ANTH 7333

Data Analysis

Assignment #2

In this assignment, you will analyze the actions/behaviors visible in the video clips taken as part of the summer 2006 Frito-Lay project in Plano and Arlington Tom Thumb stores. As an introduction to this project, please open and look at the following Microsoft PowerPoint file (note: this file is large [7 MB] and takes a while to open; then, you can run it as a slide show):

Kemper--Frito-Lay_report-1

You have a DVD disc containing two subdirectories (Arlington store photos and Plans store photos) and numerous additional files. The photos show nearly all of the interior layout of the respective stores. The photos start at the front and go around the store counter-clockwise, except for the ones that show the snack aisle from one end of the other.

The 35 avi clips begin at the Arlington store at 10:00 am and continue to 12:52 pm; the 16 avi video clips at the Plano store begin at 10:09 am and continue to 12:28 pm. Also on the DVD is an Excel spreadsheet file labeled as "Plano-Observations-Snack-Aisle-rear-13-July-2006.xls" When you open this file you will see that one tab is for Plano and the other for Arlington. This file contains details about the avi video clips. Study it carefully.

Observations-Snack-Aisle-rear-July-2006-.xls

You also should review the other non-photo and non-video files before viewing the photos and video clips. Once you have reviewed all of these descriptive files, then begin looking at the photos for context and the video clips for action/behavior.

Your analysis should consider the different kinds of actions/behavior visible in the video clips, especially as related to the shoppers' interactions with the Frito-Lay products. Based on what you see, you should determine what, if any, themes emerge in these clips. Be aware of whether the themes emerge from the clips ("inductive" coding) or from your own frame of reference ("deductive" coding). For instance, you might pre-determine that "gender" is a theme that you want to investigate in the clips. On the other hand, you might approach the clips with an open mind and see what emerges -- perhaps you will discover that "body size" or "presence of children" is a key element in decisions to engage the products on the shelf.

What conclusions can you reach about the the consumers' shopping behavior on the basis of viewing these video clips? What is "missing"? On what basis do you reach your conclusions?

An important part of the assignment is to document your procedures in sufficient detail so that another person could replicate your work.

You should be able to do the write-up in three pages (double-spaced typed). Please include any spreadsheet(s), tables, charts, and statistics as appendices to your write-up.

This assignment is due at the beginning of class on 17 February 2009. Please bring enough copies so that every member of the seminar has one. On the 20th, you will be asked to discuss briefly your procedures and your findings.