If you’re at all interested in consumer trends or insights from customer experiences, then you may have come across the term “ethnography.” Ethnography is the central tenet of cultural anthropology, and involves the qualitative study of human behavior and interactions where they happen- out in the real world- through observation and in-depth interviewing techniques. Ethnography is not about studying people, but about learning from people through a process called participant observation. Ethnographers actively participate in the experiences of your target audience. That could include your customers, your stakeholders or your employees.

Over the past 10 years, anthropologists and other social scientists have worked for Fortune 500 companies to observe and track how people purchase products, interact with new media and experience retail, or other consumer environments (think museums and amusement parks). But ethnography is not relegated solely to the study of consumer behavior.  The health care industry, for instance, uses ethnography to study and improve doctor-patient relationships, to understand how people interact with new telehealth technology, and to learn how people make decisions about their health care options when faced with issues like the lack of insurance coverage or poverty.

Ethnography also can be used to explore what’s going on inside your company or organization. How are new policies affecting your employees? How can your teams work more efficiently together? Ethnographers are trained to observe and learn about your business from your perspective, and then recognize and translate actionable items back to you from those participant observation experiences.

One interesting fact about ethnography is that it’s such a versatile medium for discovery. Quite literally any topic related to human behavior, culture and decision-making can be used for a great ethnographic study.

What would you like to learn more about? The Vandiver Group, Inc. has trained ethnographers on staff ready to help you uncover insights relevant to your business.  Call us at 314-991-4641 or visit our website at www.vandivergroup.com to learn more about our marketing research services.