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L. Veelaert et al.
5.3 Methodology
5.3.1 Procedure
In order to provide an answer to the proposed research question, a mobile survey was
prepared to collect the required data on material perception and consumer personality. This mobile survey consisted of two parts. First, members of the consumer
panel were invited to participate in the first part through their account on the mobile
survey application. They were shown a short introductory movie with subtitles that
introduced them to the amount of materials of the products that we see and touch in
our daily life. Afterwards they were asked to prepare themselves for the second part
by looking for daily consumer products made in (hard) plastic materials that would
either fit—or not fit at all—with their personality.
Second, respondents were asked to upload a picture or photograph of a plastic
product that they use in everyday life that fits with their personality and self-identity.
In addition, in two open ended questions, they were asked to describe the material(s)
it is made of and explain why it fits with their self. This was repeated for a product
that did not fit at all with their personality.
Third, respondents were asked to score five brand personality items on a five-point
Likert scale, based on Aaker (1997), Geuens et al. (2009): Responsibility, Activity,
Aggressiveness, Simplicity, Emotionality.
5.3.2 Respondents
195 respondents participated in a mobile survey that was conducted in collaboration
with a consumer panel company. The average age of the respondents was 29 years
(σ = 10), ranging from 16 to 61 years, and 106 respondents were male, 73 were
female and 16 undefined. Regarding the validity of the respondent’s submissions,
depending on the question, at least 173 valid inputs were recorded.
5.3.3 Processing
Demographic data such as gender and age were collected in an Excel file through
the consumer panel database and were used for descriptive analysis. This data was
complemented with the uploaded pictures, the descriptions of the respondents, and
their scores on the brand personality scales.
Next, a content analysis (Erlingsson and Brysiewicz 2017) was chosen as a flexible
method to analyse text-based results, and to transform qualitative data into more
quantifiable data. A group of five design researchers determined a set of categories
based on the overall answers for both the material descriptions and fit descriptions,
L. Veelaert et al.
5.3 Methodology
5.3.1 Procedure
In order to provide an answer to the proposed research question, a mobile survey was
prepared to collect the required data on material perception and consumer personality. This mobile survey consisted of two parts. First, members of the consumer
panel were invited to participate in the first part through their account on the mobile
survey application. They were shown a short introductory movie with subtitles that
introduced them to the amount of materials of the products that we see and touch in
our daily life. Afterwards they were asked to prepare themselves for the second part
by looking for daily consumer products made in (hard) plastic materials that would
either fit—or not fit at all—with their personality.
Second, respondents were asked to upload a picture or photograph of a plastic
product that they use in everyday life that fits with their personality and self-identity.
In addition, in two open ended questions, they were asked to describe the material(s)
it is made of and explain why it fits with their self. This was repeated for a product
that did not fit at all with their personality.
Third, respondents were asked to score five brand personality items on a five-point
Likert scale, based on Aaker (1997), Geuens et al. (2009): Responsibility, Activity,
Aggressiveness, Simplicity, Emotionality.
5.3.2 Respondents
195 respondents participated in a mobile survey that was conducted in collaboration
with a consumer panel company. The average age of the respondents was 29 years
(σ = 10), ranging from 16 to 61 years, and 106 respondents were male, 73 were
female and 16 undefined. Regarding the validity of the respondent’s submissions,
depending on the question, at least 173 valid inputs were recorded.
5.3.3 Processing
Demographic data such as gender and age were collected in an Excel file through
the consumer panel database and were used for descriptive analysis. This data was
complemented with the uploaded pictures, the descriptions of the respondents, and
their scores on the brand personality scales.
Next, a content analysis (Erlingsson and Brysiewicz 2017) was chosen as a flexible
method to analyse text-based results, and to transform qualitative data into more
quantifiable data. A group of five design researchers determined a set of categories
based on the overall answers for both the material descriptions and fit descriptions,