STEP 1 – MAKE A PLAN
+ What do we want to know about?
+ How will we know this?
+ Who will we talk to know this?
The goal is to identify the person we want to talk
to in the field, and know what we are going to
ask them about
STEP 2 – RECRUIT PEOPLE
Everyone is different in a thousand ways, so since
we have limited time and limited resources to
talk to a limited group of people, the research
has to be high impact
Market Segmentation
Often, we start with a sense from the client of
who we ought to talk to.
In market research, this is called a segmentation,
or market segmentation. It is made up of
several types of variables.
GEOGRAPHIC VARIABLES
+ Region of the world or country: East, West,
South, North, Central, coastal, hilly, etc.
+ Country size/country size: Metropolitian Cities,
small cities, towns.
+ Density of Area: Urban, Semi-urban, Rural.
+ Climate: Hot, Cold, Humid, Rainy.
DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES
+ Age
+ Gender: Male and Female
+ Sexual orientation
+ Family size
+ Family life cycle
+ Education: Primary, High School, Secondary, College, Universities.
+ Income
+ Occupation
+ Education
+ Socioeconomic status
+ Religion
+ Nationality/race
+ Language
PSYCHOGRAPHIC VARIABLES (AIO)
+ Personality
+ Life style
+ Value
+ Attitude
BEHAVIORAL VARIABLES (product level)
+ Benefit sought
+ Product usage rate
+ Brand loyalty
+ Product end use
+ Readiness-to-buy stage
+ Decision making unit
User Profile
Sometimes, we define this based on what we
know intuitively, or what we’ve gleaned from
the field
So, based on your assignment, what type of user
would you research?
Once they are identified, how do we find them?
Screener
A questionnaire or survey that attempts to find a very
specific type of person based on a series of
predetermined variables.
In addition to the specifics of the project, we have to
wary of a few things:
+ People who work in market research
+ Research junkies
+ People that aren’t exciting or interesting
This is an art form and something that some people
spend all of their time doing
How does one screen research participants?
1. Use a recruiting firm
+ Advantage: Large pool of participants
+ Disadvantage: Control, Quotas
2. Online DIY
+ Advantage: Full control
+ Disadvantage: Lots of the same people
STEP 3 – DISCUSSION GUIDE
What is it?
+ A checklist
+ A prompt
+ A series of probes on topics & subtopics
2 flavors of discussion guides at Gravity Tank
+ Pre made booklet
+ Flip out notebook
PROJECT #1 - Understanding Cooking
For the next two sessions, you are going to
document somebody cooking dinner. You have
to understand the whole process, from end to
end… planning to storage to clean up, etc.
You will need to focus on a specific type of person,
someone that you will think will shed an
interesting perspective on the process.
ASSIGNMENT #2
For next class (2/7), you will plan out your research.
• Choose a type of person you want to research for the
assignment (we can do this in class).
• Write a research plan of who you want to talk to, what
you want to understand, and how you will accomplish
this.
• Write a recruiting screener that will find this type of
person based on the variables you have chosen.
• Research ways of screening potential participants
• Write a discussion guide that is a tool for the time you
will spend with your participant (topics / subtopics, org. of
time, research specifics)
ASSIGNMENT #3
For the class after next (2/21), you will execute and analyze
your research.
• Recruit 1 participant for your research.
• Schedule the research. You will need to pay your
participant $50 for up to 2 hours of their time.
• You will work in teams of 2 for the research; one will lead
the research, one will record it.
• You may go outside the home for this research
(shopping, e.g.).
• Meet as a group and create an activity diagram based on
your collective analyses of the research.
