Online chat becomes a research tool

All you need is a computer and an Internet connection in order to participate. You can log in from anywhere, no office, venue or expensive refreshments are necessary.

Respondents and clients can sit in the comfort of their own home; they could even be out visiting friends for dinner with a quick diversion to the computer to participate in the group. The independent moderator can also log in from anywhere.

Webchek says that, as with traditional groups, respondents are specifically recruited and given a date and time that the group will be conducted; they are requested to download IRC chat software for free and given the details to log into Webchek's personally hosted chat-room.

At the designated time everyone logs in, including the researcher and client who will observe the group. It is possible for the client and researcher to have a private chat and for the moderator to have a private chat to either the client or researcher. In this way the researcher and client can guide the moderator's questioning as he/she goes along.

The moderator introduces the discussion and gets chatting as in a normal land-based group discussion and, on completion of the discussion, saves the chat and transcripts are available for analysis.

The advantages include a wide geographical spread of respondents, convenient and easy participation, perfect transcripts, good for sensitive topics as respondents can remain completely anonymous more cost-effective than land-based group discussions.

While not replacing traditional groups where non-verbal cues and emotional involvement can provide key information, the advantages offered by online groups make them an effective alternative for many marketing research applications.