Systematic Observation Techniques

“Without Motive”

Qualitative Research

• Qualitative Research– Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data by observing what

people do and say.

– A form of exploratory research involving small samples and unstructured data collection procedures.

• Pluralistic Research– The combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods

in order to gain the advantages of both.

Observation• Observation is the unobtrusive (disguised) collection of

data from consumers through nonverbal information.– No interviewing, no questionnaires

• Naturalistic inquiry or ethnography is the collection of data, or observation, in natural settings, (i.e., living in a culture), most commonly used as an exploratory approach toward understanding the interaction of the consumer in the retail environment.

• Can be used in other designs, whereas an observational methodology is used for – the dependent variable in causal design or– as a categorical measure for descriptive research.

Continuum from Exploratory to Descriptive

• Observational studies may provide a qualitative component

• Counts and other data compilation may form the quantitative component

• Studies can vary tremendously in length and detail—not necessarily short in time horizon.

Collecting Natural Observations

• Counting

• Measuring

• Mechanical or Electronic Observation

• Seeking Patterns in Behavior

Studying Retail Competition

• Visiting retail stores• Counting the number of items (SKUs) in

category assortments• Measuring linear feet of display for each

supplier, and the number of facings for each SKU.

• Recording price and calculating price differences.

Compelling and Understandable

• Knowing the share of shelf space among competing suppliers at various retailers, and at various locations.

• Knowing the prices charged by various retailers, then estimating the gross margins.

• Knowing how various retailers use allocate their shelf space to determine gross margins.

• What does a retailer telling you to “leave the store” indicate about the data’s importance?

• Is there another way to get the data?

What techniques could be applied?

• Managers of the Promenade shopping center are interested in estimating the number of shoppers traveling Missouri and Oklahoma.

• A retailer’s strategist would like to estimate the share of dollar volume among competing grocery stores chains in a metropolitan market.

• An auto service department/dealership wants to determine what radio station would reach the most of those likely to consider its service.

“Direct Observation of Purchasing Behavior”William D. Wells and Leonard A. Lo Sciuto (1966)

• Who actually chooses the products and who influences

the choice at the point of sale?

• To what extent are the brand choices made before the

shopper enters the store versus at the point of

purchase?

• How many people check price?

• Do shoppers check the package before purchase?

Security Videos

• Store’s own “archival” qualitative data

• Firms specialize in reviewing the data on the tapes– Effectiveness of displays in capturing attention– Assignment of shelf-space in the category

Finding from observation in grocery shopping:

• “Women do more of the family shopping than men, but men do enough to warrant a marketer’s attention.

• “Husbands who accompany wives and try to influence purchase decisions almost always succeed.

• “Children, especially urban children, are also influential, although this varies by product class.”

• “Urban shoppers show more concern with price than suburban shoppers. This also varies by type of product and by sex.”

Inaccuracy of Self-Report

Unintentional• Faulty memory, forgetting• Lack of importance of marketing subject

matter to respondents, “don’t care”Intentional• “Demand effects” in experiments• “Socially desirable responses” in surveys

“Effects of Unexpected Situations on Behavior-Intention Differences: A Garbology Analysis”JOSEPH A. COTE, JAMES McCULLOUGH, MICHAEL REILLY

• “A five-week examination of food consumption of 61 households employed the contemporary anthropological technique of garbology.

• “Experienced sorters record the contents by noting the subject code, the census location of the household, the date, and the names of the sorters (for two weeks).

• “(T)he member of the household most involved with food preparation was offered $20 to participate in the study and have their garbage analyzed (first interview).

• Subjects were given a second interview by phone.

Data Recorded from Examination of Garbage

• The class of product by product code• The number of items for that product• The amount of the product or the amount of

product contained in the original container• Price of the product recorded on container• Amount of wasted product• The brand name of the product• The product type• The material composition of the container

Pre-interview Post, phone interview

"Usual behavior""Actual

consumption"

Bacon .39 * .26 *Beer .34 * .64 *

Cereal .32 * .18

Cheese .29 -.06Chicken .36 * .34 *Chips .44 * .28 *Crackers .43 * .26 *Eggs .63 * .46 *Frozen dinners .37 * .27 *

Hamburgers .51 * -.08Juice .55 * .48 *Meat .47 * .28 *Oranges .49 * .57 *Soup .67 * .62 *

Vegetables .40 * .20

Correlation Coefficients: Garbology Measures and Self-Reported Consumption

Direct versus Indirect Measures• Direct observation is the viewing or recording

of actual behavior of the consumer.

• Indirect is to measure evidence left behind:– Evidence left by shoppers in stores

• Displays “messed up,” clothes tried on (not purchased)• Foot prints on clean grocery stores

– Preferences for media• Stations remaining on televisions, radios• Magazines showing the most wear

Disguised versus Undisguised

• Disguise is the ultimate in natural inquiry, subject do not know they are being observed.– Hidden cameras watching customers.– “Secret shopper,” whereas store employees are

being observed.

• Observation in artificial settings, such as laboratories, are consider undisguised.

Structured versus Unstructured

• Unstructured: Observer is not restricted to record any particular activity, all activities are of value.

• Structured: Observed is instructed on what behaviors to note, trained to record certain activities, ignore others.

Human versus Mechanical

• Mechanical equipment:– Video tape recording equipment– Electric eyes– Pneumatic pressure hoses

• Key components to disguised approaches.

Appropriate Conditions for the Use of Observation

• Short time interval• Public behavior• Faulty recall by consumers• Research with children• Language barriers

Fisher-Price: Rescue Heroes

• Qualitative research as part of an overall continual process.

• Focus groups and generalizations

• What makes observation particularly important for this firm?

Being Systematic

• Noting the time of observation.• Using the same time each week for observation.• Are observers trained and evaluated on their

completion of the forms?• Is there a means of monitoring the observers.• If a randomized approach is used is there a

recorded procedure for selection?

Advantages/Limitations

• Validity of measures: Logic dictates the inferences that are drawn from observations.– Are people in the stores shoppers?

• Cannot probe subjects, cannot only assume motivations.