Abstract:

This paper illustrates problems which can face the traditional questionnaire approach to data collection, particularly where informants either do not know the answers or can unintentionally mislead, and where the interviewer, however well briefed, cannot discover the correct information. References are made to the smooth floor covering market in the UK, where these, and other problems, face the researcher using traditional methods. A different approach, using simple photography, is outlined and the dramatic effects on the data collected are demonstrated. The paper goes on both to generalise as to the potential role the camera can play as a data collection vehicle in market research and specifically suggests certain markets and problems which the camera seems uniquely able to tackle.