Methodology - the research
For those of you that are interested in my research methodology this section will be useful in gathering information about what I know and how I know it. Essentially this research project is a collection of stories, opinions and ideas about character within 2nd hand shopping in two shops in Leuven, Belgium.
The information on this site is taken from interviews that I conducted “in the field” over a period of one month. I wanted to get to the heart of why people shop at SPIT and Eco-Shop, what draws them to certain items and overall why they shop 2nd hand. This research is in no way presenting statistical data and/or demographic information on who shops at these two shops. Although I do find it interesting to conduct a quantitative analysis of the people who shop 2nd hand, it was not my objective in this particular research.
I found that my personal interactions with my participants helped form the core of this research; therefore I have kept a very personal approach throughout my analysis and my writing. I also recognized that there were many aspects about myself that I had to think about before and during the construction of this research project. First and foremost is the fact that I am a foreigner and I don-t speak Dutch (although I did try and I believe my attempt gained me some extra credit points!) Although, it is a fact that the majority of the people I talked with speak English, I recognize that this influenced my research to an extent. Second is the fact that although I shop more than 90% of the time in 2nd hand stores, this is a choice that I make and most of the time it is not out of necessity.
There are other small issues that impacted this project, such as the limited time frame that I had (roughly three months) and the limited resources (I am a working student with no car). Despite all these complexities, I was still able to meet and interview many people and get important insights into why they shop 2nd hand. Essentially, what I claim to know is just that. I am not presenting generalized information about these people and I am not making claims on their behalf.
As for the actual research process, I developed a two-part approach where initially I presented the customers (who had purchased at the time I was “on-site”) with what I call an interview map, a document that looks much like a questionnaire. This interview map was in both English and Dutch and there were six multiple-choice questions about their 2nd hand shopping patterns and four written questions, asking about their purchases that day and why they chose them. The second part of the process was an interview with those particular customers that could speak English. Therefore at the bottom of the “interview map” I included a question, asking if they spoke English and if they were willing to answer a few more questions in detail about their purchases. About half the people, who answered the interview map, spoke English and were able to talk more fully about their purchases and the reasons they shop 2nd hand.
About the website
This website is a small portal into the dimensions of character within 2nd hand shopping. I am presenting different voices and representations of 2nd hand shoppers at both SPIT and Eco-Shop. I am not presenting an observable reality and/or empirical data about 2nd hand shopping. I have constructed my own theory from these interviews that I have presented it in the “theoretical analysis” page but you can develop your own analysis from their profiles in the “meet the shoppers” page.
This website is built to bring together particular elements in a story, therefore you can skim through it as you like. There is no linear progression or one way to go through it. I actually encourage you to skip around a bit. I have left the floor open for comments on my methodology and theoretical analysis page and I would appreciate any thoughts and/or constructive comments so I can learn from what I have done. We are always learning and improving ourselves and the best way to get guidance is to ask for it!