a presentation on susan squire's discovery resaerch

DISCOVERY RESEARCHSUSAN SQUIRES

September 29th, 2011SOCS 309: F001

Marina Deveiteo &Andrea Husky

IntroductionThe goal of discovery research is to uncover and

understand the cultural system that frames human action

to provide a direction for creating new products and

services. Researchers collect and analyze a combination

of verbal, observational, and contextual information

ObservationalInformation

VerbalInformation

ContextualInformation

DISCOVERYRESEARCH

The consistencies and, more frequently, the inconsistencies

help to identify unarticulated or unrecognized needs, gaps,

and adaptations called “work-arounds” and “disconnects.”

By reframing disconnects in terms of sociocultural systems,

teams essentially change the assumption that guide their

own attempts to create products or services.

Clients almost always perceive the new products as innovative

or novel because existing products usually ignore many of the

cultural attributes of a product or treat them in stereotypic ways.

Introduction

The key to a successful discovery research project is the use of rapid eth-

nographic assessment methods. [...] Since at least the mid-1970s, rural

development projects requiring quick results have been called rapid ap-

praisal, rapid assessment, and rapid rural appraisal.

The objective of rapid ethnographic assessment in discovery research

is typically to construct a sociocultural model of the local living system

that is both consistent with the way the local people understand it and

uses local (emic) categories to describe and categorize their reality

All rapid ethnographic approaches share three important characteristics

Triangulated data collection

2

Iterative data collection and

analysis3

A system perspective

1

Key ConceptsRapid Ethnography

Ethnographic Research

photo ethnography

Observational Research

Visual Research

Focus Groups

Surveys

Literature Review

Key ConceptsEthnographic Research

Rapid ethnography, as applied in product innovation, differs

from other rapid ethnographic approaches in three important

waysFirst, whereas rapid rural appraisal requires the participation

of sizeable multidisciplinary teams, small teams usually do rapid

ethnographic research for product development. Thus the teams

have to be quick, almost self-supporting and well co-ordinated.

Second, the outcome of the work is most likely a product rather

than complex state-subsidized programs and public policies.

Third, the teams use video whenever possible to document

interviews, behavioural activities, and the relationship among

things so that individuals who could not be present might

review and exchange information.

Key ConceptsRapid Ethnography

Key ConceptsDesign Ethnography

http://www.helsinkidesignlab.org/dossiers/design-ethnography

“An essential part of any design activity is understanding the context one is working in, particularly

the social context. Eventually when proposals are made, these too must be measured by their likely

impact on the people who will use and live with them. Ethnography is one way to get closer to the

everyday reality that designs proposals will be situated within. Design ethnography is generally

considered to be a light-weight version of established practices in the social sciences.”

Case StudyObjectives[An] example of how discovery research can be used to

generate cultural insights that lead to successful products.

My colleagues and I were asked to learn about family

morning routines and breakfast time behaviour. Our

client, a large breakfast food company, was particularly

interested in learning whether or not “participant

observation,” the hallmark of anthropological

ethnographies, was useful in generating insights that

might facilitate its own product development

Rapid ethnographic research requires small teams

The teams use video whenever possible

We formed two teams. Each was composed of one social

scientist and one designer. I teamed up with sally.

We went to have breakfast with the kellys, a family residing

in a northern Californian suburb. They were one of several

families we visited. We arrived at 6:30 A.M. with bags stuffed

with video cameras, film, batteries, tape recorders, and

paper and pens.

Case StudyObjectives

We had recruited Mrs. Kelly because she had participated in a traditional focus

group sponsored by the client.

The focus group in which the Kelly mom participated provided us with information on what people say

about breakfast and breakfast food. The focus group data indicated that the American breakfast of the 1990s

was occurring very early in the morning. The data also revealed that American moms are very concerned

about the quality of the breakfast food they buy. They want to give their kids a good start to the day, and a

good breakfast, they told the market researchers, was key to providing that good start.

VerbalInformation

Case StudyVerbal information

We were visiting the Kellys to learn whether their breakfast time activities

matched what moms had told the market researchers in the focus group.

Jack’s mother began our visit by telling us what she had told the market re-

searchers at the focus group “As I already said,” Mom continued, “I only feed

my kids whole grain, nutritious food. Gives ‘em a good start to the day. I know

Kevin does better on his tests when I make sure he’s had a good breakfast.”

VerbalInformation


Questions taken into consideration:

What were the morning routines at the Kelly house?

Who was there and who was not?

What other foods might be available?

What was it like to coax a four year old to eat at 6:30 in the morning?

What else had to get done before the family left the house?

Where did the family go after leaving the house?

Did anyone pick up food after leaving the house?

VerbalInformation


“My husband left just before you got here. He never eats breakfast. I think

he grabs something at 7-11 later on. But I make sure the kids eat... ”

While Mom was telling me about the nutritious lunch she had just made

for her two sons, we made our first “discovery”: a disconnection between

Mom’s verbal reports and the family’s breakfast behaviour. Kevin left the

table. And returned with a bowl of red, white, and blue Trix cereal and milk.


VerbalInformation

Case StudyObservational information


VerbalInformation

Case StudyObservational informationMom ran to the counter and picked it up. “I’m late,” she informed

the caller. “Yeah, whole grain waffles, juice milk. Hey, I’ve got to go.

Talk to you this afternoon.”

“My mother-in-law calls almost every morning to see if the kids have had a good breakfast. She thinks I

should stay home with the kids. Doesn’t think I have time to feed them good food when we’re always on

the run. What does she know in her day she fed her kids (my husband being one of them) bacon and eggs in

the morning -- cholesterol. Just goes to show you. Hey I’m watching out for my kids. I’m a good mom.”

We recognized spending breakfast at the Kelly home was only the first step in the discovery process.


VerbalInformation

Case StudyObservational information We made our second discovery the day we visited jacks day care. While

some of the kids were participating in a teacher-led activity, we found

Jack sitting on the grass near the edge of the playground area.

Jack may not have eaten in the morning, but he could not wait until the

school’s proscribed lunchtime to eat.

Back at our office spent hours examining the video tapes

and transcripts from this and other breakfast visits, looking

for a pattern in what people had told us and what they did.

From the analysis of our first visit to the Kelly home and other breakfast visits, we learned that

morning food is not just about individual decisions moms make. A network of family and friends

is involved in defining what is acceptable and made available for breakfast.

Underlying the rapid ethnographic approach is the understanding that all people belong to one or

more networks of interlocking social relationships in which all members share a common or core

set of beliefs, values and behaviours.



VerbalInformation

Case StudyContextual information

Anthropologists and other trained ethnographers use various

methods to uncover the core sets by Gathering individual (emic) perspectives

from members of these cultural groups; Examining the collected information

to identify patterns of shared beliefs, behaviours, values and rules; Constructing

group “mental models” from identified patterns to understand the meaning at

the core of the system; Interpreting how the members of a sociocultural network

use their mental models to construct and express appropriate shared behaviours,

beliefs, and values, to provide a contextual frame of meanings for

products and services;



VerbalInformation


Identifying disconnects in the mental model where

shared beliefs don’t match the behaviour or where

beliefs are not shared or break down, causing points

of stress. For example, among the Kelly family adults

there was a shared understanding that breakfast is an

important meal. What constituted a “good” breakfast,

however, was in disagreement and was causing

tension in the family.



VerbalInformation


The fieldwork with the Kelly family and others confirmed much of the

information collected in the focus group. Breakfast time for today’s families

is very different than the idealized breakfast of the 1950s.

Other findings were more unexpected. We certainly didn’t expect to see

blue cereal or Jack eating his lunch before lunch time.

We began to see the whole picture of food consumption in the morning once we

constructed shared mental models and a contextual frame for observed behaviours.

By doing so we identified the disconnects between beliefs and behaviours that

proved insight about what happened at breakfast, what didn’t happen at breakfast,

and what happened outside of the home.

Case StudyFindings

We began to look at what was common to all the families

in the study. We constructed a set of understandings of

the food consumption habits of families that put the focus

group data in the context of an evolving American family.

Because both moms and dads are working, breakfast in

today’s American homes is under stress. There really is

no time for breakfast.

Case StudyInformation Analysis

Although it appears moms, dads, and their relatives all share the

belief that breakfast s the most important meal of the day, they differ

about what constitutes a “good” breakfast.

For a Mom, a good breakfast is whole grain or preservative-free food. Dads value foods similar to

those they had as children. Grandparents are typically more worried about the changing role of

moms in the family and more likely to doubt the ability of moms to juggle work and childcare.

However, the foods of a generation ago that the “good mom”provided are not perceived as good

by today’s standards. Finaly, kids are not cooperating. They may not want to eat so early in the

morning. Physcologically, they may not be ready to eat. If they do eat, they want something

that has a value to them: blue milk.


We also looked at the food consumption patterns of all the

family members during the day, and it became clear that

the “traditional” breakfast time at the beginning of the day

might not be the best time to consume food. In fact, most of

the family members in our study were not eating breakfast at

home. Dad stopped at the convenience store. Mom picked up

food where she worked. The kids were eating their lunch at

school when they got hungry.


By looking for opportunities holistically, we found

that the problem was not just about what to eat

(breakfast food). It’s about the inconsistency between

when it is culturally appropriate to eat and when

people are ready to eat.

Case StudyConclusions

We shared our insights with our client. It considered the

evidence and created Go-curt. Go-curt succeeded because

it resonates with kids need for fun and mobility and

the mother’s need to provide nutritious food.

Case StudyProduct Developed

THANK YOUFOR LISTENING

Marina Deveiteo &Andrea Husky

a presentation on susan squire's discovery resaerch

Documents

rapid assessment

rapid ethnographic research

rapid ethnographic approaches

rapid rural appraisal

rapid appraisal

small teams

product development

new products