PROBLEMS OF RESEARCHING CONSUMERS ON SENSITIVE ISSUES – SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE EXAMPLE OF EMULATORY BEHAVIOR

The purpose of this article is to present specific character of so called ‘sensitive research’ on the example of studies on consumers’ emulatory behaviour, since we argue here that for respondents an imitation represents a sensitive topic. The paper is aimed at presenting particular methodological difficulties encountered in such studies and at discussing possible solutions to these problems. The reflections are based on literature studies, author's experience in researching similar subjects and some chosen results of the primary research conducted by the author, referring among others to imitation in consumers’ behaviour. The research was conducted in the form of a personal interview in autumn 2010 on a nationwide sample of 1,200 people. Some results of this study prove e.g. that there are differences between respondents’ statements when projective and direct questions are used, so the researcher should find a way to interpret the divergent data. The article leads to a conclusion that such sensitive research projects as studies on imitation need specific approach, use of special measurement techniques as well as cautious interpretation of their results.