Why Combine Implicit & Explicit Techniques for Market Research

Whether you’re starting a market research project in-house or looking for an agency to hire, you want to be sure that you’re using the best methodologies and techniques to get desired results. We’ve discussed the advantages and disadvantages of qualitative and quantitative market research before. So today we’d like to take a deeper dive into the differences between implicit and explicit techniques and why we believe combining them is the best strategy.

Implicit vs Explicit Market Research Techniques

While explicit market research techniques refer to what is actually reported, recorded and analyzed, implicit techniques are those that are not direct, controlled, intentional self-assessments. Researchers from the University of Virginia have found that it’s important to note that participants are sometimes limited by:

• Limits in Motivation - Due to self-preservation or motivation to answer how the research wants them to answer
• Limits in Opportunity - If the measurement tool does not allow them to express their true degree of feeling about an evaluated item
• Limits in Ability - When they cannot articulate their thinking or feelings into a reported response
• Limits in Awareness - Participants might not be consciously aware of the drivers of their behavior or attitudes

With this in mind, explicit techniques include collecting data from surveys and in-depth interviews. This data is recorded in a deliberate manner. Then implicit techniques include monitoring heart rate or brain activity and affective priming.

Why Combine The Two?

When looking through your market research data, you want to be able to see the direct and indirect drivers of behavior and you can do this by utilizing both implicit and explicit techniques. Because automatic and deliberate responses both tell a story about our decisions, neither can really stand on their own. Further, combining these techniques helps remove limitations in motivation, opportunity, ability and awareness to make the insights from your data more truthful.

Next Steps

If you’re looking to combine implicit and explicit techniques in your next market research study, schedule a chat with our co-CEO Colson Steber. He can help you determine whether utilizing implicit techniques is right for your study and he can provide quotes, budget suggestions and timelines if you decide to partner with Qlarity Access.

For more information on the value of market research and how to communicate it to your clients, download our FREE eBook: