Ethnographic Research Methods
Introduction to Ethnography
The ability of users to accurately report the actions they’ve taken while performing a specific task is difficult for them to do with a high level of accuracy, there is a significant disparity between what users self-report and what actually happens. This led to the development of ethnography which allows researchers to observe users completing tasks within their natural setting.
Ethnography enables researchers to fill in the gaps of users’ subconscious or unstated needs through observation. Ethnographic methods are rooted in anthropology but have been adapted for use in new product development and user research. The goal of ethnography is to gain a holistic view and contextual understanding of users and their needs. From the researchers’ side, ethnography requires full immersion and close observation to gain a deep understanding of the user and their needs. There are many situations in which ethnographic research is the methodology of choice and there are many variations of ethnographic research studies which will be covered in this post.
Benefits of Ethnography
Ethnography has many advantages when it comes to conducting UX research. It helps you understand your users’ pain points, gaps, and opportunities when using your product within its natural context. When you need to gain a deeper and more specific understanding of your end users, ethnography is your best option.
In Context Observations
There are many ways to test your product, including in-depth interviews, focus groups, and surveys. All of these provide valid and useful information, but when the context of the product has the potential to influence your results, it’s important to include it in your studies.
For example, if you are testing a household appliance, like a vacuum, you could host a focus group to gather feedback on its design and functionality. However, the study will miss crucial information about how the product fits into the lifestyle and current habits of your customers. The study will also miss how the product performs in the households of your customers, which is a critical factor that determines the success or failure of the product.
Uncover Pain Points
Ethnography lets researchers watch users interact with your product naturally. Since it’s incredibly difficult and unreliable for users to self-report their own processes, and harder to articulate pain points, ethnography is a great tool to fill this gap. As you watch your participants use your product, you can identify the unstated aspects of your product that cause friction.
Continuing with the previous vacuum example, in a focus group or in-depth interview, you might ask about which areas of the house are hardest to vacuum. Some responses might be that it’s hard to vacuum under furniture. If you use ethnography and observe your participants using the vacuum in their homes, you actually observe that while the areas under furniture are difficult, the real problem is with the corners of the room and close to the edges of the walls. Users exhibited visible frustration when trying to use the vacuum or the hose attachments to clean the edges and corners. These observations lead to solutions that can be opportunities in the form of new products, functionality, and services.
Create New Opportunities
Since it’s difficult for users to report their actions and pain points accurately, observations provide an opportunity to look for new solutions for unstated pain points. Many of these unstated pain points can turn into delighters for customers and differentiators. This gives your product an advantage over the competition.
As with the vacuum example, had the research team skipped ethnography, they would have never uncovered the fact that the edges and corners are a significant pain point for users. This led to the idea to develop a specific hose attachment that hugs the corners and can effectively clean this area. This small observation led to a new product feature that is a differentiator and has the potential to drive sales.
Understand Your End User
It’s critical for businesses today to understand who their customers are and what they need. With fierce competition, your product has to stand out and resonate with your target customers. Ethnography is a great tool to get closer to your customers, understand their needs and pain points, and develop more relevant solutions for them.
Ethnographic Research Methods
Direct Observation
Direct observation involves the researcher observing a participant interact with the product as they naturally would. On some occasions, it’s known that the researcher is there, other times the researcher may be more incognito so as not to bias the behaviors of the participant.
In general, the only role of the researcher is to observe, and the only role of the participant is to carry out the task at hand. Before or after the task, the researcher can ask questions to gain some more context about the participant, however, they generally won’t ask any questions while the task is being completed.
During the task completion process, the researcher will take detailed notes. Oftentimes, the participant will be asked to speak aloud while they complete the tasks. It’s also standard practice to video the participant throughout the task to reference it later during analysis.
Active Participation
Active participation involves more direct involvement from the researcher. The participants are made aware of the researcher, and throughout the interview, the researcher may interact with the participants. This method is more informal and conversational, at the cross-section of direct observation and other qualitative methods.
For active participation, the researcher needs to create rapport with the participants, so they are open and honest throughout the task. The researcher will be questioning their actions and trying to better understand their behaviors during the study.
The Research Process
Ethnography largely follows the same research process as other qualitative studies.
- Outline objectives
- Define the target audience
- Create an outline for observations
- Analyze the data
- Suggest actionable recommendations
However, there are two major considerations when using ethnographic methods.
- Observational bias is defined as when people behave differently when they know they are being observed. It’s nearly impossible to completely prevent, however, there are steps you can take to minimize its effect. Consider whether the task at hand will be greatly impacted if the participant knows they are being observed or not and design your study with this in mind.
- Observer bias has the same effect but from the perspective of the researcher. They may observe the task through their personal lens, rather than the professional lens required for the project. Again, it’s difficult to remove entirely, but the effects can be reduced. Be critical when selecting a researcher and ensure they can take a balanced approach while conducting the sessions.
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Analyzing Ethnographic Data
All of the data collected from ethnography will be qualitative in nature, meaning that there is some flexibility in how it’s analyzed. Keeping your objectives in mind while analyzing the data will help keep your findings relevant and focused. While there are no strict rules, as with quantitative studies, there are some frameworks that can help organize the data.
Affinity Diagrams
Many researchers use affinity diagrams to organize their findings. These diagrams help organize themes into a natural flow or hierarchy. The researcher will review the data looking for common themes to group together. One easy way to do this is to group themes based on the objectives. This can be an iterative process where the researcher continues to group and regroup the themes until they create a clear narrative with actionable insights.
Task Flows
If your study is centered around understanding your users’ processes, then task flows are a great option to analyze your data. Task flows lay out all of the actions taken to achieve an end goal in a logical order and in context. There may be some variations in how tasks are achieved, however, the real insights come from where there are potential roadblocks and friction in the process.
Journey Maps
Journey maps are a comprehensive way to analyze and present a process. They include all touch points and steps taken while focusing on the overall experience of the user. Journey maps are in sequential order but provide an additional layer of information over task flows, which are only concerned with the actions taken.
Conclusion
To conclude, ethnography is a powerful methodology that helps companies better understand their users, and in turn, create more impactful products and user experiences.
Ethnography can be used by anyone, as long as they have clear objectives and an organized approach. There is no need for ethnography to be time-consuming or complex. The data gathered from ethnography can contribute greatly to a business’s short and long-term strategies. Ethnographic research is a great way to understand your users on a deeper level.
