AUTHOR

Miss S (Suné) Donoghue
	Department of Consumer Science University of Pretoria Pretoria 0002 sdonog@postino.up.ac.za Tel: +27 12 420 2976 Fax:  +27 12 420 2855

KEYWORDS
projective techniques, techniques, qualitative research, consumer research, qualitative consumer research

ABSTRACT
Projective techniques use ambiguous stimuli in which the subject projects attitudes, opinions or self-concept into a situation in order to give it structure.  Projective techniques are used in qualitative consumer and marketing research to uncover a respondent’s innermost thoughts, feelings, attitudes and motives.  These techniques are used to get beyond a subject’s defensive reaction to direct questioning.

Projective techniques in qualitative consumer research are described with reference to their design and structure, types of techniques and the analysis and interpretation of data generated by using projective techniques.  Aspects of reliability and validity are discussed, as are the advantages and disadvantages of projective techniques.  Case studies are described to illustrate that projective techniques may complement other mainstream qualitative research methods (like in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions) to obtain answers to the how, why and what questions pertaining to the consumer’s behaviour.

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