The Influence of Bill Schlackman on Qualitative Research

Abstract

William 'Bill' Schlackman played a major role in the development of qualitative research in the UK. His experience in psychotherapy, clinical psychology and motivational research, as well as his relationship with Ernest Dichter, helped form what we know as qualitative research today. He ran various workshops on the use of projective techniques, for which he is widely remembered, as well as presenting a number of papers at MRS Conferences between 1961 and 1986. Schlackman's passion and enthusiasm for experimental research design, and the use of projective and motivational techniques in market research, helped propel qualitative research to achieve a deeper understanding of consumer motivations. His early work on packaging research can be equated with the modern practice of semiotics, and his development of sensitivity panels can be compared with online communities.

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“…Another reason I selected a qualitative approach is because it uses in-depth interviewing with structured questions, which produces a variety of unscripted answers, versus the measurements and calculations of answers used in quantitative studies (Patterson & Malpass, 2015). Interviews for the proposed 12 subjects enabled me to retrieve an instructor's perspective and insight from their own thoughts on academic integrity, how they prevent it or unintentionally promote it, and how they address cheating and plagiarism after it is discovered.…”

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“…Researchers can use multiple forms of data collection including interviews, participant observations, and company documents (J. Park & Park, 2016;Patterson & Malpass, 2015). As the researcher, I was responsible for the design and data collection, as well as reporting and interpreting the findings.…”

“…One challenge that qualitative researchers face is establishing a successful level of rapport and trust with the participants (Patterson & Malpass, 2015;Staller, 2015b).…”

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“…Bill's employees at this time read like a who's who of those who influenced the development of qualitative research over the subsequent three decades, including Wendy Gordon, Pat Cockett, Colleen Ryan, Roddy Glen, Lawrence Bailey, Susie Fisher, Freda Bear, Peter Lovett and more . Bill Schlackman's importance in the history of UK qualitative research could hardly be overestimated (Patterson 2013) .…”