Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve never commissioned research before what should I do?
Contact us via info@vibrand.co.za and we’ll send you a briefing template so you can see the type of questions you need to consider and information you need to provide to commission research. This will help you to think through your research questions and needs. We can then set up an online meeting to guide you through the briefing process.
What is the research process?
The following is a quick step by step guide to understand how research works:
- Briefing. The first step is to decide on your research objectives and questions. If you feel daunted by the briefing process we will happily guide you through this by giving you a briefing template to fill in and/or setting up an online meeting to guide you through the briefing process.
- Proposal. Once you have briefed us we will put together a proposal outlining our recommended approach to answering your research objectives. Depending on your needs and budget, this may take the form of an initial ballpark quote via email or alternatively be a full PowerPoint proposal document outlining our recommended approach, sample, required investment, etc.
- Commission. If you are happy with the research approach and investment required then you would formally commission the project either via an email or through signing a project agreement form.
- Research set-up. At this point we provide you with a timeline highlighting key dates and responsibilities for the steps of the research. Depending on the nature of the research, the set-up phase can include designing a recruitment questionnaire, discussion guide, survey questionnaire, etc.
- Recruitment. For qualitative research we brief our recruiters on the pre-agreed sample requirements, with the recruitment process taking a week to find the right respondents.
- Fieldwork. This is the part of the project where we talk to your consumers whether this be in the form of focus groups, digital depth interviews, online or face to face interviews, etc. We take full responsibility for this process adhering to the highest levels of quality control and research rigour.
- Analysis and reporting. This is the final stage of the research where all of the data/information collected goes into a stage of analysis and reporting, whether this be quantitative data capture and data/statistical analysis, charting and reporting, or qualitative analysis and reporting.
- Presentation. The final deliverable of the research is typically a PowerPoint presentation of results to you and your team either in an online meeting or face to face (dependent on your location). Our presentations always provide actionable and strategic recommendations.
How much does research cost?
Multiple factors play a role in the research cost, e.g. breadth of the objectives, sample size, nature of the sample, level of analysis and reporting required, etc. However, as a ballpark for a small piece of research (qualitative or quantitative) you are typically looking at a budget of around R150k or more. Occasionally a project may come in lower than this.
At Vibrand we conduct both small and much larger studies, as well as multi-country studies that can extend over R1 million in budget.
What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative research?
The approach recommended depends on your objectives, but the following table will help you understand the differences between the 2 types of research:
| Qualitative | Quantitative | |
| Purpose | To gain an in-depth understanding of respondents’ experience, opinions & feelings | To measure and quantify data through statistical analysis |
| Sample size | Small sample sizes that focus on gaining depth of insight from a limited number of participants | A larger sample size in order to ensure statistical significance |
| Data collection | Observations, in-depth interviews, focus groups, etc. More time is spent with participants engaging them in an open-ended discussion | Survey and questionnaires – each participant answers exactly the same, typically close-ended questions. Less time is spent with each participant. |
| Data analysis | Analysed using techniques such as content analysis, discourse analysis, thematic analysis, semiotic analysis | Analysed using statistical analysis, e.g. regression analysis, cluster analysis, etc |
| Results | Descriptive, insight focused, presented graphically, but cannot be generalised to a wider population | Presented as numerical data and can be used to make generalisations to a broader population |