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Ethnographic & Observa3onal
Research Methods
Dr. Ami Becker

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What is
Ethnography?
Ethnography derives from the
Greek word “ethnos” meaning
folk, people, na'on and “grapho”
meaning write. Wikipedia defines
it as “the systema'c study of
people and cultures.”

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Consumer
Ethnography
Observing consumers and users
interac'ng with products,
systems, people and features of
the environment out in the real
world is a great way to build
empathy and to iden'fy
opportuni'es for innova'on.

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The
Ethnographic
Approach
Ethnography is a par'cular
approach to researching people
and culture. While the founda'on
of ethnographic research is careful
observa'on and documenta'on,
there are a variety of tools and
methods that may be employed.

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Tools and
Techniques
We use a number of tools and
techniques to provide a rich picture
of consumer behavior:
• Audio and video recordings
• Photo studies
• Journaling
• Storytelling
• Ar'fact analysis
Some sample methods follow:

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Fly on the
Wall
This is a method we use in public
and semi-public spaces to observe
how people interact with a product
or system, as well as with others in
the environment. Fly on the wall is
“pure” observa'on, since people
generally are not aware they are
being observed.

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Shadowing
In this method, we follow and
observe research par'cipants as
they go about their normal
rou'ne—using a product,
execu'ng a process or performing
jobs or tasks—while trying to
remain as invisible as possible.

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Video Study
Some'mes we use video and audio
recordings as an alterna've to live
shadowing when the observed
behavior needs to be more
naturalis'c (since it’s easier to
forget about a camera than a
human following you).

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Contextual
Inquiry
Talking to people in the context
of use enables us to observe and
be`er understand their
ac'vi'es, feelings, opinions,
mo'va'ons and needs.

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Touchstone
Tours
We also ask consumers to offer a
glimpse into their world by leading
a tour of their environments—
opening drawers and cabinets,
purses and briefcases, lunchboxes
and book bags—so that we can
learn about the products they use
and details about how they store
and carry them.

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The best innova'on starts with the user.
Ask about a research study designed for
your specific needs.
Ami Becker Laura Dougherty
CLIENT PARTNER, CONSUMER
laura@kascope.com
PRINCIPAL DESIGN RESEARCHER
abecker@kascope.com