From the course: Market Research: Qualitative

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Ethnography for behavioral data in market research

Ethnography for behavioral data in market research

From the course: Market Research: Qualitative

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Ethnography for behavioral data in market research

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- Years ago, an ice cream company wanted to know how to make the best ice cream scoop. They did surveys, focus groups, all sorts of qualitative and quantitative research. Again and again, people told them that maybe the metal should be sharper to actually cut the ice cream. They were about to create this sharp ice cream scoop when they decided to do one more round of research, this time in-home ethnography. Researchers went into people's kitchens and watched them scoop the ice cream, and what they found was that over 90% of the people they observed actually licked the ice cream scoop before it went into the sink. When the researchers asked participants about that, again and again the participants would say, "I didn't lick the ice cream scoop." They didn't even realize they had done it. Without ethnography, this product could have been disastrous. Ethnography is a qualitative method of research that immerses you in your audience's natural environment. Basically, you hang out with your…

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