Virtual Observation Exercise
The purpose of this assignment is to practice field observation in a safe way given our current
circumstances. The video provided gives us the opportunity to see shoppers in a natural setting.
Data source:
Watch the following 360 degrees video of shoppers in a grocery store. It is only 4 minutes but
there is lots to observe even in that time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqN2P_CwG7Q&list=PLChoiFbpx8hiFvNoRsPDI1KsNXe
bYdiKk&index=2
Observation Protocol:
Complete the following chart as you are doing the observation. Insert rows as required.
Select something to focus on: for example, store layout, product placement, shoppers, etc…. You
do not need a research question at this point but focusing on one aspect of the shopping
experience will allow you to do a proper observation. This is not the same as ‘looking’ for only
one thing and missing the ‘dancing gorilla’. You will still observe widely but just one aspect. If
you decided to look only for a particular product for example, that would be the same as
‘counting the passes the white team makes’. (if you don’t know what I’m talking about watch the
recording of last week’s class!).
As discussed in class, use the left hand column for your observations in the moment (jot notes).
The right hand column should be used for any ‘thoughts’ you might have about what you
observed – you do not need to write something in every row for the right hand column, that is not
every observation has to have an reflection with it.
Submit completed chart via Blackboard by due date, April 10, end of day.
Assessment breakdown based on content and amount of data in each column:
Descriptive notes: /10
Reflective notes: /10
Time: 11:06 am
Date: April 8, 2022
Location: Walter Mart (during extended Covid Quarantine), Carmona - Cavite
Your focus: Store layout, products placement and shoppers
Descriptive Notes
(activities, people, setting)
-cust. Walking with cart
Large display of bleach
Big store with lots of movement space
Announcement going on in the background
regarding sanitizers
A few shoppers moving around with or
without carts
Music playing in the background
Some people wearing masks
Some people are not wearing masks
Staff member moving around with NO mask
on
The store has big white lights on the ceiling
A lot of movement space between aisles
Separate fruits and vegetable section
The store has a few people
People are queued near the dairy section
Frozen food section at the corner of the store
The poultry section is beside the frozen food
section
Reflective Notes
(insights, personal thoughts, reactions,
questions)
Maybe because of pandemic, more cleaning,
people want this product
Maybe it is one of the largest marts in the city
The title of the video suggests it was made
during the extended covid quarantine (ECQ)
period. Maybe that was the reason for this
announcement where they were promoting
sanitizers
This is a strange observation, during ECQ, it
is least expected that people would do
window shopping.
This is the pandemic time, so people are
wearing masks
Some people may be not adhering to the
Covid protocols
This is again strange to observe that staff is
not adherent to Covid Protocol and may be
jeopardizing people’s health
White lights are liked by many people as it
gives a lot of brightness and clarity.
May be due to ECQ, the store is not too busy
This can be because I could see a room that
could be a big, refrigerated area to keep dairy
products and people went inside to get dairy
products one by one. This can be a part of the
safety protocol for COVID that only a limited
number of people could be inside that area to
prevent the spread of the infection.
The staff is wearing a blue apron in the
poultry section
The everyday saving section is also seen
This may be to differentiate between staff of
different sections.
This means the store promotes shoppers
buying items on sale each day.
*For virtual observation give time, date of when you are viewing the video and location of
original video
(Observation protocol based on Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and
research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications. In: Workshop:
Teaching Qualitative Research Methods Online, Chareen Snelson, Boise State University)