ABSTRACT
Projective techniques can be used to obtain emotional rather than rational responses from research participants. They also have the advantage of allowing the participants to provide information anonymously. Creative tasks are more challenging and include word association, drawing, and program or ad creation. Other projective techniques can be created by the researcher. Both completion and creative tasks can be used in focus groups or in-depth interviews. Projective techniques also allow participants to respond anonymously to sensitive issues. Many projective techniques involve completion tasks, such as giving the participants the task of finishing a sentence, story or cartoon. A projective technique such as drawing is used to get people emotionally involved with the topic. The researcher should create a relaxed setting that communicates to the participants that the exercise will be fun. The steps involved in using projective techniques include deciding upon the method, preparing the materials and testing the procedure.
