Regardless of whether you are using live or unmoderated video, online qualitative research enables you to share concepts, photos, ads, and more, as well as have participants share their screen and demonstrate their behaviors. Use an online qual platform to set up a virtual show-and-tell to replace traditional in-person research that would have typically been done in a facility.

Behavioral testing outside the home is not as straightforward as it used to be – there are now federal and state guidelines, as well as the comfort and safety of your participants to consider.

If you want to do ethnographic research outside of the home, think of ways for participants to journal or record their experience without putting themselves or others at risk. For example, allow them to journal after they get home, as opposed to having participants record extended live interactions while shopping, at work, or in other locations outside the home.

If you’re looking to test a product or get feedback on packaging, consider shipping the product or stimuli to their home instead of asking participants to go to the store or a facility to pick it up. You can even ship them a competitive product to get their reaction to it.

Use unmoderated video to have participants record the unboxing experience or to upload videos of them interacting with the packaging or product.

It’s important to understand that people’s home lives are much different now than they were several months ago. Consider setting up an online community to give participants flexibility to respond whenever they have a break in their day. Think about unmoderated videos vs. live interviews to allow participants to record when it’s convenient for them. 

Understand that people can get distracted by a variety of things in their home, so don’t require the research be completed all at once. And, if you’re including a live video interview, use shorter 20 to 30-minute interviews when possible.

While video is a primary tool for remote research, insight community platforms like Digsite can help you layer on even more capabilities to make remote research more effective than using video alone.

Within a Digsite Sprint community, you can recruit people over a few days and then drill down to smaller sub-groups and conduct live video interviews with them. You also have the opportunity to engage them after they share their video experience, which allows you to iterate and get additional feedback rapidly.