Types of experiments

Now, we had some kind of examples to show you. One example, we did a laboratory, for example, we did video, we did virtual reality, actually maybe eye tracking. They’re in the lab, which is lab setting. When people come here, they know we are doing a study and in the lab setting, doing that just like in the science lab, they use the mouse to do it as if in the lab.

In the field experiment, which means in the real field, neuro marketing is a case, because they did that experiment in the real situation, because they travel, people have tour visit in Singapore for each activity, in swimming pool, in the hotel, in Chinatown, eating Chinese food, maybe in the museum, in the zoo. So that’s all the different field they get data from the participants. That’s field experiment. The last one is natural experiment. That’s the best one, but it’s the most difficult one. Because it’s very hard to control it. Even you said the neural marketing in that case is very good. Yes, I agree. It’s a very good study, very scientific. But for these participants, they still know, I’m been testing.

They wear the device. I see some people watch me, some people collect the data from me. There’s still some kind of limitation for that study. But natural experiment will be the best one, but it’s very hard. It’s very hard, particular for some condition is really hard to control. They are three different types of experiment from the laboratory, from the field, from natural experiments. And I’m not going to go into all the details. Probably you can look at itself, see what kind of experiment. For example, the first one type of environment for laboratory is artificial. For the field is natural experiment but participants, they know they are participants in the study.

For natural experiment in which participants own natural environment, that’s also next only involvement of independent variables and control of dependent variables, and cost and effect and so on. That is about three types of experiment study, laboratory, field and natural. Probably some people say, well, this is quite challenging. Yes, it’s challenge. Because you have to have some device, you have to have some equipment, and you have to do something with other scientists together. Because why? Because that is some kind of interdisciplinary study, even for the virtual reality. Also, I can do that by myself, because I have some people to develop the code, the color code, the hues code, and the brightness code.

Then create the environment, so that is something that we really need some collaboration among different fields together to do study. Now this one, Vignettes. Vignettes would probably be not very popular. Vignettes which means if we use simple words, we quite often use, we call it scenario-based study, SBSs, which means, usually we use an illustration in words, just like a short case, like short stories, like paragraph things, and tell people the story, tell people the situation. Then based on that written expression, you respond. That is probably easier, than the one we did before, because you do need to have some special device or equipment.

This one is based on words description, and response and we ask people to read that description, respond the questions about their perception of value, social norm or interpersonal or whatever to respond. That’s three main purposes, which means you can use it. One is to allow actions in context to be explored to clarify people’s judgment, and to provide a less personal, and therefore less threatening way of exploring sensitive topics. Because it’s not about you, they are based on the scenario, and ask your opinion. That is vignettes. Actually, it’s popularly used by today’s research in hospitality and tourism. In a survey research within a question, describe the event will happen in circumstances or other scenarios and ask people to respond.

They’re feeling, sometimes particular when people read the last scenarios, and then they are provided with a survey questionnaire and asked to report based on the scenario. That is the case, but also scenario, we encourage people do the scenario with manipulation, which means you not only create a one scenario, and you create a few different scenarios with a different controlled and assigned group. That would be better study. Then only pride one scenario, ask people to respond. This is one of the examples done by one of our doctoral student Dr. Yinghua Huang. And she did a study based on the scenarios which happened when you travel.

I think you look at this picture, if you are not fortunate, probably you’re one of them. Flight cancelled, Flight delayed. sometimes because the weather conditions, sometimes because the human error, sometimes because of a maintenance problem. That’s all different things happen. Facing that kind of situation, how people’s response, People’s response, which means how travelers respond, and also the same time how company which is airline responds for that kind of situation. So, she did a two times three times two study, which is about twelve different scenarios. It’s quite a lot based on the three variables. One is compensation effect, which means when there can happened situation, how airline compensated to the travelers. Then she used two conditions.

One is no compensation, one is compensation. That’s two. The second is in the middle one. One is interpersonal communication effect, which means if there things happened and how airline communicates with the travelers, First one is no action, which means nothing. Second one is apology, which means I apologize. I’m sorry for the delay cause of your inconvenience. And we’re so bad because of the weather, we don’t have any kind of sound. That’s number two. Number three, we call it downward social comparison. And this is probably a word not quite familiar to some of you. What do we mean is the downward social comparison. For example, I go towards the airline service people.

I say I have been here for three hours, but still nothing happened Then the responses from the airline company say you have three hours？ You see that passenger? He has stayed here five hours, which means the social comparison, compare you with other people, which means you shut up. Because some people stay here for hours. They’re still here. This is another kind of interpersonal communication effect. That’s two times three. The last one looks for responsibility, which means who is responsible for the delay or cancellation. It’s caused by weather or caused by airlines, which is the human error, maybe maintenance sometimes or always we found out the crew members not here. That is something (in this study).

This is about two times three times two totally about twelve situations. She created twelve scenarios with each individual combination, then she assessed the travelers’satisfaction level , patronage and negative wordmouth. So that’s how she did that study and using simple the word, we call it vignette, which means the word description about the situation. That is the study that she did a good job. Of course, it took her a lot of time because if I have twelve conditions, if in each group you have ten people, you need one hundred twenty people. If fifty, there are six hundred participants. That’s a lot of operation challenges for that study. But she did a great job, she tried to create a scenario.

And she tried to assess people’s responses, and they’re feeling their experience.