Ethnographic research is about immersing yourself in the lives of your audience to deeply understand their behaviors, challenges, and environments. It’s a powerful tool for uncovering insights that lead to user-centered designs and solutions.
Understanding Ethnography
At its core, ethnography is about watching people do things in their natural environment. It's a qualitative approach that provides deep insights into the human social condition through fieldwork and observation. While market research often focuses on predicting behavior, design ethnography aims to understand culture, tools, workarounds, and unique behaviors that can spark new ideas.
Planning Your Research
- Create a Focus Statement
Start with a clear, 1-2 sentence statement that defines what you aim to learn. For example: "We are conducting research into nutritional habits, hoping to feel what it's like to try to lose weight." Your initial focus serves as a starting point and can evolve as you discover more about the problem space. - Identify Participants
Be specific about who you want to learn from. Avoid broad demographic categories and instead focus on people closest to the circumstances you're exploring. Consider:
- Primary target participants
- Alternative participants who could serve as proxies if primary targets are unavailable
- Specific experiences or characteristics that will help you gain empathy quickly
- Choose Your Context
Select specific locations where you can observe real behavior related to your focus area. Consider accessibility, safety, and required permissions. If certain contexts are off-limits, identify alternative locations that could provide similar insights.
Conducting the Research
Team Roles
The ideal research team consists of:
- A facilitator who manages the session and recording
- A photographer who captures environmental and artifact details
- Optionally, a note-taker who records key quotes (teams larger than three people can be intimidating to participants)
Essential Preparation
- Organize equipment: video/audio recorders, batteries, memory cards, notebooks
- Prepare consent forms explaining the study scope and participant rights
- Create an introduction script and initial questions
- Role-play the research experience with your team
Best Practices
- Build Trust
- Establish a master/apprentice relationship where you're the learner
- Be conversational but professional
- Never correct or contradict participants
- Focus on Behavior
- Avoid simple question-answer formats
- Ask to see examples and artifacts
- Request step-by-step demonstrations
- Try activities yourself when appropriate
- Document Everything
- Take photos discreetly ("shoot from the hip")
- Record verbatim quotes
- Capture environmental details
- Back up all data daily
Post-Research Analysis
Immediately after each session:
- Identify 3-4 key takeaways per participant
- Document important quotes
- Create detailed transcriptions (expect this to take 4-5 times longer than the actual session)
- Break down transcripts into individual utterances for further analysis
