Using Qualitative Research in Advertising: Strategies, Techniques, and Applications

Margaret A. Morrison is Professor in the School of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She received her Ph.D. from The University of Georgia in 1996. She has taught classes in media planning, account planning, qualitative research, and advertising campaigns at Tennessee since 1995. Her work has appeared in various outlets such as Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, and American Journal of Public Health

Eric Haley is Professor in the Department of Advertising at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He received his Ph.D. from The University of Georgia in 1992. He teaches a variety of advertising courses and a doctoral seminar in qualitative research. He is an active research consultant helping national clients with custom research information needs. His publications have appeared in the Journal of Advertising and the Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising.

Kim Bartel Sheehan is a Professor and Director of the Master’s Program in Strategic Communication and the Undergraduate Honors Program at the School of Communication and Journalism at the University of Oregon. She held leadership positions at agencies in Boston, Chicago, and St. Louis and has consulted with numerous companies. Her research involves advertising, culture, and new technology, with a focus on sustainability communications. She has published extensively about online privacy, advertising ethics, and direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising. She has served as an Associate Editor and a Special Issue Editor for the Journal of Advertising and President of the American Academy of Advertising. Sheehan won the School of Journalism and Communication’s Marshall Award for Innovative Teaching in 2001 and 2010. She is currently a Fellow for the Society of New Communications Research and has been a two-time Page Legacy Scholar and two-time Dave and Nancy Petrone Faculty Fellow.

Ronald E. Taylor is Professor and Director of the School of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He earned an A.B. in Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and M.S. in Advertising, and Ph.D. in Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has taught a course in qualitative research methods at Tennessee for the past 15 years. Dr. Taylor is interested in European advertising and advertising regulation. He has lectured in France and conducted research in France, Belgium, and Spain.