Ethnography in business: listening answers and explanations
A lecturer explains ethnography, a research method that studies how human cultures work, and how businesses use it. Five case studies follow, from measuring cups to airline passengers, and then the principles that make this research different.
Ten gaps in order. The first comes in the definition. The five examples are introduced by their setting (kitchen equipment, Uganda, computer companies, hospitals, an airline). 'Let's look at some of the general principles' starts the last block, 37-40.
Answer key and self-check
Type what you wrote and hit mark. Hide the key first if you haven't done the part yet. Every question number jumps to its explanation.
How to attack this block: The example headings in the notes are your map: listen for the setting, then for the problem the researchers noticed. In the principles section, each answer comes with a contrast to ordinary research ('not just a questionnaire', 'not on the collecting').
Question 31
Answer: attitudeWhen the lecturer asks 'So what's it got to do with business?'
Also accepted: attitudes
Besides customer needs, what can businesses find out about?
ethnography can offer them deeper insight into the possible needs of customers, either present or future … providing valuable information about their attitudes towards existing products
Question says → You hear
investigate customer needs andthe possible needs of customers … their attitudes towards existing products
Why: Ethnography gives insight into customers' needs and information about their attitudes to existing products. Attitude or attitudes are both accepted.
The trap: New designs come next, but they're already in the second bullet point of the notes.
Question 32
Answer: numbersFirst example, the kitchen equipment company
What couldn't cooks easily see in measuring cups?
had numbers inside them, the cooks couldn't see these easily
Question says → You hear
could not easily see thethe cooks couldn't see these easily
Why: The cups had numbers inside, and 'these' refers back to those numbers. Plural, to match.
The trap: Contents is said just before ('check and recheck the contents'), but the cooks could see the sugar or flour. The problem was reading the numbers.
Question 33
Answer: timeSecond example, cell phones in Uganda
Also accepted: minutes
What did phone customers in Uganda want to check?
Because these customers paid in advance for their calls, they were eager to know how much time they'd
Question says → You hear
wanted to check the ... usedthey were eager to know how much time they'd
Why: Having paid in advance, they wanted to know how much time they'd spent on the call so far. 'Eager to know' matches 'wanted to check'. Minutes is also accepted.
The trap: Money is what the customers paid, and it's the obvious guess. The recording says time, and the phones were redesigned to show it.
Question 34
Answer: softwareThird example, computer companies
What needed to be developed to help system administrators communicate?
So the, team came up with an idea for software that would help them to do this.
Question says → You hear
a need to develop ... to improve communicationan idea for software that would help them to do this
Why: The administrators had no standard way of sharing information, so the team designed software to help. 'This' is the communicating with colleagues.
The trap: Spreadsheets are mentioned just before as the kind of information being shared. They're the problem, not the solution.
Question 35
Answer: patientsFourth example, nurses in hospitals
What did nurses need information about?
the nurses needed to access the computer records of their … patients, no matter where they were
Question says → You hear
access information about ... in different parts of the hospitalaccess the computer records of their … patients, no matter where they were
Why: 'Computer records of their patients' becomes 'information about patients'. 'No matter where they were' matches 'in different parts of the hospital'.
The trap: Records fits the meaning but not the gap: the notes say 'information about', so you need what the records were about.
Question 36
Answer: emotionsFifth example, when the lecturer says research can be done where researchers aren't present
Also accepted: feelings
What did airline respondents record during their trips?
respondents used their smartphones … in study aiming at tracking the emotions of
Question says → You hear
Respondents recorded information about theirtracking the emotions of
Why: The study tracked passengers' emotions during the flight, recorded on their own smartphones. Emotions or feelings are both accepted.
The trap: Smartphones are how they recorded, and trips are when. Neither is the information itself.
Question 37
Answer: incomeWhen the lecturer talks about choosing participants
Apart from age and product used, how might participants be selected?
or the researchers may select … them according to their income, or they might try to find a set of people who all use a particular product
Question says → You hear
selected by criteria such as agethe age bracket they fall into
Why: Three criteria, in the same order as the notes: age bracket, income, a product they use. The gap is the middle one, income.
The trap: 'Age bracket' and 'product' both come up, but they're already printed in the notes.
Question 38
Answer: comfortableWhen the lecturer says it's crucial to recruit the right people
How must participants feel about taking part?
they have to be comfortable talking about themselves
Question says → You hear
must feel ... about taking partthey have to be comfortable talking about themselves
Why: 'Have to' matches 'must', and they need to be comfortable talking about themselves and being watched. Comfortable is the adjective that fits 'feel'.
The trap: The lecturer adds that people 'open up pretty easily', but that isn't a feeling and doesn't fit the grammar.
Question 39
Answer: observationWhen the lecturer says what makes this research special
What kind of direct research of participants is usually done?
it's not just a matter of sending a questionnaire to the participants, instead the research is usually based on … observation of what they are doing at the time
Question says → You hear
usually direct ... of the participantsusually based on … observation
Why: The research is based on first-hand observation. 'First-hand' becomes 'direct' in the notes, and the noun is observation.
The trap: Questionnaire is the alternative being rejected. Interview comes next, but that's the following line in the notes.
Question 40
Answer: analysisWhen the lecturer says the researchers' work isn't finished after they leave
What do researchers spend most of their time on?
of their time is spent not on the collecting of data but on its analysis
Question says → You hear
A lot of time is needed for the ... of the datanot on the collecting of data but on its analysis
Why: 70 to 80 per cent of their time goes on analysing the data, not collecting it. 'The ... of the data' needs a noun: analysis.
The trap: Collecting is said first, as the activity that takes less time. Transcribing comes later as one example of analysis work.
The customers paid in advance, so it's tempting to write money or cost. What they wanted to check was how much time they'd spent on the call. Minutes is also accepted.
The note says participants must feel something about taking part. The lecturer says they must be comfortable talking about themselves and being watched. 'Open up' comes after and is not the answer.
Researchers spend 70 to 80 per cent of their time not on collecting data but on its analysis. Collecting is said first and is the wrong half of the contrast.
Words from this recording worth keeping
insight(Introduction)
a deep understanding of something
entrepreneurs(Cell phones)
people who start and run their own businesses
portable(Hospitals)
easy to carry around
hypothesis(Principles)
an idea to be tested by research
criteria(Principles)
standards used to make a choice
age bracket(Principles)
a range of ages, such as 20 to 30
imposing(Principles)
forcing your own views on someone
compelling(Principles)
very convincing and interesting
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The full Cambridge 11 Test 3 listening paper with the real audio: all four parts, played once, marked the moment you finish. Already done it? Take it again and listen for the traps this page showed you.
Cambridge IELTS 11, Test 3, Listening Part 4. The recording, transcript and questions belong to Cambridge University Press and are not reproduced here. We quote short extracts of the transcript only as evidence for our own commentary, and the answers are published for self-marking. Get the book for the full material, or sit the test on Langujet.
