“What people say, what people do and what they say they do are completely different things” – Margaret Mead
Ethnography is defined as the “scientific description of the customs of individual peoples and cultures.” Simply put, it is the observation of individual’s ways in which people react to certain circumstances in real life based on a variety of factors like the environment and culture that they are raised in etc.
Modern research is increasingly making use of ethnography in order to determine more precisely certain human traits and behaviors because what better way to analyze something than to actually record it in real life.
What Is Video Ethnography?
As the name indicates, it is the process of capturing ethnographic data on video. Video in the modern age have become a powerful tool for explaining and expressing views clearly. Surveys show that by 2021, almost 80% of all content on the internet will be videos. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the use of videos in ethnographic research is gaining popularity.
Video ethnography refers to the process of observing and recording living beings especially humans in their natural settings. This allows accurate findings of the fact that how individuals react in certain situations. Why this is more accurate than having tests in a laboratory is because the human mind is unaware that it is being monitored and therefore reacts absolutely normally to any given situation unlike if it knows that it is being watched.
Applications of Video Ethnography
Research and development are becoming integral parts of all business operations these days because companies need to know what customers like at the present time in order to target them more effectively. As a result video ethnography has found multiple applications in a variety of fields.
- Market Research
Observing customer reactions to new product launches or their experiences about already introduced services can be done through video ethnographic techniques. Curator video offers some of the most extensive solutions to all video recording and analysis needs that a business might have. Using video ethnographic methods for performing market research greatly increases the accuracy of the results because it indicates that consumer reactions are real and not artificial. - Scientific Observations
Besides business research, video ethnography has extensive applications in scientific research which can encompass a variety of domains. Human behavior studies are conducted in a diverse range of fields to determine numerous specific behaviors and traits that allow researchers to draw relevant outcomes. Again, having video recordings of reactions under specific circumstances allows researchers to make very astute observations in the relevant directions.
Using video ethnography for research is increasingly becoming a trend with many organizations opting for it. However, an important aspect to consider is having the right tools and skill set in order to make precise recordings and therefore generate effective results. This means hiring solution providers like Curator Video. Our company specializes in capturing videos that depict required aspects quite beautifully.
Video ethnography is quite relevant today and if your business requires research and believes in its importance, you should consider the prospects at the earliest.