Guided and photographic tours are a form of participatory methods, used to give outsiders inside information about key locations, as well as understanding conflicting ‘emotional- phenomenological experiences’ (Bendiner-Viani 2005). A deductive approach was taken, with the participant being instructed to identify, and document ways that food was marketed and whether this influenced their desire to dine at that restaurant. The tour was in the form of a transect walk, thus it was systematic and pre-planned, spanning Ecclesall Road, from Hunters Bar to the city centre end. Ten restaurants along Ecclesall Road were used to observe marketing techniques, and how it can change. The premeditated restaurants of interest were chosen because of key features that made them stand out based upon the marketing, including using televisions, advertisement boards and photos in the windows. The tour was performed on a weekday evening between 18:00 and 19:00 to ensure the restaurants were open for business, giving the participant an insight to how successful the marketing was.
Whilst on the tour, a number of observations were made, however the most obvious was that there were high levels of marketing …show more content…
The participant was obliged to listen to the opinion of the researcher in some instances, which may intimidate the participant. The problem of bias was alleviated slightly by the close researcher: participant relationship, as the participant was not hesitant in offering their own opinions. Another aspect of bias that was created from the tour was in the design process. As the sites were predetermined, based upon what the researcher felt was of interest, this gave the participant little power, as many restaurants were ignored. This skewed the results of the tour as only those restaurants that were marketing to a high or unusual degree were
Whilst on the tour, a number of observations were made, however the most obvious was that there were high levels of marketing …show more content…
The participant was obliged to listen to the opinion of the researcher in some instances, which may intimidate the participant. The problem of bias was alleviated slightly by the close researcher: participant relationship, as the participant was not hesitant in offering their own opinions. Another aspect of bias that was created from the tour was in the design process. As the sites were predetermined, based upon what the researcher felt was of interest, this gave the participant little power, as many restaurants were ignored. This skewed the results of the tour as only those restaurants that were marketing to a high or unusual degree were