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It is no news that surveys are the cornerstone of market research. Qualitative survey analysis offers invaluable insights into customer preferences, brand perception, and campaign effectiveness. 

Surveys are very effective methods of getting feedback. While quantitative surveys focus on crunching numbers, qualitative surveys take us on a journey into the intangible. But here’s the catch: extracting these hidden gems requires a different kind of process.

Qualitative surveys unlock the “why” behind the “what”, uncovering the emotions, opinions, and stories that quantitative analysis often leaves behind. Asking open-ended survey questions gives you more actionable insights than asking your customers for just a numerical Net Promoter Score (NPS). But when you ask open-ended, free-text questions, you end up with hundreds (or even thousands) of free-text responses. 

For this blog post, we will be focusing on qualitative surveys. It is a very viable method of conducting research. Through qualitative analysis, businesses can extract actionable insights that drive strategic decision-making, product innovation, and market positioning.  However, sifting through tons of open-ended responses and analyzing them to get insights can be a bit challenging. How do researchers transform this data into actionable insights? The emotions, opinions, and stories that traditional quantitative analysis often misses? 

How can AI make this process more effective, automated, and simplified?

How AI analyzes qualitative surveys?

AI has revolutionized the process of qualitative survey analysis. AI-powered tools leverage advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques to interpret and derive meaningful insights from unstructured data sources such as open-ended survey responses, customer reviews, and social media interactions. These AI-driven solutions excel in identifying patterns, themes, and sentiment analysis, enabling businesses to extract valuable intelligence at scale.

However, different tools utilize varied approaches and specialize in specific aspects of analysis. Here’s a breakdown of some key categories:

  • Sentiment Analysis: Identifies the overall positive, negative, or neutral sentiment expressed in responses.
  • Topic Modeling: Automatically discovers recurring themes and sub-themes within the data.
  • Text Segmentation: Breaks down responses into meaningful units for further analysis.
  • Comparative Analysis: Compares responses across different groups or demographics.

Automating the process

The true power of AI lies in its ability to automate repetitive tasks. Imagine feeding hundreds of open-ended responses into a tool that instantly generates sentiment reports, identifies key themes, and even classifies responses based on specific criteria. This frees up your time and resources for deeper analysis and interpretation.

Factors that determine your choice tool of quality survey analysis

Several factors influence your choice of AI tool. You’d need to consider:

  • Your research objectives: What specific insights are you seeking?
  • Data: How many responses do you need to analyze?
  • Technical expertise: Are you comfortable with data manipulation and coding?
  • Budget: Some tools offer free trials or limited functionality, while others require subscriptions.

The best AI tool for qualitative survey analysis

There are many AI tools for qualitative survey analysis, all boasting mind-blowing automated features. However, we have tested and analyzed the top 3 you can choose from based on capabilities, ease of use, and cost.

  1. Atlas.ti: A veteran in the qualitative analysis arena, Atlas.ti boasts a robust feature set and deep integration with AI capabilities. Its “AI-assisted coding” functionality leverages machine learning to suggest relevant codes based on your existing coding scheme, saving you precious time and effort. The software will support you in the process and make it easier to review your data, modify codings if necessary, change code labels, and write operational definitions to explain what each code means.
  2. QDA Miner: Known for its intuitive interface and user-friendliness, QDA Miner is a great choice for researchers of all levels. The software is designed to assist researchers in managing, coding, and analyzing qualitative data. QDA Miner also offers advanced visualization tools to present your findings in a clear and impactful way.
  3. Insight7: Popular for its robust features, user-friendly interface, and accuracy, Insight7 empowers businesses to unlock actionable insights from qualitative data efficiently. The AI-powered platform stands out for its unique ability to dive deep into the sentiment, emotions, and insights within your qualitative data, uncovering underlying themes and patterns. Hence the reason it tops the list.

Here’s what sets it apart:

  1. Automated thematic Coding: Insight7 uses machine learning algorithms to automatically identify and code themes, sub-themes, and sentiment within your qualitative data. This frees you up to focus on deeper analysis and interpretation.
  2. Advanced Visualization: The platform offers a wide range of interactive visualizations, including frequency bars, and color-coded sentiment graphs, making it easy to understand complex relationships and patterns in your data. Its intuitive interface makes it accessible to researchers of all skill levels.
  3. Collaboration Tools: Insight7 facilitates seamless collaboration among researchers, allowing you to share findings, discuss interpretations, and refine your analysis together while working on a project.
  4. Integrations: Unlike some other AI tools, Insight7 easily integrates with your data silos such as Google Drive, Hubspot, etc.
  5. Competitive Pricing: Insight7 offers flexible pricing plans that cater to the needs of individual researchers and large organizations alike.

How to use Insight7 for qualitative survey analysis

  1. Data Import and Preprocessing: Insight7 simplifies the process of importing survey data from various sources, including CSV files, online surveys, and social media platforms. The tool automatically cleanses and preprocesses the data, ensuring accuracy and consistency.
  1. Text Analysis and Sentiment Detection: Leveraging advanced natural language processing algorithms, Insight7 performs in-depth text analysis to identify key themes, sentiments, and linguistic patterns within survey responses. Through sentiment detection capabilities, businesses gain a nuanced understanding of customer perceptions and emotions.
  1. Visualization and Reporting: Insight7 offers dynamic visualization tools that transform raw data into intuitive charts, graphs, and dashboards. These visual representations enable stakeholders to grasp complex insights at a glance, facilitating informed decision-making and strategy formulation.
  1. Machine Learning Integration: One of Insight7’s standout features is its seamless integration with machine learning models. By harnessing the power of machine learning, businesses can further enhance the accuracy and predictive capabilities of survey analysis, uncovering hidden trends and predictive patterns within segments.
  1. Actionable Insights and Recommendations: Insight7 goes beyond mere data analysis, providing actionable insights and strategic recommendations based on survey findings. Whether it’s identifying emerging market trends, refining product features, or optimizing marketing campaigns, Insight7 equips businesses with the intelligence needed to stay ahead of the curve.

Ultimately, understanding your research needs, and requirements and exploring the strengths of each tool helps you choose the AI tool that will unlock the full potential of your qualitative data, uncovering deeper insights and driving informed decision-making. Click here to access this free qualitative analysis tool.