Integraphy: A multi-method approach to situational analysis

Qualitative research is a way to analyze situations of consumer behavior. Usually, the goal is to capture richness of detail, complexity, and a sense of the wholeness of the phenomena of interest. Unlike the common conduct of laboratory experiment studies that observe a single variable or the interaction of two or a few variables, through the use of qualitative approaches one may study the subtleties of language, explore contradictions, generate hypotheses, and clothe statistical findings. Under the heading, Integraphy, this paper describes three studies that show how information and insight may be derived from such fuller, richer inquiries. The studies highlight the necessary role of introspection. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.