While asking customers how they feel about a brand can be informative, a traditional question-and-answer format doesn’t always provide the meaningful insights that lead to new product innovations and business breakthroughs.
As a result, it’s often necessary to think outside the box and use creative techniques that allow research subjects to open up and express how they truly feel. Sentence completion is a simple yet powerful approach that can produce the rich qualitative data organizations need to understand the hidden thoughts, beliefs, and motivations of their customers. Here are some of the key benefits of this valuable technique and how you can use it to strengthen your research efforts.
What Is Sentence Completion?
Sentence completion is a type of projective technique commonly used in qualitative market research where subjects are given a sentence fragment and asked to complete the statement in their own words.
Projective techniques refer to research methods that allow participants to voice their opinions or beliefs by reacting to a prompt or visual stimuli. Sentence completion is an example of a projective technique that challenges participants to describe their authentic feelings about the subject of the research in just a few words based on a prompt, often revealing hidden truths and associations.
Why Do Researchers Use Sentence Completion?
Sentence completion is a great way to open up discussion and encourage authentic reactions that may be challenging to obtain in a traditional interview format.
Ask a consumer a question like; “What do you think about this brand?”
Chances are they may say something like “It’s a good brand, it’s a high-quality brand, I like using it.”
Although it’s nice to receive positive feedback, the response doesn’t provide the kind of depth that’s needed to truly understand the customer experience.
Instead, try asking them to complete the following sentence; “When I think of this brand, I feel…”
By reframing the question, you increase the likelihood that they will provide a more nuanced response that reveals deeper, unconscious feelings about the subject.
What Are the Advantages of Sentence Completion?
Easy to Administer
Sentence completion is a flexible technique that doesn’t require much prep work, making it useful and easy to implement in a variety of scenarios. All you need to do is consider the goal of the research and create prompts that will encourage participants to provide the insights you’re after.
Discover Hidden Associations
Direct questioning may not always provide the data you need because the most valuable insights are often buried in the participant’s subconscious. Sentence completion can be very effective at revealing hidden associations and feelings that a respondent may struggle to express on their own.
Useful for Sensitive Topics
At times, participants may be hesitant to share their true opinions if it’s a sensitive or controversial topic. Sentence completion is a subtle approach that allows them to articulate their honest feelings without directly stating their opinion.
4 Ways to Use Sentence Completion in a Research Setting
- Start with a Warm-up
Sentence completion exercises can be a great warm-up. During the introduction phase of a focus group, you could ask the participants to describe the subject of the study in just one or two words. This can be a fun exercise that challenges participants to loosen up and get creative.
- Provide an Analogy
You could also use an analogy. Try the classic Forrest Gump example “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” Start by asking, “This product is like…” and have participants fill in the rest using their own words.
- Inquire About Purchase Motivations
Sentence completion can also be a useful tool for understanding the motivations behind buying decisions. You could ask them something like “I would buy this product if…”. Their responses may reveal valuable insights into what consumers need before making a purchase.
- Discover Perceptions About a Brand’s Audience
You can also use sentence completion to learn more about how people view a brand’s target customers. Ask them something like “The type of person who buys this product is probably…”. Responses may reveal unexpected insights into the general perceptions of the brand’s customer base.
Support Strategic Decisions with Qualitative Research
Sentence completion is just one tool researchers use to collect the rich, qualitative data needed to support better business decisions. If you need help implementing this approach or any other projective techniques into your research studies, New Perspectives will gladly assist. Contact us today to get started.
