1) Before beginning this assignment, review Chapter 4 of the text, including the observable phenomena chart below.

Phenomena	Examples and Uses
Artifacts	Examining the clothes, accessories, and belongings of subjects. May be useful for determining the most popular trends in sportswear among a certain age group and geography, for example.
Body language	Observing posture (open stance or arms folded, standing tall or slouched, etc.) and gestures (hand held to head, hand signals, arms above head, etc.). Body language can help interpret mood and reactions to various stimuli.
Eye movement	Eye contact, looking away, staring. Observing these behaviors can be helpful in understanding levels of engagement. May be monitored by an unobtrusive observer or with observing equipment in a visible observation study.
Facial expressions	Recording emotions, such as happiness, surprise, anger, disgust, enjoyment, etc. Useful when related to a product or experience.
Physical movement	Observing how consumers move through physical spaces, such as retail stores and other public venues. Used for designing optimal spaces.
Response times	Measures how long it takes subjects to perform a task, exhibit a behavior or make a selection. Example 1: Observers may time how long a subject will wait in line before they become frustrated and complain. Example 2: Observers may time how long it takes a subject to select a detergent. Longer response times may mean brand is not a factor and could signal a very competitive environment where packaging and price are comparable. A quicker decision may mean the subject is a brand loyalist, not concerned about price - or that packaging is more compelling.
Spatial behavior	Observing the personal space between individuals as well as the space between individuals and items. A closer proximity may signal higher levels of engagement.
Verbal statements	Examining verbal interactions between subjects or between subjects and various personnel (such as in customer service situations). Useful for understanding customer service issues.

For each of the following research objectives:

1. Choose at least two observable phenomena that you would look for when conducting an observational research study in order to help address the research objective.
2. Explain HOW you would observe and record the phenomena: (1) unobtrusive observation or visible observation and (2) direct observation or contrived observation. Explain why these options are the best fit for this study.

Project A

Client:Pawnee Parks & Recreation

Research Objective: Pawnee, Indiana Parks & Recreation is tasked with designing a new park. They are interested in which playground equipment should be placed in the park as well as how to space out the equipment. To help address the research objective, you will perform observational research at the current parks in the area to see what currently works and doesn't work.

Project B

Client:J. M. Smucker Company

Research Objective: J. M. Smucker Company manufactures jellies and jams. Sparked by increased competition, they are interested in examining consumer behavior in the fruit spread aisle to help determine if there is a need for a labeling change or different marketing tactics.

Project C

Client:Wal-Mart

Research Objective: Wal-Mart is interested in determining how to best re-design the layout of departments throughout the store. You suggest an observational study to help understand how customers currently navigate through the store to find merchandise.