A beginners guide to Ethnographic Research and what tools you can use to conduct it.
What is Ethnographic Research?
Traditional Ethnographic Research is a qualitative research methodology that has its roots in anthropology and traditionally required a researcher to be physically present in a specific context to observe behaviours and generate insights.
However, the digital transformation of Ethnographic Research has given rise to Mobile Ethnography (aka Digital Ethnography) which allows ethnographic research to be done remotely using Smartphone Apps.
What are the characteristics of Ethnographic Research?
Traditional, in-person Ethnographic Research has a number of characteristics:
It takes place in the respondent’s environment (own context) rather than in a lab
Emphasises observed behaviour rather than historic recall
Traditionally relied on the researcher travelling to the respondent’s location
The duration of ethnographic research studies typically take place over a number of days
Helps you understand motivations as to “the why”
Can be used to observe how users interact with products as part of their daily lives
What are some advantages of Ethnographic Research?
In-the-moment insights
Historic recall can result in challenges if users share a narrative that is not accurate. Personal observation of real-world human behavior helps remove this limitation of other qualitative research methods
In-context approach
By conducting the research in a real-life environment you are removing any concerns the respondent may have about ‘being in a lab’ or being observed from behind a one-way mirror, while also supporting the ability to generate richer insights and deeper understanding.
Capture unmet needs
While other forms of qualitative research can be constrained in that respondents limit their responses to questions asked, the wider data points that emerge through observation can help researchers identify unmet needs.
Using Mobile Ethnography to conduct Ethnographic Research remotely
Mobile ethnography or online/ digital ethnography (What is Mobile Ethnography?) represents a digital transformation of ethnographic research. While mobile ethnography shares many of the same characteristics, the research is conducted through the lens of the respondent’s Smartphones. As a result the researcher no longer needs to travel to the respondent’s location and instead the process is conducted via a number of tasks that respondents have to conduct. This innovative approach still enjoys the benefits of ethnographic research with some added advantages. It also overcomes some of the main disadvantages of ethnographic research as will be described below.
The use cases of ethnographic research are wide-ranging, especially as user-centred design has become more popular in recent years. It is particularly relevant in situations where researchers want to understand how users are behaving “in the field.”
Digital ethnography is thus used in everything from user-centred product development, to healthcare research to customer journey mapping to service design.
Finally, the approach is synonymous with gaining an “over the shoulder” view or “fly on the wall” perspective of the user, or to help researchers “get under the skin” of respondents to help generate rich insights as to behaviors.
Mobile Ethnography tools avoid the disadvantages of Ethnographic Research
Time Taken
Unlike focus groups or IDI’s, ethnographic research takes place over a longer period of time. Historically getting research back from the field was also a challenge (particularly from remote locations). However, using Mobile Ethnographic to conduct ethnographic research removes this factor as a disadvantage. In fact, data starts appearing on dashboards in real-time and the longitudinal nature of the data collection acts as a benefit when compared to other methods. Contrast the richness of audio, visual and text data from a ‘week in the life’ diary study of 20 respondents versus the notes from a 60 minute 1 to 1 IDI with a respondent.
Cost
The conventional approach to Ethnographic research is expensive. After all, the process entails researchers travelling to the site and staying there for a duration that could span weeks and months. However, when ethnographic research is viewed through the lens of remote research, using a smartphone, the associated costs related to travel, and time spent on site are eliminated making it a very cost-effective approach.
Travel
The traditional approach to ethnographic research necessitated researchers travelling to undertake field research on-site, with the obvious drawbacks being that the cost of travel is expensive especially when married to the duration for much of the research was often significant. Mobile ethnography eliminates this factor as the respondents are self-serving using their smartphones to capture their insights in the form of video diaries meaning there is no need for the presence of an on-site researcher.
Data Analysis
The methodology was also perceived to be problematic as the data was often significant (in volume) and only emerged after the researcher had returned from the field. Again, online ethnography applications like Indeemo, deliver data in real-time as the respondent’s record and upload their responses.
Let our tools support your next Ethnographic Research project
While ethnographic research has been a valuable qualitative research methodology for many years, the upgrade to the approach as a result of the emergence of online ethnography has made the methodology even more powerful. In particular, some of the perceived disadvantages of the ethnographic approach like cost, time and complexity disappear when the smartphone is used as a substitute for a researcher.
Instead, researchers can use the time saved travelling to the location and spending time in the environment to analyse the findings from the richness of data generated, all from the comfort of their own homes.