HOW MAY ONE GATHER THICK DATA? (‘THICK DATA’ SERIES PART 3)

HOW MAY ONE GATHER THICK DATA? (‘THICK DATA’ SERIES PART 3)

The previous posts in this series have outlined and illustrated some key differences between ‘Big Data’, as large volumes of quantitative information that reveal what consumers do, and ‘Thick Data’, as information that reveals why consumers do what they do under ‘mundane’ circumstances of their daily lives.

From this perspective, Thick Data is useful as it provides both depth and context to Big Data.  It is information that is not ‘extracted’ and analysed through a ‘one-size-fits-all’ algorithm.  Instead, it involves the consideration of personal stories and experiences of those very individuals who represent the ‘market’.  In this respect, Thick Data provides the opportunity for a more complete understanding of the meanings and complexities of how the consumer relates to (and is likely to relate to) a product or service.

There are several methods through which Thick Data of varying ‘depth’ may be gathered.  All these methods involve a direct interaction and establishment of rapport between a researcher and a research participant.  In other words, Thick Data can neither be collected through remote mapping of the interaction between a consumer and a product, nor through quick ‘in-and-out’ questionnaires and surveys.

Rather and ideally, in a ‘collaborative’ effort, gathering Thick Data requires the establishment of a mutual relationship between the researcher and the participant.  Crucially, through establishing this relationship, the researcher should be able to observe and engage with the participant directly during those times and activities when the product or service is used, and thus assess its strengths and shortcomings.  Further, through careful analysis of these conditions the researcher may also be able to anticipate future trends, habits, and needs that are related to the product or service in question.

Much of this type of research is today being carried out through ‘ethnographic’ methods that are practiced by sociocultural anthropologists in their work.  We shall present a more detailed overview of what these methods entail in the next part of this series.

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