Day 065 - 09 Dec 94 - Page 64
1 complete tatters if they gave weight to their client's
2 vested interest?
3 A. I think it would be for MORI to do that. MORI
4 certainly do not do that.
5
6 Q. Nobody would think of employing a bunch of academics at
7 Leeds University to carry-out a piece of research if they
8 thought that every time the research came out people were
9 going to say, "Well, you cannot believe a word of this
10 because so and so has paid for it"?
11 A. Whether it is a question of who has paid for it or what
12 are the serious flaws in it, then there are serious
13 criticisms that can be made of this research.
14
15 Q. Tell us what they are, please?
16 A. One of the major criticisms that has been levelled
17 about this research is it relies on family members being
18 able to articulate their views and beliefs about
19 decision-making and food choices.
20
21 Q. Can you say that again? I did not catch it.
22 A. The technique that was used in this particular study
23 relied on family members being able to articulate their
24 views and beliefs about decision-making around food.
25
26 Q. Can you pause there? The criticism is that it relied on
27 family members being able to articulate their views and
28 beliefs about decisions around food; is that right?
29 A. Yes.
30
31 Q. Pause there.
32 A. If I can go on?
33
34 Q. No, please, that is one -----
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause; everyone is talking at once.
37
38 MR. RAMPTON: If you want to add something afterwards.
39
40 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause, please.
41
42 MR. RAMPTON: Is that in itself a criticism of the way this
43 research has been conducted?
44 A. What I was going on to say is that this is a technique
45 which may be fine as far as it goes, but the problem with
46 this kind of technique is it does have severe limitations.
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think Ms. Dibb was going on to say why she
49 thought that.
50 A. Yes, I was and I am happy to do that. I am trying to
51 tell you why. It has severe limitations because it will
52 not necessarily reflect behaviour. It is what people
53 think. Quite often, there is a huge difference between
54 what people think they do and what they actually do will
55 necessarily bring out influences about which respondents
56 may be less cognisant. Advertising is very much likely to
57 be an influence about which respondents may be less
58 cognisant. When asked people like always to emphasise
59 their automony. They want to be seen and believed they are
60 the people making decisions about their lives. It is human
