Capturing the User Mindset – Using the Online Research Community Method in Packaging Research

The rapid development of Web 2.0 technology has enabled new types of online research methods. The collective intelligence of online communities or ‘crowds’ can be harnessed to contribute actively to bodies of knowledge, work or value by means of crowdsourcing. This paper presents a case study of using a crowd‐based research method, more specifically, an online research community (ORC) for collecting information, user experiences and ideas from a community of packaging users. We will discuss the benefits, challenges and opportunities that the method offers to packaging research. A total of 137 participants were recruited to a closed online platform, with 86 of them as active participants. The discussion topics and tasks were pre‐determined by the researchers, and new topics were introduced daily over a period of 13 days. The discussions were moderated in order to keep them on topic and to propose additional questions when required. The platform suited well for gathering user information, feedback and insights on various packaging designs and development topics. The case study also demonstrated that the ORC method can provide valuable insights on usability, packaging communication, consumer behaviour and user experiences. The research yielded rich data, even on such a complex issue as the relation of packaging to food loss prevention. The method can be employed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data from a crowd. However, answers provided by individual participants may remain less grounded and less rich in detail than those elicited with other qualitative methods, such as interviews or focus groups. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.