Research for the Real World: Understanding Physical Activity Behaviour
In the third and final blog of this mini series about the importance of communication for the physical activity sector I want to focus on a topic which is close to my heart and talk about how we do research. As a researcher myself, I spend a lot of time thinking about the best way to connect with an audience, because the way we ask the questions is just as important as what we ask.
The definition of madness
There are two majorly famous quotes which always come back to me whenever I'm thinking about this subject, particularly in the context of social behaviour change. First of all:
If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got^
I think we are pretty guilty of this in the way we do research in the sport and physical activity space. I have lost count of the number of reports I have read which ask participants time and time again why they do or don't play sport. Every time they churn out the same old answers, "It's too expensive", "There's nowhere to go near me" and of course our old favourite "I don't have time". I'm not suggesting that people aren't busy, they most certainly are, but more significant here is the way people choose to prioritise the free time they do have available. This highlights something on a deeper level which asking people why they do what they do, simply isn't uncovering.
We all want faster horses
This brings me to the second famous quote, said by Henry Ford shortly after the invention of the motor car.
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses, Henry Ford
This really emphasises for me how we often fail to take account of the wider context when we ask people about their behaviour and what it would take to change it. Those of us working in sport will have dedicated many hours to pondering the questions we ask to research participants. They on the other hand have usually had a about 10 seconds to think about it. We're basically putting them on the spot and asking them to answer questions we haven't yet solved ourselves, in spite of all the time we've spent thinking about it. It's no surprise then that research participants reach for more obvious answers like "faster horses" or "I don't have time", as these feel reasonable, rational and satisfy a desire to be helpful to the researcher. What rarely emerges under such direct questioning however, are the complex emotional influences on behaviour which sit below the surface.
Decision making is rarely black and white
The way human decision making works in practice is far from black and white. It is a complex series of cognitive processes influenced by a wide range of personal, social and environmental factors. It draws heavily on our previous experiences; so whilst we might think we're asking relatively simple questions, like "Why don't you play sport?", they are in fact much more complex than we realise.
Our real-world behaviours depend on a combination of both our rational and our emotional responses to the world around us. You can think of it like a seesaw of experience - with all the experiences that gave us positive feelings on one side and all those that caused negative feelings on the other. Put simply, our views and our subsequent behaviours are significantly shaped by which side of this emotional seesaw has more stuff on it. However, a lot of these feelings exist on an unconscious level so we aren't always able to pull them to the surface and articulate these thoughts when we are asked seemingly straightforward questions.
People in Southport aren’t that different from people in Southampton
We also shouldn't be fooled into the idea that people have fundamentally different motivations defined by their geographical location. Yes, there may be factors within the physical environment which influence people's behaviour, for example: Do I have a car? Are there cycle routes nearby? Do I feel safe in my neighbourhood? and How expensive are local services? Nonetheless, people's behaviours are defined more by their personal experiences than by their physical location and so a single, working mum on a low income in Southport is likely to share many similar feelings and experiences with someone in a similar situation from Sunderland, Southend or Southampton.
What I am definitely not saying is that we shouldn't do research and ask what people think; nor am I saying that people who say "faster horses" don't know what they want or what is best for them. What I am saying is let's ask better questions which take account of the realistic context in which people live their lives. To get the ball rolling, here are a few ideas which could help you do just that.
Really good research does not always present a solution on a plate, however it should allow you to see things in a way you have never seen them before;
Use that new way of seeing things to stimulate new ideas you may not have otherwise had - put aside your tried and tested interventions and allow yourself to think the unthinkable;
Test and learn, then test again - the first idea is rarely the finished one, but rather the first step on an iterative cycle; don't be afraid to say something didn't work and learn from why it didn't;
When trying to understand why people do things, asking them how things make them feel, is way more powerful than asking them why they do it; e.g. What puts you at ease? What makes you feel proud? What makes you uncomfortable?;
Don’t be afraid of qualitative data - whilst you may not speak to as many people as you would with a big structured survey, the depth of understanding you will gain about how people feel from interviews, comments, observations and a variety of ethnographic methods will be significant;
If you want to know how it really feels for someone to be in a particular environment - put them in that environment and ask them whilst they are there;
Understanding people's everyday lives isn't just a "warm up" technique - it can tell us a lot about why people make the choices that they do in relation to being active. A bit more creative thinking is required (see point 2), but it can help stimulate some truly great ideas (TIP: Lots of other organisations may be interested in similar things so check out what is already available; e.g. everyone from NCT organisations to Pampers and SMA will be interested in how new mum's feel so they've probably already asked them quite a lot);
When understanding local context don't ask whether people in Bradford are different to people in Basingstoke - they probably aren't; instead look at factors within the local environment which either support or hinder the behaviour you want to encourage; e.g. What opportunities are available? How is the local transport system? Are there local support networks? Are people aware of them? (TIP: Lots of this info will already exist in documentation produced by local authorities and other local organisations); and
Technology is an amazing tool to reach people and understand how they feel in moments which, as researchers, we would never normally be there to witness - think about how you can best use this to your advantage.
We hope this has got your creative juices flowing about how to do more impactful research. If you'd like to talk more about understanding your audience in new and creative ways and you think Proper Active can help, get in touch on info@properactive.co.uk
^It isn't actually known for sure who originally said this. It has been attributed to a range of famous faces including Albert Einstein and Henry Ford.
