research methods cheat sheet

Copyright © 2016 Prime Decision

Research Methods Cheat Sheet

Know your EEG from your fMRI


Understanding behaviour

At Prime Decision we draw upon a wide range

of disciplines, including behavioural economics,

experimental psychology, market research,

behaviour change and neuroscience.

It can be useful to think about research methods

as focusing mainly on:

Behaviour – what people are doing

Body – what the body tells us

Words – what people tell us


Research methods in this cheat sheet:

Mapping

Data analysis

Experimentation

Observation

Missions

Quantitative survey

Depth interviews

Focus groups

Textual analysis

Semiotics

fMRI

EEG

Electrodermal activity

fEMG

Facial coding

Eye tracking

IAT

BEHAVIOUR BODY WORDS


Methods | Behaviour

Essentials:

Mapping

Data analysis

Experimentation

Methods:

Observation

Missions


Essentials | Behaviour – Mapping

Arguably mapping isn’t a research method. But it’s important to

flag before we get stuck in.

Behaviour Mapping is an internal exercise that goes deeper

than standard customer journey mapping. It clarifies target

behaviours and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) – what you

want to change – before you start research.

If insights are not actionable in some way, what’s the point?



Essentials | Behaviour – Data Analysis

Every method listed here will involve some kind of data

analysis, but the purest measures of behaviour often reside

within existing systems.

Get clear on what you have at your disposal, in terms of

sources, systems and team capabilities. Perfect your questions

before briefing your analyst.

Get resourceful before defining your research methods.



Essentials | Behaviour – Experimentation

A great way to understand behaviour is to test what happens if

you make a change.

Companies often research a behaviour or experience before

identifying changes to implement. However we can also

reframe every customer communication or campaign as

research opportunity.

Instead of asking ‘did X work?’ define clear hypotheses upfront,

measure the impact and capture what you learn.



Methods | Behaviour – Observation

What does it measure?

Behaviours in the relevant environment & culture, with minimal

interference from the researcher.

Often called ethnography, using methods derived from anthropology

How does it work?

Traditionally the researcher would position themselves within the target

environment – either overtly or covertly – and observe the habits and

behaviours of the group.

Field notes, journals, and observational matrices are used to record

the data. In User Testing, for instance, data capture may also be direct.

Digital platforms, video technology, Google Glass etc. help to remove

the researcher even further from the act of observation and ensures

cleaner, less biased data can be captured and analysed.


Methods | Behaviour – Observation

Pros:

Directly measures observed behaviours, rather

than self-reported

Close to the environment & moment of real

behaviours & decisions

Cons

Recorded observations will only indicate

behaviour; don’t answer ‘why’.

The act of observation can influence the

behaviour taking place.

An individual researcher can inadvertently

introduce bias

Photograph by Michael Nichols, NGM Staff


Methods | Behaviour – Missions


Behaviours, contexts & narratives in real time.

How does it work?

Participants are recruited to complete a task and provide information

about the experience.

The task could take a few minutes of undivided attention or small

chunks of attention over a period of weeks e.g.

Record the details of a single lunch visit to a coffee shop

Remotely observe the weekly home cleaning regime

Document the experience of researching & switching energy provider

Can be qualitative, quantitative or a combination of both. Real time

feedback is often supplemented with interviews to explore narratives.

Often uses a technology platform (often via mobile) to manage

participants, schedule tasks & collate multimedia information. Remote

video is also possible e.g. Google Glass.


Methods | Behaviour – Missions

Pros:

Less dependent on respondents’ ability to recall

information; can capture important contextual factors

that are unlikely to be remembered.

Benefits of both observation & interview.

Cheaper, more scalable & potentially less-intrusive

than in-person observation or accompanied shopping.

Cons

Participants may not behave as naturally as they

would in real-life.

Potentially more expensive than a straightforward

qualitative or quantitative research project.


Methods | Body

fMRI

EEG

Electrodermal activity

fEMG

Facial coding

Eye tracking

IAT


Methods | Body – fMRI


Identifies correlations between brain region activation and behavioural

responses i.e. pain, pleasure, risk etc.

How does it work?

A powerful magnet and radio waves non-invasively produce multiple

images of the brain to show the level of blood oxygen across different

brain regions. Highly active brain regions are assumed to require more

oxygen than less active regions.

When a study reports a brain region is linked with ‘x’ behaviour – what

it really means is that on average that brain region was more active,

across participants scanned, after activity from the rest of the brain had

been subtracted.


Methods | Body – fMRI

Pros:

Good spatial resolution – can pinpoint brain areas

Well-known and widely considered ‘scientific’

Measures activation from deep brain structures i.e. emotion, risk etc.

Cons:

It does not read minds! It only demonstrates activation correlated with behaviour – interpretation needs to be cautious.

Cannot infer mental states from activation – typically fMRI needs a solid research foundation in order to draw accurate inferences.

Expensive; need a minimum of 20 participants to gain decent results. Scanning plus analysis can really start to add-up.



Methods | Body – EEG


Subconscious brain activation that occurs in

response to stimuli.

How does it work?

Electrodes, placed on the scalp, record the real-

time electrical activity of large populations of

simultaneously active neurons.

NB. A neuron is a cell: the basic unit of the

nervous system. Neurons carry messages

between the brain and other parts of the body.

Requires approx. 30 individuals minimum to gain

accurate insights (or 16 per group if running

different trials).


Methods | Body – EEG

Pros:

Directly measures neuronal activity

More freedom of movement – mobile EEG headsets

allow for more ecologically valid testing (but sacrifice

some fidelity)

Temporal resolution of milliseconds!

Cons:

Poor spatial resolution – cannot pin-point which section

of the brain is responsible for the signal

Can’t pick up on activation from deeper brain structures

e.g. limbic system, basic pleasure, pain etc.



Methods | Body – Electrodermal Activity


Our level of arousal during or after a task i.e. our

feeling of anger, stress, fear, excitement etc.

How does it work?

The electrical conductance of our skin changes

depending on our state of autonomic activity, or

‘level of arousal’.

In layman’s terms, measuring the EDA literally

tests how much your palms are sweating.

Conductors, connected to a sensor, are attached

to the palm or fingers and used to measure

changes in the electrical voltage of our skin.

A graph of Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) skin conductance over a 27-minute period during an experiment. Increased GSR indicates a heightened sympathetic nervous system arousal.


Methods | Body – Electrodermal Activity

Pros:

Cheap, non-invasive & portable.

Good implicit test of arousal.

Cons:

Needs to be supported with other measures. The

test alone does not reveal the emotional cause of

the arousal.

Requires a controlled environment i.e. the ambient

temperature of the room can interfere with the

measurement process.

A minimum sample size of 100 is usually required

as the the autonomic system is highly variable.


Methods | Body – Facial Electromyography (fEMG)


Facial EMG measures minute muscle

movements that reveal changes in

emotional state, such as happiness, anger,

and pain – depending on the sensitivity of

the equipment.

How does it work?

Small electrodes are placed at two major

facial muscle groups: one is associated

with frowning and the other with smiling.

These electrodes measure the electrical

impulses associated with movements of

these muscles.

a) Corugattor supercilli muscle b) Zygomaticus major muscle


Methods | Body – Facial Electromyography (fEMG)

Pros

Easier to use than fMRI and EEG.

More accurate measure of emotional expression

than visual observation tools.

Capable of measuring subtle emotional states, as

responses can still be captured even when subjects

are instructed to avoid expressing emotions.

Cons

Attaching electrodes to a participant’s face is

intrusive, and could potentially inhibit the full range

of normal facial movement.

The face contains many more muscles than are

typically measured using facial EMG.


Methods | Body – Facial Coding


Minute changes in the facial muscles that indicate

the brain’s emotional response to a stimuli i.e.

content, music etc.

How does it work?

A camera records participants’ facial expressions in

real time.

Software codes the captured muscle movements

into specific emotions second by second.


Methods | Body – Facial Coding

Pros:

Directly measures emotional responses, rather than

relying on self-reported measures

Less obtrusive than fEMG and takes into account a

wider number of facial muscles

The prevalence of webcams means it can

unobtrusively be executed alongside online studies

– good value

Cons

Data only indicates emotional responses; it does not

explain how & why

The conclusions are only as good as the software

doing the analysis – which can vary in quality

Photograph © 2016 Mike LarremoreCopyright © 2016 Prime Decision


Methods | Body – Eye tracking


Measures the point of gaze i.e. where, how and

when someone is looking. This is an objective

measurement of attention.

How does it work?

Light, usually infrared, is bounced off the pupil of

the eye and measured by an optical sensor (such

as a video camera).

Changes in reflections equate to eye movements.


Methods | Body – Eye tracking

Pros

Can be used to create heat maps that indicate a

pattern of gaze such as on a website or

supermarket display

Reveals what draws people’s attention – and what

they miss

Cons

Accuracy is typically to the nearest cm

Cannot measure peripheral vision

Bulky headsets can impact on natural behaviour

Gaze does not equate to understanding!



Methods | Body – Implicit Association Task (IAT)

Junk

food/

Bad

Healthy

food/

Good

Junk

food/

Good

Healthy

food/

Bad


Subconscious attitudes and beliefs by testing

automatic associations held between different

concepts e.g. exploring consumers’ subconscious

perceptions of brands & products.

How does it work?

Participants are asked to categorise a number of

targets. For instance, an apple would be presented

and the participant would have to choose the correct

categorisation (and ignore the evaluation) i.e. choose

between ‘Junk food/Bad’ or ‘Health food/Good’.

Faster responses are interpreted as stronger

associations than slower pairings. For example, we

would say someone has an implicit preference for

junk food, if they are faster to categorize words when

Junk Food and Good share a response key, and

Healthy Food and Bad share a response key.


Methods | Body – Implicit Association Task (IAT)

Pros:

Reliable, easy to administer & supported by a

large research history.

Good value, can be done online.

Task is robust, even if participants are familiar with

the methods.

Cons:

Can only compare two opposing attributes at a

time as a relative measure, which may limit its

sensitivity to more nuanced responses.

This is experimental psychology, not

neuroscience, so no sexy brain images.



Methods | Words

Quantitative survey

Qualitative depth interviews

Qualitative focus groups

Textual analysis

Semiotics


`

Methods | Words – Quantitative Survey


Knowledge, opinions & claimed behaviour

converted into numerical form

Usually amongst a sample that is representative

of a wider group of interest e.g. adults aged 18-

50, recent product buyers

How does it work?

Surveys are designed to probe a topic using open

& closed questions.

Often done online, increasingly on mobile

devices, but face-to-face and telephone surveys

are also possible – whatever reaches the target

group most effectively.

Topline analysis compares answers to dififerent

questions & different sub-groups. Deeper analysis

uses statistical techniques to reveal patterns in

the data.


Methods | Words – Quantitative Survey

Pros:

Can be an efficient and less expensive way to gain responses from a large sample.

Numbers allow evaluation, which is useful for testing ideas against each other,

sizing, statistical modelling etc.

Easy to repeat amongst matched samples to measure change over time (e.g. brand

tracking) or recontact the same respondents (i.e. panel research).

Questions can be designed to be overt or covert in nature.

Cons

The data is only as good as the questions.

It can be difficult to avoid priming certain responses.

Respondents may be describing behaviours and thoughts that happened a long time

ago in a very different context, reducing the accuracy of their answers.



Methods | Words – Qualitative Depth Interviews


The variety of knowledge, opinions & claimed behaviour

amongst a target group

How does it work?

A one-to-one conversation between interviewer and respondent.

Usually recorded.

Ideally face-to-face, but also possible by phone, online video or

even text chat

Interviews ranges from highly structured sequences of open

questions to less structured free form conversations around a

given topic.

Analysis ranges from detailed topic groupings to recursive

summarising where the summary of findings is refined and

challenged by each subsequent interview. Sometimes more than

one analyst may review the qualitative data to reduce bias.


Methods | Words – Qualitative Depth Interviews

Pros:

A great way-in to new research topics where existing

knowledge is limited.

Flexible form allows unexpected insights to emerge.

The interview can take place close to the context of the

decisions & behaviours it seeks to understand e.g. in

the respondent’s kitchen, in a clothing store etc.

Cons

Respondents may be describing behaviours and

thoughts that happened a long time ago in a very

different context, reducing their accuracy.

Process and analysis can be resource and time

intensive.

The interviewer can inadvertently introduce bias.



Methods | Words - Qualitative Focus Groups


The variety of knowledge, opinions & claimed

behaviour amongst a target group.

Interactions between members of that target group

e.g. consensus, friction, emerging ideas.

How does it work?

A trained moderator facilitates a discussion

between 6-12 respondents, referring to a

discussion guide to steer the conversation.

Usually recorded. Sometimes observed in a

viewing facility through a two-way mirror.

Analysis ranges from detailed topic summaries

across focus groups to recursive summarising.


Methods | Words - Qualitative Focus Groups

Pros:

Great for developing ideas as the group builds on its

own suggestions.

Get clients and non-researchers closer to customers.

Cheaper & faster than the equivalent number of one-to-

one depth interviews.

Cons

An unusual experience for respondents, possibly a long

way from the behaviours and thoughts being explored.

Can be prone to social & cognitive biases such as the

groupthink or conformity effect, so less suitable for

evaluating new ideas.

Information is lost through the two-way glass; the

discussion feels very different in the room itself.



Methods | Words – Textual Analysis


A data gathering process that describes and

interprets the content, structure and the

function of messages contained in text, i.e.

twitter, reviews etc.

How does it work?

A wide range of methodologies exist, e.g.

Rhetorical Criticism, Content Analysis,

Interaction Analysis, Performance Studies etc.

Choosing a method and the level of

complexity required by the analysis depends

largely on the question asked – ranging from

encoding word frequency into numerical data,

to in-depth emotional response extraction.


Methods | Words – Textual Analysis

Pros:

Very flexible method: analysis can be personalised to

the question.

Relatively cheap, depending on ease of data collection

Can granularly analyse more nebulous forms of insight

such as social media comments and reviews.

Can be used to explore potential implicit patterns within

explicit sources.

Cons:

Danger of researcher bias towards interpretation.

Difficult to validate conclusions due to methods being

highly dependent on the individual running the analysis.

Can take a very long time.



Methods | Words – Semiotics


Semiotics is the scientific study of the meaning and

cultural communication behind signs, symbols and codes.

Goes beyond asking people questions and extrapolates

meanings from the contextual codes that influence a

culture’s beliefs, values, mindset and behaviours.

How does it work?

Analysing and critiquing the levels of meaning in a piece

of content, and how they are being produced.

Alternatively, can analyse the broader context to highlight

a range of potentially useful signs and codes.


Methods | Words – Semiotics

Pros:

Anchors brands in the context of the culture.

Can explore new business opportunities and generate

new brands, communications and messages.

Explores explicit content in a subconscious way.

Cons:

Interpretations are strictly subjective, and can suffer

from researcher bias if not managed correctly.

A loosely defined critical practice, rather than a unified

analytical method. Methodology can vary widely

between practitioners


Behaviour Change | Why force it?

BEHAVIOURAL INSIGHT | ANALYSIS | STRATEGY | CHANGE

Questions? prime-decision.com

prime-decision.com/behavioural-economics-financial-services

research methods cheat sheet

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