Clark is a student who has been hired by a consumer research firm to help a pizza restaurant learn more about the student market. Part of his job entails hanging out with other students and observing how they decide when to order pizza, which pizza restaurants they order from, how they eat it, and what they do with the leftovers, if any. Clark learned from his observations that some students like to put French dressing on their pizza, which led the pizza restaurant to advertise and offer the dressing with orders. Which interpretive orientation does this best illustrate?
A) ethnography
B) quantitative research
C) sociology
D) grounded theory

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This scenario best illustrates ethnography because Clark is immersed within the student culture to gain firsthand observations and insights into the students' pizza preferences and behaviors. This involves qualitative research methods such as participant observation and interviewing, rather than quantitative methods like surveys or experiments. The focus is on understanding the social and cultural context of pizza consumption among students, rather than testing hypotheses or theories.

Clark Is a Student Who Has Been Hired by a Consumer