Compare and Contrast Research Methods - Essay Example

To begin with, the prime reason for the development of increasingly complex research methods is to enhance their effectiveness regarding to their ability to predict human attitudes and behaviors (Malhotra, 2008). In order to establish the comparison between various research techniques, it is mandatory to define the key terms. Management Style Guide online (2008) explains Projective Techniques as the methods of investigation developed by psychologists, which are unstructured and indirect. The aim is to uncover the projection of the subjects regarding the underlying motives of the researcher.

It provides information about the intentions of participants which cannot be obtained by direct questioning owing to certain limitations e.g. inability of participants to figure out the issue themselves, resistance to reveal, etc. It is in fact a disguised-unstructured qualitative technique in which aim of the researcher is kept veiled from the subjects from which information is obtained (Steinman, 2009). Due to the same reasons, attitude surveys nowadays use the help of projective surveys and so do motivational studies and researches.

Examples: Projective techniques are applicable in various fields of life, ranging from psychological and social all the way to business and marketing researches. Will et al (1996) as cited by Steinman (2009) demonstrates some of the uses of projective techniques when it comes to opening discussions are extremely useful in opening discussions or in socially sensitive issues which might not be successfully elucidated owing to social and cultural norms and to avoid embarrassment on part of the subject.

In social research, these may include; In the field of business and consumer research, an example can be taken from the work of Donoghue (1998) who demonstrated the use of projective techniques with the purpose of revealing consumers’ hidden attitudes, feelings, beliefs and motives that are intimately associated