How do you research the unknown, the unexpressed?

 By Sunandini Pande Ray

 LinkedIn Profile

Imagine the predicament when there is a need to understand how a toddler plays with her toys, or the common ways to store left over food in the fridge or even the practices followed to apply/remove make-up. These situations, when the answer cannot be addressed directly or consumers may not be able to answer adequately, often become a challenge for traditional forms of research (the tried and tested formats like questionnaires and focus groups) that simply “ask” and assume that the respondent will “tell”. Since these rely on what consumers say or claim, there may be concerns about what is not said or not expressed or may include a small nugget that is lost in the conversation somewhere. The challenges are not just that respondents don’t want to say something which could be admitting to something embarrassing or undesirable or perhaps even “remembering wrong” – over-claim and distortion to what actually happens in real life. It could also be that the topic under discussion includes rituals and practices that are so well en-grained or habituated that respondents may not think about mentioning them at all. Imagine if someone asked you to recall everything single, small thing that you did from the time you woke up – you may remember to mention the morning cup of tea but forget to mention something as regularly done as drinking a glass of water!

There is then a need to not just “hear” what respondents are saying but actually “see” what they do as they do it. This is when ethnography or observation comes in. Ethnography is a field of study that has been rooted in anthropology and gained popularity in other disciplines of social sciences. It involves systematic observation of society by researchers to understand the culture of a group and the social practices, interactions and meanings attributed by the group. Ethnography as a subject has a rich and comprehensive practice and history and extensive academic work has developed the thinking around the subject as well.

In market research, ethnography is done in the form of abbreviated participant observation – where researchers would spend hours (rather than days) to observe respondents at home undertaking activities that are of interest. Often, observation would be carried out over multiple visits and may also include use of unobtrusive recording devices such as pictures or videos to help capture the behaviour and activity of interest. Along with capturing an unadulterated real-life moment, these observation sessions also help provide a vivid and deep understanding of other aspects of the respondent’s world and everyday life. In most cases, observation would also include a post-interview to correlate the observed behaviour with the rationale and drivers as per the consumers.

While spending hours observing people as they shop, eat, be at home or at work may sound rather tedious, qualitative research today includes ethnographic and participant research practices that do just this: Accompanied shopping involves trailing shoppers as they shop to observe how they make decisions at the shop environment. In-home observation includes observation of any rituals and practices followed at the home – from how mothers cook a meal to how they clean their face. Design of a research may include components to observe how consumers use any product or packaging to understand how they may handle or navigate the object in use. Observation is also followed in research around children who may not be able to communicate effectively or answer direct questions. Mobile ethnography attempts to use the smartphone to observe/ interact with respondents as part of their everyday routines.

A few years ago, a leading electronics/technology company wanted to understand what people do during travel/ commuting to identify opportunities for devices and apps to engage them at that time. Rather than simply asking them, the company chose to actually watch them during their commute/travel to see what is actually done (rather than what they claim to do). From accompanying respondents on their morning drive to work, to watching passengers in local buses and trains, to even waiting with them while they looked for a taxi, the ethnographic research helped identify many specific examples of "commuting behavior" that led to changes in design and development of technology products such as redefining portable music players.

However challenges with the use of ethnography often present barriers for marketers – apart from being more time-intensive and expensive than many other research solutions, there is also a need for skilled and trained researchers who can help sift through all the data to identify what really stands out. However, the practice can often yield a breakthrough to understand what people actually do versus what they claim to do – an opportunity for any brand looking for actionable consumer insights.

Ethnographic research methodologies provide a slice of life into the consumers every day and a window into their world - something that enables researchers to get a richer and better understanding of the problems at hand and that helps marketers understand their consumers a little more.If market research is the effort to understand the customer, ethnographic methodologies offer the chance to see them up close and really personal.