You would need to stress here that your principal interest would be in getting a deep understanding of why car owners join manufacturer-sponsored owners’ clubs. You would discover why the owners joined these clubs and what they thought of them. In other words, you would establish what you set out to establish and, no doubt, a good deal besides. There is no reason why your discussions with owners should not be as valid as a survey questionnaire. Your initial briefing should be skilful enough to elicit rich responses from your interviewees (see Chapter 10 ) and you may also use prompts to focus on themes that emerge in the narratives of your participants.

Of course, you may alleviate any fears about ‘validity’ by using a multiple methods research methodology and delivering a questionnaire as well, so that your findings may be triangulated!