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Chapter 11
Observation Methods
AT-A-GLANCE
I. Observation in Business Research
A. What can be observed?
B. The nature of observation studies
II. Observation of Human Behavior
A. Complementary evidence
B. Direct observation
Errors associated with direct observation
Scientifically contrived observation
C. Combining direct observation and interviewing
D. Ethical issues in the observation of humans
III. Observation of Physical Objects
IV. Content Analysis
V. Mechanical Observation
A. Television monitoring
B. Monitoring Web site traffic
Click-through rates
C. Scanner-based research
D. Measuring physiological reactions
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1.Discuss the role of observation as a business research method
2.Describe the use of direct observation and contrived observation
3.Identify ethical issues in observation studies
4.Explain the observation of physical objects and message content
5.Describe major types of mechanical observation
6.Summarize techniques for measuring physiological reactions
CHAPTER VIGNETTE: Mystery Diner at Seasons Restaurant
Three couples were enjoying a fine dining experience, unaware that they were being closely observed. A
mystery shopper (or mystery diner or mystery employee) was sitting near them, observing their dining
experience, as well as the service being provided. Mystery shoppers can help inspect and evaluate a
variety of activities, including customer service, company operations, employee integrity, store
merchandising, and product quality. Mystery shopping originated as a technique used by private
investigators to identify and prevent employee theft—primarily at banks and retail stores. The term
“Mystery Shopping” was coined in the 1940s by a research firm that applied the concept beyond integrity
applications. Today, over 100 companies belong to the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA)
and the industry is estimated to be over $1.5 billion annually. Observing behavior can be far more
accurate and more detailed than using surveys.
SURVEY THIS!
Students are asked to review the online survey and find areas where observation would be a better method
of gathering information. Design and describe an observation approach for at least one area or issue that
could either be better addressed by observation than a survey, or where observation could be used to
enhance the information provided by the survey.
RESEACH SNAPSHOTS
This Trend Brought to You by DDB SignBank
Researchers have tried to catalog behaviors that may signal the beginning of important trends,
which is a practice called trend spotting. It is controversial because the observations are
subjective and unsystematic, but marketers are increasingly turning to trend spotters. Ad agency
DDB Worldwide has created a service called DDB SignBank, which invites all of its staff
throughout the world, plus other targeted groups (i.e., youth organizations), that might signal a
new trend in the society or culture. SignBank was developed by sociologist Eva Steensig, and the
idea behind it is that the size of the database (i.e., 30,000 signs) will allow patterns to emerge in
the sheer number of observations. The data may be most useful as a source of ideas to test more
rigorously.
ATTI, Inc. Shadows the Fleet
Advanced Tracking Technologies, Inc. (ATTI) has developed sophisticated monitoring and
tracking devices for fleet vehicles, providing detailed information about what is happening on the
road. This device can pinpoint the location of any equipped vehicles through its Global
Positioning System (GPS), as well as record detailed trip information (i.e., start and end times,
distance traveled, average and top speed, idle time, off-hour usage, and the operator’s driving
habits). Not only is this observation technique useful to manage drivers, but it can assist fleet
managers with many of their responsibilities. The tracking device is like having a manager riding
with every driver.
Neuroco Peers into the Consumer’s Brain
Neuroco is a research company that uses a high-tech research method known as neuromarketing.
The approach uses a technology called quantified electroencephalography (QEEG), and subjects
wear light and portable EEG equipment that records brain activity; software present the data in
computer maps that display activity levels in areas of the brain. This technology is more flexible
than the better-known use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in which subjects
must lie still in a large, noisy machine. With QEEG, the measuring equipment can travel with
subjects as they walk around a store or watch advertisements.
OUTLINE
I. OBSERVATION IN BUSINESS RESEARCH
Observation is a systematic process of recording behavioral patterns of people, objects and
occurrences as they happen.
No questioning or communicating with people is needed.
Researchers either witness and record information while watching events take place or take
advantage of some tracking system (i.e., check-out scanners or Internet activity records).
Observation becomes a tool for scientific inquiry when it meets several conditions:
1. It serves a formulated research purpose.
2. It is planned systematically.
3. It is recorded systematically and related to general propositions rather than simply
reflecting a set of interesting curiosities.
4. It is subjected to checks or controls on validity and reliability.
What Can Be Observed?
Seven kinds of observable phenomena (listed in Exhibit 11.1):
1. physical actions
2. verbal behavior
3. expressive behavior
4. spatial relations and locations
5. temporal patterns
6. physical objects
7. verbal and pictorial records
Observation has certain limitations:
1. It cannot be used to describe any cognitive phenomena.
2. It can only be used for a short period of time due to costs.
The Nature of Observation Studies
Can observe people, objects, events, or other phenomena using either human observers or
machines.
Human or mechanical observation is generally unobtrusive, meaning no communication
with a respondent takes place.
Visible observation – observer’s presence is known to the subject.
Hidden observation – subject is unaware that observation is taking place.
Major advantage of observation studies over surveys is that the data are free from
distortions, inaccuracies, or other response biases due to memory error, social desirability
bias, and so on.
II. OBSERVATION OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR
Observation studies emphasize and allow for the systematic recording of nonverbal behavior.
Nonverbal behavior can be a communication process by which meanings are exchanged
among individuals (e.g., head nods, raised eyebrows, etc.).
Complementary Evidence
The results of observation studies may amplify the results of other forms of research by
providing complementary evidence concerning individuals’ “true” feelings.
Focus group interviews often are conducted behind two-way mirrors, allowing an
additional source for interpreting nonverbal behavior.
Direct Observation
Direct observation can produce detailed records of what people actually do during an
event.
Observer plays a passive role, making no attempt to control or manipulate a situation,
instead merely recording what occurs.
Many types of data can be obtained more accurately through direct observation than by
questioning (e.g., traffic counts, direction of flow through a supermarket).
In many cases, direct observation is the most straightforward form of data collection – or
the only form possible.
In other cases, it is the most economical technique.
Certain data may be obtained more quickly or easily using direct observation than by
other methods (e.g., gender, race, etc.).
Observing the choice time as a measure of the strength of the preference between
alternatives is called response latency.
This measure is based on the hypothesis that the longer a decision maker takes to
choose between two alternatives, the closer the two are in terms of preference.
A computer can record decision times.
Errors Associated with Direct Observation
The observer may record events subjectively.
A distortion of measurement resulting from the cognitive behavior or actions of
the witnessing observer is called observer bias.
Also, accuracy may suffer if the observer does not record every detail that
describes the persons, objects, and events in a given situation.
Interpretation of observation data is another potential source of error (i.e., facial
expressions or other nonverbal communication may have several meanings).
Scientifically Contrived Observation
Contrived observation – occurs when the investigator intervenes to create an
artificial environment in order to test a hypothesis.
Can increase the frequency of occurrence of certain behavior patterns (i.e.,
employee responses to complaints).
If situations were not contrived, the research time spent waiting and observing
would expand considerably.
Combining Direct Observation and Interviewing
Some research studies combine visible observation with personal interviews.
Ethical Issues in the Observation of Humans
Hidden observation raises the issue of the respondent’s right to privacy.
Some people might see contrived observation as entrapment (i.e., deceptive or tricky).
Three questions that can help researchers address the question of when they should feel
comfortable collecting observational data:
1. Is the behavior being observed commonly performed in public where it is expected
that others can observe the behavior?
2. Is the behavior performed in a setting in which the anonymity of the person being
observed is assured (meaning there is no way to identify individuals)?
3. Has the person agreed to be observed?
III. OBSERVATION OF PHYSICAL OBJECTS
Physical phenomena may be the subject of an observation study.
Physical-trace evidence is a visible mark of some past event or occurrence (e.g., the wear and
tear of a book gives an indication of how often it has been read).
A researcher can often record data that a respondent could not recall accurately.
The problem of untruthfulness or some other form of response bias is avoided.
IV. CONTENT ANALYSIS
Content analysis obtains data by observing and analyzing the content of advertisements,
letters, articles, etc.
It studies the message itself.
This technique measures the extent of emphasis or omission of any given analytical category.
Might be used to investigate questions such as whether some advertisers use certain themes,
appeals, claims, or deceptive practices more than others or whether recent consumer-oriented
actions by the Federal Trade Commission have influenced the content of advertising.
It is more sophisticated than simply counting the items; it requires a system of analysis to
secure relevant data.
V. MECHANICAL OBSERVATION
In many situations, the primary means of observation is mechanical rather than human.
Television Monitoring
Nielsen’s television monitoring system for estimating television audiences uses a
consumer panel and a monitoring device called a People Meter to obtain ratings for
television programs nationwide.
Peoplemeter gathers data on what each television in a household is playing and who is
watching it at the time.
Knowing who in the family is watching allows executives to match television programs
with demographic profiles.
Nielsen gathers daily estimates of when televisions are in use, which channels are used,
and who is viewing each program.
Arbitron has a Portable People Meter, which reads inaudible codes embedded in audio
signals to identify their source.
Study participants wear or carry the meter throughout the day, and it
automatically picks up codes embedded in whatever radio and television signals
they encounter.
Participants insert the meter into a “base station,” which extracts the data
collected, sends it to a household hub that then sends the data to Arbitron’s
computer over phone lines.
However, the device records only signals that the radio or television system
embeds using Arbitron’s equipment.
Other devices gather data about the viewing of advertisements (e.g., The TiVo digital
television recorder collects detailed viewing data, such as what commercials people skip
by using fast-forward.).
Monitoring Website Traffic
Computer technology makes gathering detailed data about online behavior easy and
inexpensive.
Challenge is to identify which measures are meaningful and to interpret the data
correctly.
Hits – mouse clicks on a single page of a website.
Page views – single, discrete clicks to load individual pages of a website. More
conservatively indicates how many users visit each individual page on the website and
may also be used to track the path or sequence of pages that each visitor follows.
Click-Through Rates
Click-through rates (CTR) – the percentage of people who are exposed to an
advertisement who actually click on an advertisement.
Counting hits or page views can be flawed measures because:
hits do not differentiate between a lot of activity by a few visitors and a
little activity by many visitors
some hits are likely made by mistake
A more refined count is the number of unique visitors to a website.
Counts the initial access to the site but not multiple hits on the site by the
same visitor during the same day or week..
Small files, called cookies, attached to the computers of visitors to sites
can track whether the same visitors return.
Companies (i.e., Jupiter Research and Nielsen) specialize in monitoring
this type of Internet activity.
A typical approach is to install a special tracking program on the
computers of a sample of Internet users who agree to participate in the
research effort.
In recent years, accurate measurement of unique visitors has become
more difficult because computer users have deleted cookies and many
users block them to make themselves anonymous.
Applying the CTR to the amount spent on the advertisement gives the advertiser
a cost per click, which has been hailed as a practical way to evaluate advertising
effectiveness.
Highest click-through rates tend to occur on pages displaying search results.
Scanner-Based Research
Lasers performing optical character recognition and bar-code technology like the
universal product code (UPC) have accelerated the use of mechanical observation in
research.
This technology allows researchers to investigate questions that are demographically or
promotionally specific.
One of the primary means of implementing this type of research is through the
establishment of a scanner-based consumer panel to replace consumer purchase diaries.
1. Each household is assigned a bar-coded card, like a frequent-shopper card, which
members present to the clerk at the register.
2. The household’s code number is coupled with the purchase information recorded
by the scanner.
3. In addition, background information about the household obtained through
answers to a battery of demographic and psychographic survey questions can
also be coupled with the household code number.
Aggregate data (i.e., actual store sales as measured by scanners) are available to client
and industry groups.
Data may be aggregated by product category.
Researchers can combine them with secondary research and panel demographics.
Data from scanner research parallel data provided by a standard mail diary panel, with
some important improvements:
1. The data measure observed (actual) purchase behavior rather than reported
behavior (recorded later in a diary).
2. Improved accuracy.
3. Measures are unobtrusive, eliminating interviewing and the possibility of social
desirability or other bias on the part of respondents.
4. More extensive purchase data can be collected, because all UPC categories are
measured.
5. Data collected from computerized checkout scanners can be combined with data
about advertising, price changes, displays, and special sales promotions.
Measuring Physiological Reactions
Researchers have used a number of other mechanical devices to evaluate physical and
physiological reactions to packaging, advertising copy, and other stimuli.
There are four major devices used:
1. Eye-tracking monitor – measures unconscious eye movements. Can record how the
subject reads a print ad or views a TV commercial and how much time is spent
looking at various parts of the stimulus.
2. Pupilometer – observes and records changes in the diameter of a subject’s pupils.
This method is based on the assumption that increased pupil size reflects positive
attitudes toward and interest in advertisements.
3. Psychogalvanometer – measures galvanic skin response (GSR), which is a measure
of involuntary changes in the electrical resistance of the skin. This device is based on
the assumption that physiological changes (i.e., increased perspiration) accompany
emotional reactions to ads, packages, and slogans.
4. Voice-pitch analysis – gauges emotional reactions as reflected in physiological
changes in a person’s voice. This technique does not require the researcher to
surround subjects with mazes of wires or equipment.
All of these devices assume that physiological reactions are associated with
persuasiveness or predict some cognitive response, but this assumption has not yet been
clearly demonstrated.
Another major problem with this type of research is calibration, or sensitivity, of
measuring devices.
Identifying arousal is one thing, but precisely measuring levels of arousal is
another.
Another disadvantage is that most of these devices are expensive.
