Ethnography deals with observing consumers in the field or their daily lives. As part of the Fuzzy Front End of research, ethnography is a helpful method to understand consumer needs prior to product development.
This type of observation may uncover subconscious needs or wants which
come to light only through normal, everyday behavior, and may be
obtained through observation, One-on-One Interviews, or other direct methods.
1 Meilgaard, M. C., Civille, G. V. and Carr, B. T. 2007. Sensory Evaluation Techniques, 4th edition. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
