Can We Reduce Childhood Obesity in the Community? A qualitative Perspective that Discusses the Barriers and Strategies to Childhood Obesity within Miles Platting and Newton Heath.
Childhood Obesity. Poverty. Education. Barriers. Strategies. Recommendations.
Childhood obesity (CO), which can have long-term negative health issues, has increased dramatically over the last thirty years. Given this, NHS Manchester has commissioned this study, with a particular focus on the Manchester boroughs of Miles Platting and Newton Heath, due to the high rates of CO in those areas, to explore the relevant dynamics involved, understand the barriers to healthier eating/lifestyles and derive strategies to combat CO. A semi-structured interview style was utilised, with healthcare professionals. Within these interviews, the healthcare professionals commented on their experiences of CO within their job roles and what they believe to be the barriers for parents to be for CO. Their thoughts based on parents' experience with CO were formed due to working with parents and discussing these barriers with them. It was found that a child's home life massively impacts the likelihood of a child's obesity, with parental education, motivations and poverty playing significant roles, along with a parent’s lack of skills, knowledge, money, and time. Based on these factors, strategies are discussed that have been successful or unsuccessful previously, as well as ideas for future strategies. Based on these findings, it is suggested that collaboration between the different services offered within the Manchester area offers scope for improvement, while strategies to help reduce CO need to focus on a ‘show and tell’ aspect whereby individuals receive immediate support, such as having access to healthy food, while gaining the practical skills to help them create a sustainable change, such as learning how to cook or budget. These strategies are discussed about the general community and specific goals for NHS Manchester to increase the likelihood of healthier lifestyles being adopted.
Sample Nine people participated in the current study. Each of these participants were healthcare professionals over the age of 18. The term ‘healthcare professionals’ was a broad term for anyone in a professional capacity who dealt with CO in their job role. The initial participants were recruited from the contacts of the NHS Manchester Local Care Organisation, and then a snowball sample from these initial participants. The job roles presented in this sample included a business manager for a school, a school meal supervisor, a GP nurse, a bursary manager, and an array of service workers for the local community in different services, such as the Healthy Weight Team in Manchester. Each participant worked within Manchester, specifically Miles Platting and Newton Heath. Design and Materials Ethics Data collected in this qualitative study was reviewed and approved by the Faculty of Science and Technology Ethics Committee at Lancaster University (see Appendix A). All the participants were provided with information about this study and knew their ethical rights, such as the right to withdraw, confidentiality, and data protection. Procedure The initial participants were introduced to the researcher via email by a Manchester Local Care Communication member. Once this introduction had taken place, communication about the research and the arrangement of the interviews were discussed between the researcher and the participant through email. After completing their interview, these participants introduced the researcher to their other contacts through email (snowball sample). Email was the primary contact method for each participant and the recruitment process. Each interview was an online semi-structured interview, lasting between 30-60 minutes. The online software used was Microsoft Teams, which facilitated the discussion, recorded it and created a transcript. Due to the limitations of the software, the audio and visual information of the Microsoft Teams Meeting would be recorded. Therefore, the participants were informed of this limitation before the recording and asked if they would like to turn their cameras off. While the interview was ongoing, a discussion guide and prompts for further elaboration on their answers were used. Footnote The initial methodology planned to include interviews with parents who had children at a primary school age. However, the logistics, timing and lack of engagement made this impossible, meaning no parents were included in the sample. Due to this, a parental perspective from the viewpoint of healthcare professionals was asked in the interviews. The viewpoint was informative due to these healthcare professionals' interactions with the parents, which provided insight into parents' thoughts about CO. However, this is from a secondary source, so an element of accuracy needed to be considered.
An exploration of the psychological mechanism and effectiveness behind the co-creation process in advertising, based on the ‘Co-create by Sharp’ method.
Keywords: Co-creation, advertising, psychology, behaviour
Scholars have referred to co-creation as the interaction between firms and stakeholders to create value. Co-creation for product innovation and campaign delivery is a growing trend in today’s competitive market due to a demand for consumer-centric communication and product development strategies. Even when traditional research techniques are relevant for evaluating brand messaging, they are considered backwards looking. Traditional research techniques (e.g., interviews, questionnaires, focus groups) rely on companies’ terms rather than the customer’s domain, limiting stakeholders to only react to market offers instead of cooperating to build them. The application of co-creation techniques does not replace reactive research but is the new next step to building brand and campaign strategies. The Sharp Agency developed ‘Co-create by Sharp’, a co-creation methodology that aims to build campaign and brand strategies with a higher value of insight than other approaches. According to The Sharp Agency, their unique approach to co-creating ideas with stakeholders has demonstrated effectiveness in their clients’ performance (i.e., 400% of revenue increase, 33% growth speed, and 19% spending increase). However, the method lacks information that supports its efficacy, more specifically, an exploration of the perceptions of people involved in their co-creation methodology (i.e., co-creation participants, Sharp team members, and Sharp’s commissioning clients). This report aims to identify the presence of plausible psychological theories that could support the ‘Co-create by Sharp’ methodology. Accordingly, this study intends to explore the dynamics, perceived effectiveness, and limitations of the ‘Co-create by Sharp’ methodology through a series of individual interviews with the people involved in the process. The researcher worked as an intern in the Sharp Agency, and a qualitative experimental design was used to investigate the research objective. Three types of interviews were conducted to understand the ‘Co-create by Sharp’ process from its main perspectives: Co-creation participants, Sharp team members, and Sharp’s commissioning clients. Findings indicated that the ‘Co-create by Sharp’ method is supported by a specific psychological mechanism explained by Self-Determination and Implicit Self-esteem theories. Based on these theories, interviewees’ perceptions of co-creation suggest that the ‘Co-create by Sharp’ methodology generates participant engagement in brand co-creation. According to the literature reviewed, participant engagement increases the level of insight in co-creation outcomes. As a result, this report has determined that the ‘Co-create by Sharp’ methodology produces a chain of benefits that begins with psychological benefits and brand-self connection, resulting in higher campaign delivery effectiveness. In conclusion, the ‘Co-create by Sharp’ methodology appears to be supported by a psychological mechanism that motivates participants to co-create in developing campaign strategies and brand building. Moreover, co-creating with stakeholders as a next step to gathering data with market research techniques could increase customer value in campaign delivery.
The researcher worked as an intern in the Sharp Agency to better understand the company’s way of work and the ‘Co-create by Sharp’ method. The internship allowed the researcher to be involved in various steps of the co-creation method: 1) Attend co-create sessions and observe participant behaviour (see Appendix K and Appendix L). 2) Develop post-co-create decks of information, including sessions’ outputs. 3) Participate in strategic brainstorming sessions. 4) Collate evidence of the final results of messaging and visuals for campaign delivery. A qualitative experimental design was used to investigate the research objectives and provide answers to research questions. Three types of interviews were conducted with different participant profiles, including co-creation participants, Sharp team members and Sharp clients. Interview sessions lasted between twenty and thirty minutes, using a pre-determined discussion guide for each interview and received ethical approval. Interviews were designed to gather insights about co-creation perceptions from every person involved in the process. A qualitative design allowed interviewees to express freely their co-creation experience with The Sharp Agency. Considering the research aimed to explore people’s attitudes, it would not have been appropriate to use a quantitative method. Instead, a qualitative design allowed for gathering a spectrum of people’s observations and feedback. Sampling Representative sampling was used to obtain results that reflect each participant’s profile perspective. Interviewing involved five participants from the latest co-creation sessions moderated by Sharp, seven Sharp team members with roles involved in different stages of the co-creation process (including founders of the ‘Co-create by Sharp’ method), and three company commissioning clients that represent market leader companies (i.e., Medical Protection Service, Barbour ABI, and Lonza). Considering that Medical Protection Service (MPS) and Lonza are part of the healthcare industry and Barbour ABI provides data and intelligence to the construction industry, these companies manage technical language and require higher accuracy of message delivery. (Ekiyor & Altan, 2021; Mokhtariani et al., 2017). This project received ethical approval under the auspices of the Lancaster University Psychology Department (see Appendix M). Participants gave informed consent using a consent form sent and signed via e-mail (see Appendix B). Participants were additionally provided with a debrief sheet, including contact details, should they have further questions (see Appendix C). Materials Interviews were regulated using three discussion guides (see Appendix E, Appendix F, and Appendix G). These were devised based on the objectives of the investigation set collectively with Sharp. Each discussion guide responded to a specific question based on participants’ profiles (co-creation participants, Sharp team members, and commissioning clients. Participants were encouraged to elaborate on their answers as much as possible. When conducted virtually, interviews were recorded using the current version of Microsoft Teams, and in person, interviews were recorded using Apple’s Voice Memo app. Research Procedure Participants were introduced to the researcher by The Sharp Agency and invited to participate in a scheduled interview via Microsoft Teams or in Sharp’s headquarters in the case of Sharp team member participants. The interviewer followed a discussion guide that began with questions that allowed participants to introduce themselves and warm up to the conversation. It concluded with questions that aimed to obtain the most robust responses. For further analysis purposes, interviews were transcribed using the Otter.ai software.
Advertising, Behavioural Science and Ethics: perspectives on the commercialisation of cognitive biases
Advertising, Behavioural Science, Behavioural economics, Ethics
Increasingly, behavioural science in the form of behavioural economics is being utilised to increase the effectiveness of advertising communications. The practice of using known cognitive biases and lapses in rational thinking to help sell products and services prompts ethical considerations. Whilst sparking some passionate, albeit small debate, research has not included the voice of the intended target, the general public. The aim of this research was to provide an open and sensitive forum in which the public could share their ideas surrounding the use of behavioural economics with the intention of detecting the perceived ethical boundaries, fairness in their implementation, and ultimately possible resolutions. In exploration of this topic, five interviews and two focus groups were conducted to discuss these increasingly pressing issues. Despite judged as unfair in advertising, behavioural economics was seen as an unavoidable reality in the fabric of the advertising landscape, although the public seek increased transparency and information regarding the specific techniques being utilised, while requesting little from advertisers themselves. The public also take special consideration of vulnerable groups of individuals who might be particularly susceptible to such tactics, a conversation which whilst incredibly important, hitherto has not been discussed, consequently contributing valuable insight into the literature concerning consumer protection. Future avenues for research may seek to address professionals in the industry, as personal insight may lead to richer, nuanced ideas that could lead to realistic and actionable solutions. Additionally, research could involve discussion of other potentially invasive techniques, such as data tracking, and how these techniques may combine to construct a psychological and technological sphere of influence and what sort of provisions can be made to empower the consumer.
Participants Overall, 14 participants took part, encompassing a wide range of ages to collect a broad set of opinions (range 21-62, mean 34 years, five males, eight females, one non-binary). Five participants were individually interviewed, with two focus groups taking place afterward. A breakdown of the participants can be found in Table 1, in Appendix A. All were residing within Britain and were therefore familiar with British advertising. Due to the nature of the research, recruitment was achieved via opportunity and snowball sampling, to ensure those participating would be comfortable in sharing their private thoughts and their time. Materials A discussion guide was developed in order to assess the public’s views on the issues considered in this research’s objectives, comprising of open-ended questions that can be seen in Appendix C. Although following an inductive framework for analysis, this was not strictly adhered to in the formation of the discussion guide, a brief literature search was conducted prior to its development, as to provide some direction for rich and useful prompts. 15 The first section sought to break the ice, probe for ideas and assess the awareness that participants may have in relation to psychology in advertising. Then, they were informed through a short paragraph what behavioural economics in advertising would look like, in order that they understand the concept, parameters and focus of the research. The resulting feelings were explored. Sources for this explanatory paragraph encompassed academic journals (Kovic & Laissue, 2016) and quotes lifted from the website of ‘The Behavioural Architects’ (2022) (a leading behavioural science consultancy agency) in order to represent an accurate and unbiased picture of what behavioural economics is considered to encompass. Example ads were also included and shown to participants in order to foster understanding. There are 108 cognitive biases listed by Wikipedia, (Wikipedia, 2022) and this list is growing. In order to select the appropriate biases most relevant to advertising for the interviews and focus groups, examples were selected from ‘The Choice Factory’ (Shotten, 2018), a book authored by an industry professional to outline the most pertinent biases used in advertising, cross-referenced with the information pages of the ‘The Behavioural Architects’ who list the BE they actively employ in their consulting work (Behavioural architects, 2022). The biases chosen to be represented were Social Proof, Anchoring, Extremeness Aversion and Friction Removal. The questioning did not pertain to the ads specifically, but rather the techniques used. This can be seen in the discussion guide in Appendix C. For the specific ads chosen, in order to prevent bias and examples which may seem overly manipulative or benign, search terms were used. The bias name plus ‘advertising example’ was used and the first example that conformed to the bias and was a verifiable ad from the brand were selected. In order to probe the participants feelings about how their perceptions on the acceptableness of employing behavioural economics may 16 differ depending on the source of the ad, ads that used the same biases from charity organisations were specifically chosen to be presented alongside their for-profit counterparts. Procedure Ethical approval for the current study was obtained through the project supervisor and ethics partner at Lancaster University (Ethics Application can be seen in Appendix B). In line with this, all participants were provided with a copy of the participation information sheet, a consent form and finally a debrief upon session completion. Five individual interviews took place first to serve as a refining process to maximise the utility of the focus groups. These interviews took place online via Microsoft Teams to reduce friction to participation, allowing participants to select a time of their choosing within their own homes. Interviews were approximately an hour long, with some being extended with the permission of the participant if ideas still needed to be expressed toward the end of the allotted time. Video and audio were recorded, and participation was compensated with a £10 Amazon Gift Card. After the interviews, two separate focus groups were conducted, whereby the audio was recorded. The first focus group contained four participants, as a member dropped out, with the second containing the expected five participants. Refreshments were provided and both had a duration of approximately two hours. Although there was a discussion guide, the interviews and focus groups were semistructured to allow for flexibility and an adaptive approach. This was deemed necessary to reflect the exploratory nature of the questioning. The focus groups and the interviews were all solely conducted by the researcher. 17 Interviews and focus group recordings were subsequently transcribed and identifying information removed. Analysis To carry out the qualitative analysis, Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step framework for thematic analysis was followed: familiarising yourself with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the report. In the generating of codes, open coding was used, meaning due to the inductive nature of the research, there were no pre-set codes, but rather they were developed and modified throughout the process. The adoption of this approach was decidedly the most appropriate, as it is considered the most influential method in the social sciences due to widely established clear and practical parameters (Maguire & Delahunt, 2017). This type of analysis is also highly accessible to the public; Unlike numbers and figures, the average person can relate to the thoughts and feelings of others (Braun & Clarke, 2017). Being about the public and for the public, an accessible analytical method was essentia
Advertising, Behavioural Science and Ethics: perspectives on the commercialisation of cognitive biases.
Understanding the psychological, perceptual and emotional impact signage has on residents in a local community.
signage, placemaking, community engagement, qualitative research, community reputation
The placement of signage, street furniture and advertisements can have a profound impact on the appearance of a built environment. They play a vital role in shaping the cultural, physical and social identities that impact the perceptions that residents and other stakeholders hold towards local communities, which in turn impacts on behaviours. Adopting a qualitative approach, this study will examine the impact of signage and other visual features that can contribute to the psychological, perceptual and emotional impact that these elements can have on residents in a local community. A number of semi-structured interviews were conducted amongst residents in One Manchester property areas, One Manchester place officers and residents near these areas. Participants were shown a variety of visual images of signage and were prompted to discuss their emotional response and thoughts, and propose suggestions to improve signage. A thematic analysis was conducted using the interview data and indicated the following four themes: signage design, reputation, community engagement and impact of signage. Reflecting upon these themes, the results suggested that existing signage was psychically ill-fitted and visually dull, lacking positive influential stimuli and evocative colours and that it lacked the authenticity and character needed to emotionally resonate with passers-by. This negatively impacted the reputation of the communities, leading them to be categorised as economically poor with high crime rates, resulting in stakeholders feeling alienated and some fearful. The results highlighted that the signage needs to be revitalised as a part of a wider placemaking strategy to rejuvenate local environments, perceived to be run down. This should support the ongoing evolution of these areas and engage community members to instal signage that is both influential and reflects an overall collective vision.
Design Due to the need to gain an in-depth understanding of the psychological, perceptual, and emotional impact signage has on residents in a community and factoring in the Covid-19 pandemic, a qualitative approach was adopted consisting of semi-structured interviews. This style of interviews was considered the most suitable method as they provide rich data on the participant’s thoughts which are not constrained by the bounds of tick box exercises or strict discussion guides. They enable researchers to “assess, confirm, validate, refute, or elaborate upon existing knowledge and the discovery of new knowledge” (Mcintosh & Morse, 2015, p. 1). This enables the discussion between the moderator and participant to flow more smoothly and naturally (Roulston et al., 2003) yet, a flexible guide at the moderators disposal keeps the conversation on topic. Interviews in the project were conducted using Microsoft Teams and telephone communication. The data was then assessed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six step thematic analysis. Braun & Clarke’s (2006) six-steps thematic analysis: Familiarisation: Getting to know the overall data collected through re-reads of transcripts. Coding: Reducing sentences and phrases into small fragments of meaning or “codes”. Generating themes: Identifying patterns among codes. Review themes: Assuring that the meanings identified are relevant to the representation of data collected (research objectives). Define themes: Refine themes developed by establishing their essence and significance. Analysing themes: Highlight the frequency of themes and meanings derived from qualitative data analysis. Generate conclusions agreed-upon by all researchers. Participants A sample of 24 participants was originally agreed, however, only 14 participants were interviewed for the project. Participants were either recruited by One Manchester or the lead researcher from areas across south, east and central Manchester. Participants were made up of the following: Eight One Manchester residents Three One Manchester Place Coordinators who worked in specific patch areas Three Local residents living in areas where One Manchester own property The lead researcher conducted site visits around areas of Manchester, this was done so the lead researcher could physically inspect communities to identify signage which were used to aid the discussion guide. The sites visits were conducted in Rusholme, Openshawe and Clayton. Visiting these locations first to view all the signage, symbols and other visual features was invaluable both to generating stimulus material for the interviews and the discussion guides. The aim of the sample was to gain a diverse range of viewpoints from a variety of demographics across Manchester to generate a rich data. Participants were recruited from: Clayton, Droysden, Fallowfield, Gorton, Hulme, Openshawe, Rusholme and Whalley range. A £20 shopping voucher was put forward to incentivise participation in the study. Matierials Interview guide To obtain the most effective feedback from participants, a discussion guide was created, which provided a structured framework to guide discussions (See Appendix A, see Appendix B for discussed images). When formatting the discussion guide, the lead researcher took into consideration current literature on signage and sought to examine resident’s attitudes, perceptions and behaviours in connection to signage in their local community. The discussion guide was composed of four sections: Section 1: Was a general introduction to the subject area and participants’ current awareness of signage and other visuals in their area. Section 2: Heavily focussed on signage and other visuals gathered from site visits In all of the interviews, participants were shown the images in the order reflected in Appendix B, and they will be asked the same set of questions in relation to each image in order to generate an in-depth discussion on such images. One Manchester and the lead researcher agreed participants would not be informed figures 1-4 were the perceived negative images and figures 5-8 were the perceived positive images. Section 3: Focused on the future trajectory for signage and symbols. Participants were asked how their perceptions would be impacted if any of the discussed signage was placed in their areas now and in the future. Following this, participants were invited to share any recommendations into the designs of signage. Section 4: This was only for One Manchester residents. They were asked questions about One Manchester’s performance and potential future actions with their communities. The section was designed to give residents an active voice in how One Manchester can strengthen their relations with residents and enact positive change to protect the future of local communities. Each question in the discussion guide was designed to be open-ended, to allow participants to have a wider scope and openly share their opinions. The guide was configured to offer flexibility to discuss topics, therefore when required the lead researcher altered the order and wording of questions to maintain the natural flow of discussion with participants. Procedure Interviews were carried out between June and August 2021. Participants were requested to share their opinions around a variety of topics concerning how signage in local communities impact a resident psychological, perceptual and emotionally. Before embarking with interviews, participants were provided an information sheet outlining the study procedure, purpose, confidentiality and their right to withdraw at any time of the study’s duration. If participants accepted the conditions to being interviewed and part of the project, a time was then arranged to administer the interview at the convenience of the participant. Nine of the interviews were overseen through Microsoft Teams, the remaining five were facilitated by telephone at the request of the participants. Before proceeding with the interview, the lead researcher pointed out again the aims of the project and received verbal permission to go ahead with the discussion. Interviews were expedited using the discussion guide to ensure interviews remained structured whilst probing concepts tied to the research question. Attention was devoted to each interview to give participants adequate flexibility to discuss matters significant to them not included in the discussion guide. When required, to guarantee ample depth, follow-up questions and prompts were employed to stimulate participants to delve deeper on essential and intriguing answers (DeJonckheere & Vaughn, 2019). Field notes were developed during discussion, underlining both relevant and vital points, which enabled the researcher to refer to any major points and subsequently, assist them with data analysis (Rapley, 2004). As soon as all the questions had been completed, participants were promptly asked to share any other matters they deemed crucial. If participants were then satisfied with the feedback provided, the moderator would end the interview, and debrief participants about the study which was sent electronically. Discussions typically ranged between 30 minutes – 1 hour which were then all transcribed. Analysis As previously mentioned, Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six step thematic analysis was used to detect themes and patterns underpinning residents’ psychological perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards signage in local communities. To support Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis, a bottom-up analysis was utilised due to the project’s exploratory nature and this facilitates identification of themes that arise from consistent patterns within the data set. Firstly, after each interview was completed, the researcher instantly made notes of the key concepts and beliefs and then transcribed the discussion. To guarantee preciseness of the transcript and the lead researchers’ familiarity with the data content, audio recordings and transcripts were reviewed several times. Subsequently, the process to create codes began, the lead researcher analysed the data set and identified key extracts from the data on the basis of their significance and relevance which led to the creation of the codes. Thereafter, provisional themes were produced through a thorough examination of the coded data set, when shared patterns were discovered and judged to be similar or unified under a core notion. All codes were integrated into a central theme. From this, the provisional themes then were revised and reviewed to ensure the themes had remained articulated and unique. During this period, the coded excerpts linked to a core theme was re-examined to verify it could reinforce the central theme and they featured no inconsistencies with that theme (Braun and Clarke, 2006). By which time, a number of themes were either excluded or merged due the lack of sufficient data to uphold the theme. The procedure was repeated several times to consolidate relevancy of the themes to the research question whilst rigorously ensuring they mirrored the patterns found in the data set (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Ultimately, the final themes had been selected and a meticulous account of each theme was supplied. Once the thematical analysis process had been completed, extracts from the content were chosen to illustrate and support the relevant themes in the report
Does Advertising Truly Represent the LGBTQ+ Community? An Analysis of Intersectionality and Consumer Responses to LGBTQ+ Advertising
LGBTQ+ advertising, prosocial advertising, intersectionality, consumer attitudes
Depictions of sexual and gender minorities in advertising are becoming increasingly common and diverse. Yet, numerous intersections within these portrayals are still invisible. Previous research has found mixed results regarding consumer responses to LGBTQ+ identities in advertising. The current study aimed to obtain a further understanding into how a diverse range of consumers respond to heteronormative versus LGBTQ+ imagery in ads. This was assessed using semi-structured interviews to examine sexual and gender minority consumer (n = 13) and non-LGBTQ+ consumer (n = 6) reactions to three distinct IKEA ads. In addition to this, LGBTQ+ character depictions in 286 worldwide mainstream ads from 2016-2020 were analysed for measures of intersectionality across the dimensions of race, age and specific LGBTQ+ membership, extending the previous findings of Nölke (2018). Results indicated that non-LGBTQ+ participants showed similar responses and subsequent brand evaluation regardless of ad theme. Sexual and gender minority participants were found to show preference towards the ad featuring LGBTQ+ identities, though were often found to be sceptical of such portrayals. Intersectionality analysis uncovered that 47 out of a possible 96 intersections were completely invisible from 2016-2020, although representation of minorities within the community has increased substantially since the original findings. Results demonstrate the importance of character depictions in advertising, highlighting why intersectionality of such portrayals needs to increase in the future. Findings further denote how and why different consumers react to specific ad imagery, making recommendations to marketers regarding their inclusion of LGBTQ+ identities in advertising.
Participants The sample consisted of 19 participants aged between 18-53 at their time of interview; Mage = 23.5 years, SDage = 7.6. Of this sample, 13 participants stated that they identified as LGBTQ+ (2 White lesbian females, 1 Mixed-Race lesbian female, 2 White gay males, 1 Asian gay male, 2 White bisexual females, 1 Black bisexual female, 1 Asian bisexual male, 1 White transgender female, 1 White transgender male and 1 White transgender non-binary individual). A further 6 participants stated that they did not identify as LGBTQ+ (3 White males and 3 White females). Participants were recruited in a purposive manner through social media sites such as Instagram and WhatsApp and comprised mainly of acquaintances of the researcher. A high proportion of LGBTQ+ participants were utilised in an effort to ensure intersectionality of responses, which has been shown to provide a strong methodological framework within which to investigate underrepresented groups (Rodriguez, 2018). Design The study consisted of two distinct elements; semi-structured interviews and a content analysis of existing global advertisements that feature LGBTQ+ characters from 2016-2020. Semi-structured interviews were the chosen method of qualitative data gathering, as the style allows for analysis according to the basis of grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) and gives scope for probing questions to supplement the richness of answers given. The combination of quantitative (quantified content analysis) and qualitative research employed in the study through separate investigations was undertaken in attempt to provide a rigorous understanding of LGBTQ+ diversity in advertising and its effects upon observers. Interviews All participants individually took part in an in-depth semi-structured interview with the researcher over Microsoft Teams. Due to the inductive nature of the exploration, no independent and dependent variables were implemented. The research broadly assessed the following measures across populations in the sample: the importance of character depictions, prosociality views, representation significance, brand attitudes, and purchasing likelihood succeeding exposure to three IKEA advertisements. The same brand was used for all ads in order to eliminate brand biases. The order in which advertisements were shown to participants was random in an effort to counterbalance order effects. Each interview lasted for approximately 45 minutes. Ad Intersectionality This additional component of the study involved conducting a content analysis of all global advertisements that feature LGBTQ+ identities from 2016-2020. This design mirrored that initially used by Nölke (2018), continuing their longitudinal analysis of intersectionality in LGBTQ+ advertising depictions which scoped the years 2009-2015. Identical to the original study, the source for these ads was AdRespect (http://adrespect.org), a website which comprehensively includes any advertisement featuring LGBTQ+ inclusion from around the world. The independent variable was time, as adverts which aired within each individual year were grouped together. Dependent measures included counts of different intersectionality measures, an approach first used by Gopaldas & DeRoy (2015) in their intersectional analysis of Gentlemen’s Quarterly covers, and were further investigated by Nölke (2018). In the present study these measures consisted of age, race and specific LGBTQ+ membership. Measures Interviews The semi-structured interview completed by each participant was devised entirely by the researcher and involved seven different sections which addressed questions surrounding the significance of character portrayals in advertising. The interview primarily consisted of open-ended questions, though some close-ended questions were also asked where definitive answers were required. Questions often had multiple sub-questions within them in order to probe more detailed responses from participants. In total the interview asked 31 unique questions, with nine of these questions repeated three times (in sections four, five and six). The first section was an overview which told participants what the interview would entail whilst it also asked general ad watching questions to prime the interviewee for more detailed questions to follow. An example question from section one includes “would you say in general that you watch many ads?”. Section two was focused on the participant’s views towards representation in advertising, particularly focusing on LGBTQ+ representation and its significance to them. Example questions include: “if you are to view an advertisement that openly features LGBTQ+ identities, how would it make you feel?” and “do the character depictions in adverts matter to you? What characteristic(s) are most significant to you? Why is this?”. The third section addressed identity formation, asking interviewees questions about advertising from when they were growing up in an attempt to investigate the impact of negligible LGBTQ+ depictions in the past. It asked questions including: “Do you ever remember seeing LGBTQ+ identities in advertising when you were younger? How did this make you feel?”. In addition to this, it attempted to gain an understanding of how characters in advertising impact the formation of identity from a retrospective viewpoint. The subsequent three sections all asked the same set of questions to participants after showing them three different IKEA adverts in a random order (https://bit.ly/2VkBCQs), (https://bit.ly/3yHXouV) and (https://bit.ly/2WVyElD). All ads were published to mainstream audiences on television by IKEA within the past two years and were matched closely in terms of length. The first ad (Ads of Brands, 2020) titled ‘next generation’ featured only heteronormative White characters, within a nuclear family unit. It was selected as it acted as a non-representative example which showcased very little intersectionality and no LGBTQ+ identities. The second ad ‘change a bit for good’ (IKEA UK, 2021) displayed identity neutral robots who attempt to tackle climate change. This ad acted as a control for participants, as it still addresses a prosocial topic whilst portraying no identifying elements of its characters. The final ad ‘be someone’s home’ (IKEA USA, 2020) showed a wide variety of diversity across intersections within the LGBTQ+ community, which functioned as an inclusive example to interviewees. Questions asked after exposure to each ad included items assessing the participant’s attitude towards the brand, their subsequent purchasing intentions and the believed importance of the identities portrayed. Example items include: “after watching this ad, would you feel more or less inclined to spend money with IKEA? Why is this?” and “do you believe the identities shown in the ad are important to others? Why do you think this?”. The last component of the interview asked participants about their general spending behaviour, brand evaluation and concluding questions about how LGBTQ+ visibility in advertising makes them feel. Sample items include: “would seeing an ad that positively depicts someone similar to you make you value the brand more? How come? Would this also make you more likely to buy?” and “is there anything that you would like to change in modern advertising? Less of something? More of something? Why?”. Ad Intersectionality Coding Scheme. The present study followed the coding scheme of Nölke (2018), but chose to exclude class as a coding dimension, due to an absence of representation in this area. The coding dimensions analysed within the study were LGBTQ+ membership, age and race. Each portrayal was coded across all three dimensions. LGBTQ+ Membership. Items within this dimension were coded accordingly: ‘lesbian female’, ‘gay male’, ‘bisexual’, ‘trans-female’ (MtF) which included drag queens, ‘trans-male’ (FtM) and ‘gender neutral/non-binary’. Nölke (2018) did not code gender neutral or non-binary identities due to the absence of such portrayals. The current study implemented this additional measure as it saw the need to recognise the additional membership which is becoming increasingly prevalent in modern depictions. Transgender depictions were either explicitly labelled as such within the ad, overtly presented (for example, in terms of top-surgery scarring) or for celebrity depictions, publicly accessible data on their identity was used. Gender neutral/non-binary coded characters were either stated as such within the ad, their gender was indiscernible, or in celebrity cases, publicly available information on their identity was again utilised. Age. Based upon Gopaldas & DeRoy’s (2015) scheme, age was determined by estimations to the nearest multiple of five based upon observation. The following codes were used: “teen” (aged 13+), “young adult” (20+), “middle-aged” (35+) and “mature” (50+). Race. The race of characters was coded according to visual appearance, language and ad text. Codes included “White”, “Black”, “Asian” and “Latinx”. It is important to note that these terms differ from those used by Nölke (2018), in accordance to APA’s guidance on inclusive language regarding racial and ethnic identity (American Psychological Association, 2019). Procedure Ethical approval for this study was acquired through the project supervisor and ethics partner at Lancaster University, as the proposed research was deemed low risk. Interviews Participants were each given an electronic information sheet, consent form and short demographic questionnaire which included LGBTQ+ membership status questions to complete through Qualtrics (https://www.qualtrics.com). To ensure participants were comfortable, all questions in this form were optional to answer. After consent was obtained, participants were contacted to arrange a suitable interview date and time, which was conducted via Microsoft Teams. During each interview, the researcher asked questions according to the interview schedule in a semi-structured manner. These interviews were recorded and transcribed for analysis. Throughout the interviews, participants were reminded that they did not need to answer any questions that they did not want to and that they were free to leave at any point should they wish. Any identifying data was removed during transcription to maintain participant confidentiality. After interviews had finished, all participants were sent a debriefing form via email. Ad Intersectionality Ad Selection. Ads published between 2016-2020 on AdRespect were selected according to the same principles utilised by Nölke (2018). To begin, the 531 ads submitted to AdRespect during the years 2016-2020 were evaluated. AdRespect states the audience in which each ad was published to and those that were exclusively published to LGBTQ+ audiences were excluded from analysis. Additionally rejected from analysis were ads where the character’s LGBTQ+ status was not evident, ads that showed no explicit depiction of people and ads for non-profit organisations. This exclusion criteria left 284 ads. As AdRespect is a crowdsourced platform, a further search for ads that met the inclusion criteria was conducted across the internet in case any were left out by the online database. This search found a further two ads, producing a total of 286 ads within the final dataset. These ads were then coded according to the dimensions of age, race and LGBTQ+ membership. Ads were coded for every LGBTQ+ portrayal shown, thus often multiple characters were displayed within each ad and were analysed per individual depiction. Analysis Qualitative Analysis of Interviews After transcription, all interviews were analysed through inductive thematic analysis due to the exploratory nature of the research (Braun & Clarke, 2006). This process adhered to their six phases of analysis: familiarization of the data, initial code generation, theme search, theme review, defining and naming themes and report production, which allowed the researcher to identify the themes that underpin consumer responses and attitudes towards LGBTQ+ portrayals. This analysis was conducted through NVivo 12 qualitative data analysis software. Quantitative Analysis of ad Intersectionality Quantitative analyses of the dataset were conducted through collation of codes ascribed to portrayals across time. The depictions were summarised across intersectional and unidimensional measures according to which year they belonged to. This was analysed as a singular project as well as comparatively against the original findings from Nölke (2018), which allowed to researcher to demonstrate how portrayals of the LGBTQ+ community in advertising have transformed from 2009-2020. In addition to the researcher, a secondary coder was randomly assigned 25 ads from the dataset in order to test inter-rater reliability, which stood at 100% across all coding dimensions.
Qualitative analysis has no relation. Content analysis extends the work of Nölke (2018)
Design Due to the need to gain an in-depth understanding of the psychological, perceptual, and emotional impact signage has on residents in a community and factoring in the Covid-19 pandemic, a qualitative approach was adopted consisting of semi-structured interviews. This style of interviews was considered the most suitable method as they provide rich data on the participant’s thoughts which are not constrained by the bounds of tick box exercises or strict discussion guides. They enable researchers to “assess, confirm, validate, refute, or elaborate upon existing knowledge and the discovery of new knowledge” (Mcintosh & Morse, 2015, p. 1). This enables the discussion between the moderator and participant to flow more smoothly and naturally (Roulston et al., 2003) yet, a flexible guide at the moderators disposal keeps the conversation on topic. Interviews in the project were conducted using Microsoft Teams and telephone communication. The data was then assessed using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six step thematic analysis. Braun & Clarke’s (2006) six-steps thematic analysis: Familiarisation: Getting to know the overall data collected through re-reads of transcripts. Coding: Reducing sentences and phrases into small fragments of meaning or “codes”. Generating themes: Identifying patterns among codes. Review themes: Assuring that the meanings identified are relevant to the representation of data collected (research objectives). Define themes: Refine themes developed by establishing their essence and significance. Analysing themes: Highlight the frequency of themes and meanings derived from qualitative data analysis. Generate conclusions agreed-upon by all researchers. Participants A sample of 24 participants was originally agreed, however, only 14 participants were interviewed for the project. Participants were either recruited by One Manchester or the lead researcher from areas across south, east and central Manchester. Participants were made up of the following: Eight One Manchester residents Three One Manchester Place Coordinators who worked in specific patch areas Three Local residents living in areas where One Manchester own property The lead researcher conducted site visits around areas of Manchester, this was done so the lead researcher could physically inspect communities to identify signage which were used to aid the discussion guide. The sites visits were conducted in Rusholme, Openshawe and Clayton. Visiting these locations first to view all the signage, symbols and other visual features was invaluable both to generating stimulus material for the interviews and the discussion guides. The aim of the sample was to gain a diverse range of viewpoints from a variety of demographics across Manchester to generate a rich data. Participants were recruited from: Clayton, Droysden, Fallowfield, Gorton, Hulme, Openshawe, Rusholme and Whalley range. A £20 shopping voucher was put forward to incentivise participation in the study. Matierials Interview guide To obtain the most effective feedback from participants, a discussion guide was created, which provided a structured framework to guide discussions (See Appendix A, see Appendix B for discussed images). When formatting the discussion guide, the lead researcher took into consideration current literature on signage and sought to examine resident’s attitudes, perceptions and behaviours in connection to signage in their local community. The discussion guide was composed of four sections: Section 1: Was a general introduction to the subject area and participants’ current awareness of signage and other visuals in their area. Section 2: Heavily focussed on signage and other visuals gathered from site visits In all of the interviews, participants were shown the images in the order reflected in Appendix B, and they will be asked the same set of questions in relation to each image in order to generate an in-depth discussion on such images. One Manchester and the lead researcher agreed participants would not be informed figures 1-4 were the perceived negative images and figures 5-8 were the perceived positive images. Section 3: Focused on the future trajectory for signage and symbols. Participants were asked how their perceptions would be impacted if any of the discussed signage was placed in their areas now and in the future. Following this, participants were invited to share any recommendations into the designs of signage. Section 4: This was only for One Manchester residents. They were asked questions about One Manchester’s performance and potential future actions with their communities. The section was designed to give residents an active voice in how One Manchester can strengthen their relations with residents and enact positive change to protect the future of local communities. Each question in the discussion guide was designed to be open-ended, to allow participants to have a wider scope and openly share their opinions. The guide was configured to offer flexibility to discuss topics, therefore when required the lead researcher altered the order and wording of questions to maintain the natural flow of discussion with participants. Procedure Interviews were carried out between June and August 2021. Participants were requested to share their opinions around a variety of topics concerning how signage in local communities impact a resident psychological, perceptual and emotionally. Before embarking with interviews, participants were provided an information sheet outlining the study procedure, purpose, confidentiality and their right to withdraw at any time of the study’s duration. If participants accepted the conditions to being interviewed and part of the project, a time was then arranged to administer the interview at the convenience of the participant. Nine of the interviews were overseen through Microsoft Teams, the remaining five were facilitated by telephone at the request of the participants. Before proceeding with the interview, the lead researcher pointed out again the aims of the project and received verbal permission to go ahead with the discussion. Interviews were expedited using the discussion guide to ensure interviews remained structured whilst probing concepts tied to the research question. Attention was devoted to each interview to give participants adequate flexibility to discuss matters significant to them not included in the discussion guide. When required, to guarantee ample depth, follow-up questions and prompts were employed to stimulate participants to delve deeper on essential and intriguing answers (DeJonckheere & Vaughn, 2019). Field notes were developed during discussion, underlining both relevant and vital points, which enabled the researcher to refer to any major points and subsequently, assist them with data analysis (Rapley, 2004). As soon as all the questions had been completed, participants were promptly asked to share any other matters they deemed crucial. If participants were then satisfied with the feedback provided, the moderator would end the interview, and debrief participants about the study which was sent electronically. Discussions typically ranged between 30 minutes – 1 hour which were then all transcribed. Analysis As previously mentioned, Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six step thematic analysis was used to detect themes and patterns underpinning residents’ psychological perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards signage in local communities. To support Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis, a bottom-up analysis was utilised due to the project’s exploratory nature and this facilitates identification of themes that arise from consistent patterns within the data set. Firstly, after each interview was completed, the researcher instantly made notes of the key concepts and beliefs and then transcribed the discussion. To guarantee preciseness of the transcript and the lead researchers’ familiarity with the data content, audio recordings and transcripts were reviewed several times. Subsequently, the process to create codes began, the lead researcher analysed the data set and identified key extracts from the data on the basis of their significance and relevance which led to the creation of the codes. Thereafter, provisional themes were produced through a thorough examination of the coded data set, when shared patterns were discovered and judged to be similar or unified under a core notion. All codes were integrated into a central theme. From this, the provisional themes then were revised and reviewed to ensure the themes had remained articulated and unique. During this period, the coded excerpts linked to a core theme was re-examined to verify it could reinforce the central theme and they featured no inconsistencies with that theme (Braun and Clarke, 2006). By which time, a number of themes were either excluded or merged due the lack of sufficient data to uphold the theme. The procedure was repeated several times to consolidate relevancy of the themes to the research question whilst rigorously ensuring they mirrored the patterns found in the data set (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Ultimately, the final themes had been selected and a meticulous account of each theme was supplied. Once the thematical analysis process had been completed, extracts from the content were chosen to illustrate and support the relevant themes in the report.
Qualitative analysis has no relation. Content analysis extends the work of Nölke (2018). Nölke, A. I. (2018). Making diversity conform? An intersectional, longitudinal analysis of LGBT-specific mainstream media advertisements. Journal of Homosexuality, 65(2), 224-255.