Chapter 8: Observation
Chapter 8
Observation
AT-A-GLANCE
I. Introduction
II. Technology and Observation in Marketing Research
A. Technological advances and observation
B. What can be observed?
C. The nature of observation studies
D. Observation of human behavior
III. Direct and Contrived Observation
A. Direct observation
1. Why use direct observation?
2. Errors associated with direct observation
B. Contrived observation
C. Complementary evidence
IV. Ethical Issues in the Observation of Humans
V. Observation of Physical Objects
A. Artifacts
B. Inventories
C. Content analysis
VI. Mechanical Observation
A. Television, radio, and digital monitoring
B. Monitoring web traffic
2. CTR online advertising
C. Scanner-based research
D. Camera surveillance
E. Smartphones
VII. Measuring Physiological Reactions
A. Eye-tracking Monitor
Chapter 8: Observation
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Discuss the role of observational technologies as marketing research tools.
3. Identify ethical issues particular to research using observation.
CHAPTER VIGNETTE: Goople Peeking!
Huge companies such as Google and Apple take data collection to the extreme by tracking
individuals’ every waking hour and more. Your iPhone sends data back to Apple that reflects
your movements. Observing your behavior through electronic means can be referred to as Goople
peeking. Google depends on advertising revenue and the more they know, the more they can
carefully target content toward your behaviors. Apple considers how they may become a tool for
conducting the bulk of consumer transactions by expanding iTunes technology to draw money
right from your bank account. Once consumers find out about all of this peeking at their behavior,
they are typically alarmed at the loss of privacy. A consumer can take a few steps to prevent an
Android device from tracking geographic locations and an Apple user can do the same, although
it is a bit more complicated. However, even with WiFi and GPS turned off, cell signals continue
to track locations. When asked, few consumers say they are willing to give up the convenience
that comes with a smartphone in return for a measure of privacy. Perhaps the entire meaning of
privacy is changing with technology. How does it feel to know Goople is peeking at you right this
minute?
SURVEY THIS!
Students are asked to review the questions about opinions and preferences for technological
products and to look at the results from this section. In what way has behavioral observation been
RESEARCH SNAPSHOTS
➢ All that Jazz!
Much can be gleaned about a person by examining his or her preferences. Pandora is
leveraging observational data suggesting a relationship between music preference and
politics to sell advertising to political campaigns. Consider two consumers, one who creates
a Bob Marley station with a touch of Daft Punk on Pandora, and the other who creates a
Chapter 8: Observation
➢ What We Say and What We Do
In an online survey, 96 percent of adults said they always wash their hands after using a
public restroom (men were less likely than women). However, observational research found
that only 19 percent did so. Results from that study show that 78 percent of female users
TIPS OF THE TRADE
➢ Once someone knows that others are watching, the researcher cannot be sure how much that
knowledge changes behavior.
➢ Researchers should strongly consider using measures of response latency when studying
information processing. Computer-aided survey technology makes observing response
latency easy and accurate.
OUTLINE
I. INTRODUCTION
A. Scientists rely heavily on observation.
B. Observations play a key role in discovering ideas and developing theories.
C. Inductive learning begins with collections of observations.
II. TECHNOLOGY AND OBSERVATION IN MARKETING RESEARCH
A. Observation – the systematic process of recording the behavioral patterns of people,
objects, and occurrences as they take place
B. Advances in technology have given a bigger role for observational research tools in
marketing research.
C. Observation can be a useful part of either qualitative or quantitative research.
D. Scientific observation addresses a research question aimed at discovering or testing
market knowledge, whereas simple observation has no such motivation.
1. Technological Advances and Observation
a. Internet, cellular, social networking and near-field technologies have fueled
Chapter 8: Observation
b. Errors Associated with Direct Observation
i. When human observers record behaviors, the observer may record events
subjectively.
B. Contrived Observation
1. Contrived observation – observation in which the investigator creates an
artificial environment in order to test a hypothesis
3. If situations are not contrived, the research time spent waiting and observing
would expand considerably.
C. Complementary Evidence
1. Observational approaches often supply complementary evidence to other forms
of research.
3. Survey responses combined with information on how long the respondent took to
make a choice reveal more than either type of data alone.
4. Response latency – the amount of time it takes to make a choice between two
alternatives; used as a measure of the strength of preference
IV. ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE OBSERVATION OF HUMANS
A. Observational tools are sometimes akin to snooping or spying.
B. Raises the question of the respondent’s right to privacy
C. If the researcher obtains permission to observe someone, the subject may not act
naturally.
D. New technologies afford opportunities to observe behaviors of interest to marketing
managers.
1. Deep-packet inspection refers to the ability of an Internet service provider to read
data transmitted by users.
E. Four questions to address the ethics of observational data:
1. Is the behavior being observed commonly performed in public where it is
F. If the answer to the first two questions is “yes,” then there is not likely a violation of
privacy in collecting observational research data.
G. If the answer to the third and/or fourth question is “yes,” then gathering the data also
is likely ethical.
H. Otherwise, the researcher should carefully consider input from an IRB or other
authority before proceeding with the research.
Chapter 8: Observation
V. OBSERVATION OF PHYSICAL OBJECTS
A. Artifacts – the things that people made and consumed within a culture that signal
something meaningful about the behavior taking place at the time of consumption
B. Inventories
2. An observer can record physical-trace data to discover information a respondent
could not recall accurately.
C. Content analysis – the systematic observation and quantitative description of the
manifest content of communication
VI. MECHANICAL OBSERVATION
A. Television, Radio, and Digital Monitoring
1. Television monitoring – computerized mechanical observation used to obtain
television ratings
B. Monitoring Web Traffic
1. Web Traffic and Buzz
a. Click-through rate (CTR) – proportion of people who are exposed to a
2. CTR and online advertising
a. Applying the CTR to the amount spent on the advertisement gives the
advertiser a cost per click.
C. Scanner-Based Research
1. Scanner-based consumer panel – a type of consumer panel in which
2. Scanner data is a mechanical observation form that requires no input from
customers.
D. Camera Surveillance
1. Cameras planted inconspicuously in places can be useful in marketing research.
E. Smartphones
1. Observations from smartphones might reveal:
a. When people are happy based on their message content
2. Like other areas, technology may outpace the ethics of using this type of data.
Chapter 8: Observation
VII. MEASURING PHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIONS
A. Eye-Tracking Monitor – a mechanical device used to observe eye movements;
1. Magnetic Resonance Imagery (MRI) – a machine that allows one to measure
what portions of the brain are active at a given time
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND CRITICAL THINKING/ANSWERS
1. Yogi Berra, the famous, late baseball player and coach who was famous for mind-boggling
sayings, said, “You can observe a lot just by watching.” How does this fit in with the
definition of scientific observation?
2. What are the major advantages of unobtrusive observation over other types of data
collection?
3. What are the major limitations of observational data collection techniques?
Chapter 8: Observation
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part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a
password-protected website for classroom use.
This research objective can be accomplished with direct human observation. A field worker
stationed at a traffic light or another location could easily observe if shoulder straps are being
used. It is also possible to determine seat belt usage from surveillance cameras set up at traffic
intersections.
c. A fast-food franchise wishes to determine how long a customer entering a store has to
wait for his or her order.
d. University food services wonder if a smartphone app with which students can order food
ahead of time will cut down on wait times and food waste.
e. An overnight package delivery service wishes to observe delivery workers beginning at
the moment when they stop the truck, continuing through the delivery of the package, and
ending when they return to the truck.
f. A political consulting agency would like to study the consumers’ reactions as they view
national candidates’ political commercials airing on cable and broadcast television.
Chapter 8: Observation
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, in whole or in
part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a
password-protected website for classroom use.
This specific question raises at least three issues: confidentiality of the research, deception, and
invasion of privacy. These issues have to do with the intent of the research, if in fact this is
research. If the purpose of the research is to identify individual investors who might be emotional
about a possible decline in the market (hence, good sales prospects), then it could be argued that
this is not a scientific research study with the intent of aggregating the data and making general
conclusions. Assuming that this is a legitimate study, then it should be asked if “not telling” about
something is a deception. Is this different from telling a “little white lie”? If this information is
obtained without the subject’s consent or without a debriefing after the study, is it an invasion of
privacy? Students should be asked to take a stand.
b. A researcher plans to invite consumers to be test users in a simulated kitchen located in a
shopping mall and then to videotape their reactions to a new microwave dinner from
behind a two-way mirror (one that an observer behind the mirror can see through but the
person looking into the mirror sees only the reflection).
c. A marketing researcher arranges to purchase the trash from the headquarters of a major
competitor. The purpose is to sift through discarded documents to determine the
company’s strategic plans.
d. A political research firm considers technology that activates a consumer’s tablet
microphone to “observe dinner time conversations” in an effort to produce better political
ads.
17. What is a psychogalvanometer?
© 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, in whole or in
part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or otherwise on a
password-protected website for classroom use.
CASE 8.1 Mazda and Syzygy
Objective: To illustrate methods for assessing physiological measures and to encourage students
to think of other observational methods to use when assessing the usefulness of a website or other
marketing communication stimulus.
Questions:
1. What could Mazda learn from eye-tracking software that would be difficult to learn from
other observational methods?
2. What are the shortcomings of this method?
3. Along with the eye-tracking research, what other research methods could help Mazda assess
the usability of its website? Summarize your advice for how Mazda could use complementary
methods to obtain a complete understanding of its website usability.
