Final Chapter

    This week will be my last blog that I will be writing for the semester.  I really hope you enjoyed reading my posts each week and learning more about the research tools that the fast food industry uses in order to collect valuable information about their services.  For this week, I will again discuss two of my classmate’s blog posts that I have found really interesting throughout the semester.
    The first blog I would like to discuss is Lisa’s blog on entertainment.  Throughout the course of the semester, Lisa has given a wide range of interesting topics regarding entertainment whether it  pertained to radio, television, fashion, ect.  Lisa has done a great job relating our class discussions to current events.  One of her most recent blog posts discusses the research method of surveying.  Lisa decided to talk about the November month which signifies election time.  She goes on to talk about the survey process that goes hand in hand with the voting process.  The act of voting consists of a individual doing a survey.  It’s interesting to know that surveys are used in order to decide who is going to run our country.  It makes you realize how important this research tool really is.  I really liked how Lisa connected our registration for classes to the survey process that QU students use.  For example, I use ratemyprofessor.com during each registration period and without these survey’s the class selection process would definitely be more of a  tedious process. 
    The next blogger I will be discussing is Rachel B’s blog  that focuses on Google’s success and it’s future expansion in regards to public relations.  I found this blog extremely interesting because Google is a search engine that people use everyday.  It has been known to be one of the most successful search engines available on the internet today.  Rachel does a exceptional job researching the current issues that Google has experienced and the different research methods used in order to deal with crisis management and public awareness.  In her latest blog about surveys, Rachel discusses a job description that was found posted on Google’s corporation website that is entitled survey research scientist.  Rachel uses this to explain how important research, especially survey research is to every industry.  The role of this particular job  was to have the opportunity to design, execute and analyze surveys across the most important parts of Google’s business and products.  This was interesting to read about because many corporations hire individuals just specifically for survey analysis.  This shows how important these research methods really are and shows the time and effort put into them. 
    Well it has been a real pleasure not only writing my blog but having the opportunity of reading what my classmate’s have to say about the world of PR research.  I’ve learned that research methods are used so often that they have become such a vital part of the public relations industry.

Experimental Research Design

          This week in class we discussed experimental research which is a type of quantitative research.  Experimental research is a method that involves testing some sort of hypothesis.  A experiment involves one or more independent variables that are manipulated in order to determine the effect of a dependent variable. Many times the purpose of the design is to find some sort of causal relationship between two variables.  During a experimental research there are two groups; the control group and the experimental group. These two groups are exposed to the same environment, asked the same questions and given the same treatment . The only exception is that the experimental group gets some sort of variable that is different than what the control group gets. 
    Instead of doing my usual blog where I look up a article on a past experimental design I decided to set up a experimental design that could test a potential hypothesis instead.  The hypothesis for this experimental design says that listing calories on a menu will not affect a customer’s choice in buying fast food.  The set up would include a group of customers at a McDonald’s restaurant.  These participants would not be aware whether or not they were in the experimental group or the control group. This is known as a blind experiment. The experiment would be to test the relationship between calories and people’s food choices at McDonalds.  Instead of looking at the menu above, the participants are handed menus that show the indicated meals for the day.  The only variable that is different between the menus is that one set of menus have the calories listed and the other menus don’t.  The researcher however, knows which participants are in the control group and the experimental group.  If this was not the case, the experiment would be known as a double-blinded experimental design because both the participants and the researcher would be unaware of who is in the contol group and who is in the experimental group.  The experiment is testing whether or not the people who received the menu with the calories listed beside the foods would make healthier decisions when ordering their meals at McDonalds.  The experiment tests the causal relationship between calories and people’s diet choices.  Many people who see the calories right in front of them could feel more guilty when ordering from a fast food place.  People who remain unaware about the health conditions of the McDonald’s meals also may feel that they can order whatever they want without feeling guilty afterward. 
    As you can see this experimental design would help show how calories influence people’s diet choices.  The initial hypothesis saying it doesn’t would be tested after the participants ordered their food.  This is a example of what a experimental research design would look like in the fast food industry.     

Surveys

        As we discussed in class, the survey technique is the most popular method for quantitative research. Survey’s provide a typically easy and inexpensive way to get measurable results that provide structured answers.  Almost every company in the industry conducts surveys in order to get feedback about their company, client or service. It is the easiest way to receive public opinion in the most straightforward  possibly way.  Many times people are hired and designated to conducting and distributing surveys out. 
    Fast food companies such as McDonald's, Wendy’s and Arby’s want their customers to fill out as many survey’s as they offer.  A important plan for marketing and business strategy comes from the feedback received from survey’s.  They want to know how the public perceives their new products and service.  While browsing online about this issue I came across a article that showed some of the tactics used by restaurants in order to get customers to fill out survey’s.  Because online surveying is one of the easiest ways to conduct this type of method, many fast food restaurants offer free food in exchange for the completion of a survey.  For example, Arbys and Wendy’s printed free food offers on the back of their receipts in order to urge customers to go online and fill out their survey.  The article also briefly explains how the surveys work.  For example, the customer would go to the website printed on the receipt, and answer a survey that usually takes 5 minutes.  Many of these survey’s ask you for the store # in order to get specific responses to that store location.  After the survey is completed you get a validation code which you bring back to the restaurant to receive your fast food items. 
    Giving away free food is worth it to these fast food industries because they need these survey responses to conduct market research and keep in touch with the opinions of the customers.  Many times when a new commercial or product comes out surveys are given out at the actual fast food restaurant in order to get immediate feedback from the costumers.  Surveys will continue to be part of the fast food industry because customer service is always a main priority for business planning. 

Classmate's Blogs

          This week I am going to take the time out of my topic in order to comment on two of my classmates blogs.  The first blog I would like to comment on is Brittany’s blog that she wrote last week entitled “Street Fashion.”  In this excerpt Brittany talks about how people form qualitative data about fashion on a daily basis.             Throughout her blog, Brittany expresses that qualitative data on fashion is obtained every day by just simply walking down the street.  I personally thought this was very interesting because everyday we are surrounded by people that each have their own unique tastes when it comes to fashion.  While reading this blog I began to think about when I walk around and see different people wearing different clothing.  The expression “fashion-statement” definitely goes hand in hand with this  because when I see someone I quickly make my own opinions about what they are wearing. Brittany then goes on saying that  fashion derives not just from clothes but from attitudes and personality as well.  I believe this to be a very valid statement.  I really liked how Brittany exemplified what she was trying to get through in her message by sharing her initial thoughts about the picture of the girl she posted.  “When I look at this picture I first see a girl who sloppily tossed her hair up and threw on sunglasses to cover her face that she didn’t have time to put makeup on.” She also comments on her facial expression and how her outfit perceives her confidence.  Although Brittany reinsures her readers that the assumption may not be correct, it still shows the ability to form qualitative observations instantly.
    Another blog that I found really interesting was Christina’s blog about qualitative research.  Christina approached this method by posing a question about whether or not the government or the President himself uses such research to find valuable results.  Christina’s research was very successful because she explored a current issue going on today.  Obama’s plan to allow homosexuals to freely be open and serve in the military has been a controversial issue.  However, qualitative research has been used in order for the government to interpret people’s reactions for this plan.  For example, focus groups were used in order discuss the positive and negative attitude of repealing the law. I thought this blog was very interesting because it shows that qualitative research is used many prominent industries such as the government. 

Qualitative Research

            This week’s topic is going to be focused on  the general topic of qualitative research.  The main question people usually have when talking about qualitative research is; What are the main differences between qualitative and quantitative research?  Well, I was personally one of these people until we spent many classes distinguishing between the two. Qualitative research represents a research method that is targeted more toward interpreting individual’s experiences rather than predicting it before hand.  For example, while conducting a observation the researcher is not trying to predict what is going to happen, they are actually watching it happen and analyzing it after wards.  Along the same lines, during a focus group, the researcher can’t predict what the participants emotions and attitudes are going to be until the actual focus group is conducted.  This research aims toward understanding human behavior and the reasons why they perform such behavior.  On the contrary, quantitative research focuses more on measurement and numbers.  With this type of research, the researcher is able to test a certain hypothesis and analysis statistic measurements after wards. 
        There are many different types of  qualitative research methods that include observation, ethnographic research and focus groups as well as some others.  As I was researching yet another way to link research methods to the fast food industry I came across a website that is dedicated in analyzing the industry.  One way that the fast food company performs qualitative research is by asking consumers to compare one of their new food products to a competitive item in terms of quality and even price.  This sort of thing could be conducted through a focus group where participants are asked their views about a certain product, idea or service.  For example, a focus group could be conducted that asks consumers to express their feelings about the French fries at McDonald’s and the French fries at Wendy’s.  This way researchers get results immediately through the participants reactions and emotions towards the two products.  Another form of qualitative research is ethnographic research.  This is rarely used in the business field because it usually is very time consuming. However, one way a ethnographic research could be set up among the fast food industry would be to have a researcher actually work inside a fast food restaurant.  For example, if a researcher wanted to know how employees of  McDonald’s were treated he may actually become a employee himself.  Here, he can research the attitudes among the other employees by acting like he’s one of their own.  This is a good way to become familiar with a certain subculture of a group of people. 
        Many people feel that qualitative research is not as effective as quantitative research because it usually is time consuming and the results are difficult to actually generalize into measurable results.  Qualitative data is in the form of words and objects while quantitative data is in the form of numbers and statistics.  This is shown to be more efficient.  However, I feel that qualitative research is still a important aspect of public relations.  In the fast food industry or even any industry, human behavior is one of the most essential things to be aware of in order to maintain your company.  Qualitative research helps show what and why people behave the way they do and I think this is essential to the communications world. 

What everyone else has to say?

    So, last week I offered you guys a little taste of unobtrusive research that occurs in the fast food industry.  Now I want to know what my other classmates have to say about this method.  This week’s blog focuses on two of my fellow classmates and their interesting insights on unobtrusive methods.
    Jordana Carideo’s blog focuses on the American Cancer Society.  This is definitely significant because it is currently October which means it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  In her blog about unobtrusive research Jordana basically uses secondary research  in order to find out how many women and men are affected by the disease.  In order to do this, she read the American Cancer Society’s  Facts and Figures of 2010.  The data she received is a example of secondary research because she received it from another credible source.  This allowed her to get accurate results quickly and easily.  I thought this was a very interesting way to show how the method works because it shows how secondary research can help you receive the exact results you are trying to get in a matter of minutes.
          Another blog that I really enjoyed reading was Jessica Tessier’s blog about sports.  Within the sports area, unobtrusive research is such a vital method that is used everyday.  Jessica talks about how teams and organizations use this method to find out who is being talked about among professionals and the public.   This is really important in public relations because you need to know where your client is being targeted and towards what public.  In her blog, Jessica starts off her research by simply browsing the web and coming across a article about Roy Halladay.  She then wanted to dig deeper into the issue and began finding different websites that compared the Phillies and Reds and their different stats. 
         Both these blog’s research methods are considered unobtrusive.  This is due to the fact that people’s lives and environments were not intruded upon while conducting the research.  Both researchers used the Internet and secondary research to get their information.  No participants, or interviews were needed. 

Unobtrusive Research: Keeping it Natural

     As we learned in class unobtrusive research is a method of studying social behavior without the research actually affecting it.  The researcher is not required to intrude in the research context.  This method is very helpful because it forces the respondents to act in a natural way.  Sometimes they alter their behavior because they know they are being studied.  For example, when it comes to the topic of fast food, respondents may be too ashamed to admit on a survey that they eat fast food 2 to 3 times a week.  However, unobtrusive research does not require the researcher to directly ask them.  In this case the researcher could study the respondents in a non-direct way. 
     One type of unobtrusive research is content analysis.  Content analysis can be used a lot in the fast food industry.  Suppose a company wants to compare the number of times McDonald’s is said in a commercial to the number of times the word Wendy’s is heard in a commercial. Researchers could study this by simple content analysis.  All they have to do is record how many times they hear each word by listening to the audio.  For example, in this commercial, Wendy’s is said four times throughout.  In the McDonald’s commercial, McDonald’s is said twice.  By recording this data, the researcher has now used content analysis to get the results needed. 
    As I was looking for articles that could represent unobtrusive research that has been done in the past concerning fast food industries I came across a study done that tested if dietary restraint scales affected caloric intake at a fast food place.  The researcher went to a popular chain and recorded the types of different foods available.  The menu ranged from low fat salads and fruit drinks to French fries and double cheeseburgers.  The researchers saw that it was possible for participants to consume low-calorie meals if they wanted to.  After each patron was done eating the researcher recorded the types of wrappers that were left on each tray.  The data was collected during breakfast, lunch and dinner.  After the data was collected it was proven that calorie restraint scales do not affect the caloric intake.  For example, most people still consumed the high calorie unhealthy meals rather than the healthy ones.  This is an example of unobtrusive research because the patrons weren’t aware that the food that they were about to eat would be recorded for a study.  If they had known then they may have made a different decision that altered their behavior.