On October 18th 2020, Naoko Okawachi, founder & CEO of IDEAFUND Co., Ltd. conducted a research presentation about ‘Fieldwork on Data’, at the annual conference of J-MAC.

■Title

Big data unraveled in cultural anthropology: Discovery of “the elderly becoming like bachelors” by fieldwork of action log

■Presenter

Naoko Okawachi

■Summary

Mathematical and statistical approaches are the mainstream for utilizing big data, but in this research, we will explore a new methodology that applies anthropological fieldwork. We report the methodology and the insights gained from their application.

Collection of qualitative data in cultural anthropology is usually possible only through fieldwork that presupposes simultaneity with informants. On the other hand, in this study, we attempted anthropological fieldwork on big data by using the huge behavior log of consumers as a field. There are three types of data we used: 1)　consumer attribute data 2)　purchase history data 3)　media contact history data

For one year’s worth of these data, fieldwork was conducted in the same way as cultural anthropologists live with informants for one year and unraveled their lifestyles and values.

As a result, we found people who live a life that is different from the traditional image of the elderly. We call them “the elderly becoming like bachelors”. They have high Internet literacy and coupon-sensitivity (use of several payment services according to the coupons rate) and prioritize their hobbies and stay up late or eat snacks without cooking.

■URL

http://www.j-mac.or.jp/poster/dtl.php?ps_id=241

Contact info: info@ideafund.co.jp