At Nielsen, we believe that our panels make our company stand out. We devote a great deal of time and resources to ensuring that our panels produce high-quality data. By combining big data with smaller data sets from carefully chosen and measured households, we believe that we provide a higher quality of insights than anyone else in the marketplace.
行为方法数据科学家非常重视小组成员的体验，因为良好的小组成员体验能让我们收集到最好的数据，从而让客户满意。为了实现这一目标，我们会考虑整个小组成员的体验。注册调查是否容易填写？参与是否有回报？小组成员是否觉得他们正在塑造自己的世界？在尼尔森，我们的行为方法数据科学家会深入了解小组成员及其体验，并设计出优化数据质量的方法。
尼尔森数据科学部的许多行为研究人员都接受过调查研究、心理学、社会学和人类学等领域的深入培训。其中一些研究人员专注于通过焦点小组、深度访谈、调查、观察和可用性测试等方法科学系统地收集信息。使用这些定性方法，或侧重于文字和体验而非数字和大规模模式的方法，可以了解小组成员的体验，并确定我们的数据科学家可以改进尼尔森测量的方法。接下来，我们将回顾尼尔森世界级测量所采用的各种研究方法。
Observation
Behavior researchers use observation to see how people interact with meters, surveys and other measurement tools. Observation is perhaps the most basic data collection method in the behavioral sciences. It’s valuable because it bridges the gap that can exist between what humans say and what they do. Think of when you visit your dentist—have you ever lied about how often you’re flossing? Or perhaps you know someone who stretches the truth about how much they exercise when their doctor asks. People commonly misreport their behavior for reasons such as: having incorrect memories of an event, wanting to paint a positive picture of themselves by omitting “negative” behaviors, and wanting to please others by saying and doing the “right things.” This leads research participants to distort the truth. Observation allows scientists to see what people are doing and overcome the errors of social desirability.
Surveys
Surveys are useful for understanding beliefs, behaviors and attitudes in large groups of people and for collecting characteristic information. They can help to reveal patterns that are not always obvious in smaller data sets. They’re also useful for gathering information on sensitive subjects, such as topics that people might consider private, or for gathering information to compare groups of people and their behaviors over time. Nielsen uses surveys to understand opinions and behaviors of current and former panelists. Among our surveys, we’re most well known for our radio diaries, which survey people about the shows, stations and programming they enjoy. We are also well known for our 斯卡布罗 service, which surveys people about their print media, local television, shopping, and radio listening habits, to name a few.
Usability testing
Usability practitioners conduct testing to understand how people use websites, tools, and technology. Think about the last time you paid a bill online. Was the experience pleasant? Was it easy to navigate to the bill payment section of the site? Did you feel like the website looked trustworthy? If you answered yes to all of those questions, you experienced a well-designed site. Unfortunately, many websites are confusing and challenging for regular people to navigate. Usability testing is important because it involves watching real people use products and websites. Observation, combined with researcher questions, help designers understand how to improve their products. Usability testing has been used to upgrade Nielsen’s computer and mobile panel web page, as well as our mobile app.
Interviews
In-depth interviews consist of an interviewer and interview participants and typically last between 30 minutes and an hour. A well-run interview session is like a great first date, with the interviewer making the respondent feel comfortable while getting to know a great deal of detail about one or more areas of their life. Interviewers are trained in active listening, on-the-spot data analysis, and in asking probing questions. Interviewers follow pre-written lists of questions about one or more topics of interest. Data scientists might ask about pain points that panelists experience as part of their participation, as well as about the benefits of participating in a panel and exit interviews with individuals who are no longer in a panel.
Focus groups
Focus groups are designed to gather a range of opinions on one or more topics. Focus groups are typically made up of six to eight participants and a moderator trained in facilitating group dynamics and in asking open-ended questions. We use focus groups when we want to understand how a group of people might talk about an issue. Skilled moderators make participants feel like they’re chatting with friends. The benefit is that the conversation will remain on the topic(s) of interest and can show diversity of opinions or that most people agree. Focus groups typically last between one and two hours and can involve questions, surveys, activities and idea generation. Panelists typically do not participate in focus groups, but they may be invited to participate after their panel participation is over to give feedback on future directions for research.
这些方法使我们能够更好地了解我们收集的数据产生的原因和方式。通过与小组成员交谈、调查和观察他们的行为，我们可以找出参与者可能无法与尼尔森分享的模式。我们还可以找出测量误差的来源，例如参与者可能不清楚的调查问题，或可能导致遵从性降低的计量表困难。
虽然这些活动的结果产生的数据集较小，我们并不总是提供给外部客户，但它们影响着我们内部的选择和决策，并有助于确保我们的小组成员的声音影响我们尼尔森的测量决策。这确保了我们为客户提供的数据是一流的--即下一步行动背后的科学依据。
