First Insights field based and ethnographic research services are aimed at uncovering commentary from people in their work environment, while using a portable device, or as they perform everyday tasks.  Observing and questioning people in their natural environment while they shop, work, communicate or play enables the research to be completed in the context of a real world setting and yields specific findings that might be missed by other research methodologies.

Some examples include:

• Contextual Interviews – Excellent for presenting a target audience with ideas or user scenarios before starting a marketing effort or finalizing business objectives. We’ve used this methodology with healthcare professionals, shoppers, travelers and car buyers.
   
• Ethnographic Research – Ideal for understanding how people use everyday products, their desktop computers or a mobile interface in their natural settings.  Recent projects involved observing salespeople at work, veterinarians, customer service reps and mobile phone users.

Common Questions

1. When is ethnographic research the right solution?

If you can’t duplicate how a person uses an interface or product in a controlled environment, an ethnographic study is the best way to capture key findings.  One example is a recent study where we visited a large call center for several days to observe customer service representatives responding to incoming calls for assistance.  Another project had our team visit physicians’ offices to understand how they typically research pharmaceutical information in their working environment. 

2. Is a field study more costly than a lab based usability test?

Not necessarily.  While a field based test may involve higher costs in certain areas due to the increased time spent travelling in the field, there’s no need for rental of a focus group or usability testing facility.  Contact us for more pricing details.

3. Is mystery shopping considered field research?

Sure.  Mystery shopping allows companies to learn what’s going on at retail locations by sending anonymous shoppers into a store to explore things such as customer service, cleanliness and the inventory of merchandise.  Each shopper completes a questionnaire after the experience and the results are combined with others who may visit the same or other locations at different times.