times per day”; this is a form of social media that has reached a peak level of size and interest and according to John Klein it is critical that nonprofits invest time and energy in this medium.  This article shows non-profit organizations how important it is to research the most popular media outlet and use it to their advantage.  With 39 million people using Facebook multiple times a day, it is easy to put a message out there and get more views than you would have on a standard website dedicated to the organization. 

This article caught my attention because the research done to show how many people use Facebook, and how frequent the users update their profiles is an example of unobtrusive research.  The users of this media outlet are unaware of the research they are participating in.  But these unknowing participants are actually giving non-profits reasons to enter a new media outlet.  This unobtrusive research allows non-profits to witness the popularity of this social media, which allows them to adjust their tactics towards this medium. 

After relating non-profits, unobtrusive research, and social medias back to one another I saw how well they all work together.  Non-profits need unobtrusive research to discover new social medias that are becoming increasingly popular as the days go on.  It is essential for non-profits to expand their messages, and it is important for them to know how and where to expand these messages.  This article gave me a good perspective on the process in which non-profits must go through to gain awareness.  They have a much more difficult time remaining successful, and because of this struggle it is crucial that they participate in various research measures.