Research company tries to show that you can only understand consumer Essay

Research company tries to show that you can only understand consumer behaviour by living with their behaviour - Essay Example For this reason, a high range of research methods has been developed for helping marketers in developing the above task. In practice, it has been proved that certain of these methods are not fully effective, allowing the appearance of inaccuracies in their findings. The potential use of ethnography as a research method is explored in this paper. The ‘Project Keyhole’, a research program based on ethnography is used as an example. The project was developed by the advertising firm BMP DDB. The advantages and the limitations of ethnography are also critically examined in order to understand the reasons that led BMP DDB to choose the specific research approach. It is proved that ethnography is a quite effective research method, under the terms that the rules related to its application are respected. 2. Ethnography as a research approach for studying consumer behaviour 2.1 Importance and limitations of ethnography as a research approach Ethnography is a quite popular qualitat ive research method (Rubin and Babbie 2009, p.218). The key characteristic of ethnography is ‘observation in natural settings’ (Rubin and Babbie 2009, p.218). More specifically, in the context of ethnography researchers can observe the behaviour of a social group in regard to a particular social activity (Rubin and Babbie 2009, p.218). ... The research tools used in the context of ethnography are interviews and observation (Rubin and Babbie 2009, p.218). Haviland et al. (2010) also note that ethnography is preferred from other qualitative research approaches since it can offer valuable information on a particular culture, as the similar assumptions have been developed through fieldwork (Haviland et al. 2010, p.12). As a research method, ethnography has certain requirements. The common culture of the social group under observation is the primary condition for the development of a successful research project using ethnography (Rubin and Babbie 2009, p.218). Then, it is preferred that the social group participated in the research project is isolated (Haviland et al. 2010, p.12). Isolation, as a term related to ethnography, reflects not just the lack of participation in certain social activities but also the gathering in a particular area, where the social group involved can develop its own style of life (Haviland et al. 2 010, p.12). Reference can be made, as examples, to the ‘Islands of the Pacific Ocean or the deserts of Australia’ (Haviland et al. 2010, p.12). The above fact cannot lead to the assumption that ethnography cannot be used in the industrialized countries. In fact, ethnography can be used in every place where a social group, of any size but of a common culture, is established (Haviland et al. 2010, p.12). A household can be a social group that could be studied using ethnography (Haviland et al. 2010, p.12). From a similar point of view, Schensul and LeCompte (1999) note that the key requirement for the development of a successful research project based on ethnography is the ability of the researcher involved to identify ‘the cultural