Tea and DIY – Objectives of the study
While the study was conducted in a relatively informal manner, it had a number of clear objectives and followed professional data collection procedures. An interview protocol was designed to elicit the following types of information:
- Demographic details of informants and information about their homes
- DIY material purchasing
- Decision making regarding DIY, colour choice etc.
- Motivation for DIY and attitudes to 'nestbuilding' – to allow classification of types of DIYer
- Type of DIY currently being undertaken
- Breaks during DIY and the role of tea
Sampling and procedure
Appropriate permissions were obtained to interview customers outside Focus/DoItAll and Homebase stores in Oxford, Didcot, Warwick and Leamington Spa. Over 400 potential informants were approached by researchers. Of these, 140 were assessed as being relatively inexperienced in DIY and fitted the required 'first-time DIYer' category. These individuals were invited to participate in an interview lasting between 10 and 30 minutes. Material from interviews with these subjects was subsequently coded and formed the primary data.
