Chapter 6: Observation

What is path analysis?

A common method used for finding out about visitors' surfing behaviours when monitoring internet activity

What is observer bias?

A distortion of measurement due to the actions of the witnessing observer

Which device can be used to measure subjects' emotional reactions to an advertisement via involuntary changes in the electrical resistance of the skin?

A psychogalvanometer

What kind of behaviour do observations record?

Actual behaviour

When monitoring internet activity, what can the measure of stickiness be used to evaluate?

Advertising appeals

Which of the following devices can be used to measure how a subject reads the content of a website?

An eye-tracking monitor

What are some characteristics of observation research?

Cannot provide an explanation of why a behaviour occurred. Designs that might use deception often raise ethical concerns about subjects' right to privacy and right to be informed. Has the most validity when the actual observations are performed unobtrusively.

What kind of phenomena cannot be observed?

Cognitive phenomena

When monitoring website activity what are clicks used to measure?

Communality with other sites (shared users)

When a researcher counts the percentage of women who have appeared on the cover of Time magazine during the past decade, it is an example of which type of observation?

Content analysis

When investigating the types of appeals used by different perfume brands in Women's Day, what is most appropriate?

Content analysis

When the Australian Football League analyse the television broadcast of the Grand Final to examine how much of the footage is live-action play and how much is replay or crowd shots, what type of method are they using?

Content analysis

When an airline passenger (who is really a researcher) complains loudly about his meal so that he can note the behaviour of the flight attendant, it is an example of which type of observation?

Contrived

Observing the interactions between airline travellers while they wait in a check-in line at an airport is an example of which type of observation?

Expressive behaviour

Observing customers' facial expressions and time spent while waiting to be served by a bank teller is an example of which type of observable phenomenon?

Expressive behaviour and temporal patterns

T or F: Observation becomes a tool for scientific inquiry when it is reflecting a set of interesting curiosities.

False

Does the brand in the pantry reflects accurately the brand purchased most often?

No

Observation studies emphasise and allow for the systematic recording of what?

Nonverbal behaviour

Woolworths is planning to redesign the store layout of their supermarkets to maximise customer flow and the exposure of impulse goods. Which research method would be most useful to help Woolworths gather the data required for decision-making?

Observation

What is unobtrusive research?

Observation that may not require communication with a respondent

What is not a limitation of human observation?

Observer may record events subjectively

When a researcher records how a shopper browses through the aisles at Coles, it is an example of which type of observable phenomena?

Physical action

What can be observed?

Physical action. Verbal behaviour. Expressive behaviour.

When a researcher records a list of purchased items and their brands from a consumer's pantry, it is an example of which type of observable phenomena?

Physical objects

Suppose that a marketing research company sends observers into the homes of panel study members to record the brands stored in their kitchen pantries. Which type of analysis does this represent?

Physical-trace analysis

Which device is used in observation research to record changes in the diameter of a subject's pupil?

Pupilometer

Using a stopwatch to determine the average waiting time for a customer at a drive-through McDonald's is an example of which type of observation?

Temporal patterns

What is the most common mechanism for developing new ideas in innovative companies?

Direct observation

A researcher is interested in finding out about people's attitudes towards smoking. Which research methods would be useful?

Focus group Survey Depth interview

The manager of a retail store wants to investigate the level of service quality and competency provided by his sales staff. Which research method is most appropriate?

Mystery shopper

Can behavioural intention be observed?

No

When a researcher observes the amount of time spent choosing between different toothpaste brands on a supermarket shelf, what type of observation measure is the researcher using?

Response latency

What kind of behaviour do surveys record?

Self-reported behaviour

Observing how close customers stand next to each other in a check-out line is an example of which type of observable phenomena?

Spatial relations

What are the characteristics of pantry audit studies?

The accuracy of respondents' memories is not a problem. Respondents' untruthfulness and issues relating to response bias are avoided. It is difficult to gain permission to access consumers' pantries.

What is a voice pitch analysis?

The measurement technique that measures emotional reactions as reflected in physiological changes in a person's voice

When measuring internet activity, what are clicks?

The metric commonly used to evaluate co-marketing pattern

What is entrapment?

The possibility of subjects being deceived into difficulty when engaging in contrived observation

What is observation?

The systematic process of recording the behaviours of people as they occur

What is response latency?

The time it takes a subject to make a choice between two alternatives

T or F: Observing behaviour patterns over a period of time can be costly and difficult.

True

Human observation best suits what kind of situation or behaviour?

Unpredictable ones

When measuring internet activity, which metric can be used to evaluate message exposure?

Visits

What is contrived observation?

When a researcher creates an artificial situation in order to test a hypothesis

What is an example of hidden observation?

When a researcher pretends to be a customer in the cosmetics section of a department store in order to observe the product knowledge of a salesperson

What is a mystery shopper?

When an observer enters a store and pretends to be interested in a particular product or service, but is actually evaluating the shop assistant's performance

What does it mean to measure a site's stickiness?

When monitoring internet activity, measuring users' frequency, recency and time spent at a particular site

What is an example of direct observation?

When the manager of a local supermarket shops at a competitor's supermarket to check the prices on a list of food products

What is visible observation?

When the presence of an observer is known to the subject

What is hidden observation?

When the presence of an observer is unknown to the subject

When does complementary evidence occur?

When the results of observation studies amplify the results of other forms of research.

Observation becomes a tool for scientific inquiry in which situations?

it serves a formulated research purpose. it is subjected to checks or controls on validity and reliability. it is planned and recorded systematically .