Ethnography seemed to be the most interesting research method for me. Observing behavior in a natural setting without imposing our values or assumptions on the data is an appropriate method to conduct research, in my opinion. This type of research method makes you not only hone your observation skills, but also learn more about nonverbal communication. Unlike surveys that give you the answers, you have to come to conclusions based on observations, so it forces you to be involved. I also like the idea that as an ethnographer you can observe people covertly (undercover) or overtly (in the open), (Trenholm, pg 379).
In order to study some aspect of deception, you can use ethnography and observe unobtrusively to learn more. A research question I would frame is:
“How do infomercials using popular stars convince consumers to purchase their products?” I think at some point in our lives we have all purchased something that was promoted by a popular star, only to regret it later!!!
I would use ethnography to covertly and overtly study consumer’s behavior in purchasing a particular product that was promoted by a star. I could also use Rhetorical Criticism to see how deception in communication affects consumers, because it uses, "a systematic way of describing, analyzing, and evaluating a given act of communication" (Trenholm, pg 373). I can use content analysis to study how the content of infomercials and their frequency affects purchasing habits of consumers!!
I have always found ethnography interesting although I did not do my post of that research method. I like the example that you used as well. I do not think that I have purchased anything because a star was also using it but I have definitely bought something that a star has promoted. It would be neat to be able to watch and experience people using a certain product because of a certain celebrity. I also like that you compared it to surveys. I didn’t choose surveys or ethnography but I think both are definitely ones I would choose if I was forced to do some type of research. I like ethnography better because you are able to actually live it and see it first hand, but I love surveys because it is just so interesting seeing the responses or random people who cannot be biased or influenced because of what you are doing.
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ReplyDeleteI think it would be a great idea to combine ethnographic research and content analysis to find out how many people buy things that celebrities promote. This could be done by finding a product that is promoted by a "star" and after the person has purchased the item, you could ask them questions about why they bought the item. The content analysis portion of this could give you a number of how many consumers purchased this product, and the ethnographic portion could give you a correlation of whether or not these buyers knew the celebrity was linked to the product. This way you could get data in the form of the number of people who are buying the product, but also an interview of that person which could give you some answers as to why they bought the item. In the interview you could find out if they even knew the celebrity who was involved with the promotion, or if they heard about it somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteI chose ethnography as well to be the most interesting research method. I find observing for oneself to be interesting and observing in real time. In some other research methods it seems boring to examine past items or answers from surveys. In ethnography you also get to be part of a culture and if done correctly they will allow you to become a part of. I also really liked your example about researching deception. Good way to look at deception :).
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