With Recollective
- Qualitative Data Analysis
- Qualitative Research
- Insight Communities
- Long Term Communities
- Short Term Communities
- Qualitative Pre-Tasking
- Remote Qualitative Research
- Video Diary Studies
- Video Research
- Online Qualitative
- Online Communities
Free online qualitative research course: six on-demand modules on planning studies, live and mobile methods, communities, AI, and analysis and reporting.
ENROL IN ANY ON-DEMAND MODULE FOR FREE
Digital Qual Masterclass Series: Free Online Qualitative Research Course
The Digital Qual Masterclass Series is a free online qualitative research course in six on-demand modules of about an hour each. It shows you how modern qualitative research is planned, run and analysed today: designing a study around what participants need to do, choosing between live interviews and groups, smartphone diaries, asynchronous activities and insight communities, deciding where AI should and shouldn’t help, and turning findings into reports that people act on.
Every module is taught by Laura Pulito, Vice President of Research at Recollective, and comes with an edited transcript and downloadable handouts. The series is hosted by Insight Platforms and free to watch thanks to the support of Recollective. It refreshes our popular 2020 Fundamentals of Online Qualitative Research course for a world of new platforms, blended methods and AI.
Why qualitative research needs a refresh
Qualitative research has changed more in the past five years than in the previous twenty. In 2020 the question was how to move in-person research online. Today digital is the default, research tools are in the hands of marketing, product and CX teams as well as insights departments, and AI touches almost every stage of a project, from moderation and transcription to analysis and reporting.
Researchers are no longer just choosing between interviews, diaries and communities. They’re designing flexible insight ecosystems that blend live, asynchronous and mobile methods. This series helps you make those choices well.
What you’ll learn
Across the six modules, you’ll learn how to:
- Plan a qualitative study around what participants need to do, using a step-by-step framework that leads from the business question to the right method, technology and use of AI
- Choose and blend online qualitative methods, from live video interviews and focus groups to smartphone diaries, asynchronous activities and communities
- Decide when research needs to happen live, and whether a human or an AI moderator is the right fit
- Capture experiences in the moment with smartphone diaries, in-the-moment research and mobile ethnography, without disrupting what you’re trying to observe
- Design and moderate short-term communities and asynchronous studies that hold participants’ attention over several days
- Judge when a long-term insight community is worth the investment, and plan, recruit, launch, evolve and prove the value of one
- Protect participant quality with layered checks for fraud and AI-generated responses
- Decide where AI belongs in your research, separating what AI can do for you, what it can do with you and what you should do yourself
- Analyse and report qualitative findings so they lead to decisions, using formats that suit each audience
Who this course is for
- Qualitative and market researchers who want to bring their skills up to date with today’s platforms and AI
- Client-side insights teams planning, commissioning or running online qual
- UX, product and CX researchers who run customer conversations, diary studies or communities
- Marketing, innovation and analytics teams who now have research tools but less formal research training
- Students and early-career researchers looking for free qualitative research training
The six modules
Where to start
- New to online qualitative research? Start with Module 1, then follow the series in order.
- Choosing a method for a project? Go to Module 2 (live), 3 (mobile and in-the-moment), 4 (asynchronous and short-term communities) or 5 (long-term communities).
- Already have the data? Go straight to Module 6 on analysis and reporting.
Digital Qual Masterclass Series Module 1: Planning & Designing Modern Qualitative Research
Digital Qual Masterclass Series Module 2: Live Video Interviews & Groups
Digital Qual Masterclass Series Module 3: Smartphone Diaries & In-the-Moment Research
Digital Qual Masterclass Series Module 4: Asynchronous Qual & Short Term Communities
Digital Qual Masterclass Series Module 5: Long-Term Insight Communities
Digital Qual Masterclass Series Module 6: Qualitative Analysis & Reporting
About the instructor
Laura Pulito is Vice President of Research at Recollective. She has more than 20 years’ experience in the research industry on both the client and supplier side, and was a Recollective customer before joining the company. She specialises in digital qualitative methods and helps brands, agencies and researchers design innovative online research projects.
About Recollective
Recollective is a research platform for online qualitative studies and insight communities. It supports the series, which keeps all six modules free to watch. The course content is platform-agnostic and applies whichever tools you use.
Frequently asked questions
Is this online qualitative research course free? Yes. All six modules of the Digital Qual Masterclass Series are free to watch on demand, with an edited transcript and downloadable handouts for each module. The series is hosted by Insight Platforms and supported by Recollective.
How long is the Digital Qual Masterclass Series? There are six modules of about one hour each, so roughly six hours in total. You can watch them at your own pace, in any order, and read the full edited transcript of each module as a PDF.
Do I need to take the modules in order? No. Each module works on its own. Module 1 introduces the planning framework used throughout the series, so it’s a good place to start if you’re new to online qualitative research, but you can go straight to the method you need.
What qualitative research methods does the course cover? The series covers live video interviews and focus groups (including AI-moderated interviews), smartphone diaries, in-the-moment research and mobile ethnography, asynchronous qual and short-term online communities, and long-term insight communities. It also covers how to plan a study before fieldwork and how to analyse and report the findings afterwards.
How do you choose the right online qualitative research method? Start with what participants need to do, not with a familiar method. Once you know the business question, objectives, audience and constraints, ask whether participants need to reflect, show something in the moment, react in real time, build ideas together or track change over time. That choice then points you towards live interviews or groups, smartphone diaries, asynchronous activities, a community or a blend of these.
How is AI used in qualitative research? The series uses a simple way to decide: tasks AI can do for you (such as first transcripts, translations and draft summaries), tasks AI can do with you (such as probing, exploring themes and comparing groups), and tasks you should do yourself (such as setting objectives, protecting participant quality, interpreting what people mean and making the final recommendations). Every module shows where AI helps at that stage of a study and where human judgement is still needed.
Who teaches the course? All six modules are taught by Laura Pulito, Vice President of Research at Recollective, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the research industry on both the client and supplier side.
Is the course specific to Recollective’s platform? No. The content covers the broader online qualitative research landscape and applies regardless of the platform or technology you use.
