Ethnography: not what they say.

A large percentage of market research involves asking people about what they do, even though it is well-known that people rarely know (let alone say) what they do. Ethnography is a branch of market research that observes people doing, as well as asking them what they do, and takes into account their cultural and physical environments. An ethnographic researcher literally immerses him/herself in the life of another person or people, and without this immersion, is unlikely to get a true picture.

When people say what they do, it is often no more than what they would like to happen. For example, one woman claimed that her children ate healthy breakfasts but, when …