How a sprinkle of ethnography could enrich your audience research

"What people say, what people do, and what people say they do are entirely different things.” – Margaret Mead, anthropologist

Ethnography. You may never have heard of it, but if you’re tempted to go beyond surveys and focus groups, it might be just what you need.

What is ethnographic research?

Ethnography as a qualitative research method is all about observing how people relate to one another and to their environment in their natural settings. It's about getting a glimpse of their daily lives, not just as they recount them to us, but as they share them with us.

Ethnographic research helps us understand people’s needs, motivations, and wants in the wider framework of their lives. Whether they are members of your existing or potential audiences, by observing people within their real-life environment, you can gain a better appreciation of their situations and circumstances. And you can then place their experiences of your institution or product in context.

Obviously, no one is going to act as naturally as they normally would while observed by a researcher for a few hours. People are likely to change their behaviour if they know they are being watched.

Yet, a small dose of ethnography can help you identify and highlight gaps and inconsistencies between what your audiences say, what they do, and how they interact with people, places, and products in a way short interviews, focus groups, and surveys can’t. And, after all, it is a researcher’s job to distinguish what is genuine from what might be performative.

Ethnographic research – methods

Now that we’ve covered the what and why, how can we apply ethnographic (or ethnographically inspired) methods for audience research? Here are a couple that could translate well to your needs.

Observation

The name says it all. Spending time watching how people act and behave in a given environment, or more directly ‘shadowing’ respondents going about their everyday tasks are two main ways to observe their interactions with their surroundings.

For example, spending a few hours at a train station over the course of a week can reveal how commuters’ habits compare to occasional users’. Or how aware travellers are of the many signs and facilities surrounding them. 

• Where do they go when they arrive? 

• Are they hesitating? 

• Where do they seek information? 

• When do they arrive? 

• What do they do while waiting for their train? Do they speak to staff, and if so what for?

Short intercepts, or informal conversations, can add to these observations. Not just because they allow us to check or correct our assumptions, but also because they can show the disconnect between what people do and what they say. Bonus: they also tend to be more honest (or less prepared) than focus group participants.

And to record these observations, a combination of old-fashioned handwritten notes, photos, audios, and videos can all help bring key parts of the researcher’s work back to life.

In-depth interviews (online or in context)

Qualitative research often relies on interviews to better understand audiences. Yet, these interviews can feel frustratingly short at times. There is so much to discuss about lifelong learning / online habits / studying abroad / you name it… It can be difficult to get a proper, multilayered understanding of your respondents’ backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences in 45 or 60 minutes.

Of course, it depends on the project’s needs, goals, and constraints. It is not always necessary to spend three hours each with ten or fifteen respondents to grasp how or why they would use a certain product, or what could motivate them to choose you over your competitor. Yet, investing in that time can lead to richer conversations, findings, and insights.

The longer you spend with a respondent, the more at ease and open they are (well, tend to be). And a 2- or 3-hour interview can also give the researcher the opportunity to find and question contradictions. Why would someone who “never watches TV” subscribe to every possible streaming platform, to give just one example?

In-person interviews, whether at people’s homes or in the places at the heart of the project, provide even more details. And more chances to observe and probe these gaps between what people say and what they do.

Adapting ethnographic research to the education sector

“How long is it going to take?” 
“How much is it going to cost?”
“How is that relevant to my project?”

First, let’s be clear. Ethnographic research doesn’t have to be all or nothing. But even just a sprinkle of ethnography will enrich your grasp of your audiences beyond focus groups, and far beyond surveys.

So, how could you benefit from it?

• Are you trying to better understand how your students experience your university and its different services? A day or two of observation and intercepts could already provide a lot. And if you have more time and financial resources, you could add in-depth interviews with students from groups you are less knowledgeable about – first-generation students, students with disabilities or SEN to name but a few.
  

• Do you want to know how people use your online tools or websites in their everyday lives? At-home interviews and user testing, less prompted than classic usability tests, would allow you to see what their spontaneous instincts, habits, and pain points are.

If you are curious to know how ethnographical methods could apply to your audience research projects, or how we could help, do get in touch!