AU2015101408A4

AU2015101408A4 - Method, system and computer program for recording online browsing behaviour

Info

Publication number: AU2015101408A4
Application number: AU2015101408A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Jordan Alexander Wayne Thomas
Original assignee: Beehaviour Net Pty Ltd
Current assignee: Beehaviournet Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2015-09-28
Filing date: 2015-09-28
Publication date: 2015-11-05
Anticipated expiration: 2023-09-28

Abstract

Disclosed is a method, system, computer program, respondent processing system and server processing system for determining and understanding the reasons behind online browsing behaviour. In one aspect, the respondent processing system is configured to: receive an indication of a start of a browsing session based upon respondent interaction with a browser extension interface of the browser extension; record and transfer, to a server processing system, browsing data indicative of one or more URLs associated with the browsing session; detect, during a browsing session, a trigger event associated with a webpage associated with the browsing session; present, via an output device of the respondent processing system and in response to a positive detection, one or more questions received from a server processing system; receive, via an input device of the respondent processing system, one or more answers to the one or more questions; receive an indication of an end of the browsing session based upon respondent interaction with the browser extension interface; and transfer, to the server processing system, an indication that the browsing session ended and the one or more answers. -4/15 Indicate start of 410 browsing session Record and transfer 420 browsing data Detect trigger event 430 Present question(s) in response to detected 440 trigger event Receive and store 450 answers to question(s) Indicate end of browsing 460 session Transfer end of session 470 and answers to server

Description

- 1 METHOD, SYSTEM AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR RECORDING ONLINE BROWSING BEHAVIOUR Field of Invention [0001] The present invention relates to market research and more specifically a method, system, computer program, respondent processing system and server processing system for recording online browsing behaviour for one or more respondents. Background [0002] Market research agencies regularly receive requests for research proposals from end-clients, who are trying to understand what their target markets are doing online and why. Current online behaviour-mapping technologies and methodological research processes provide an isolated picture of either the 'how' or the 'why'. [0003] Clients and researchers alike have to use a considerable amount of assumptions and guesswork to pull together data and research reports relating to online 'journeys to purchase' or 'digital ethnography' studies. This is because the majority of web based tracking does not provide enough individual insight (cookie-based tracking), or is conducted in an artificial research setting where moderators watch a respondent browse the internet from the same physical room. [0004] Not being able to link robust quantitative behavioural data with the rich qualitative 'why based data' (without major biases) means the tailoring of websites, communications and online marketing will always be limited, in what can be achieved. [0005] There is therefore a need to alleviate one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages or provide a useful alternative. Summary -2 [0006] In a first aspect there is provided a method for recording online browsing behaviour for a respondent of a respondent processing system, wherein the method includes: receiving, at the respondent processing system, an indication of a start of a browsing session based upon respondent interaction with a browser extension interface of a browser extension associated with a web-browser; recording and transferring, to a server processing system, browsing data indicative of one or more webpages associated with the browsing session; detecting, during the browsing session, a trigger event associated with one of the webpages of the browsing session; presenting, via an output device of the respondent processing system and in response to a positive detection, one or more questions received from the server processing system; receiving, via an input device of the respondent processing system, one or more answers to the one or more questions; receiving, at the respondent processing system, an indication of an end of the browsing session via respondent interaction with the browser extension interface; and transferring, from the respondent processing system to the server processing system, an indication that the browsing session ended and the one or more answers. [0007] In a second aspect there is provided a computer program for configuring a respondent processing system for transferring online browsing behaviour for a respondent for recordal, wherein the computer program is a browser extension associated with a web browser including executable instructions which configure the respondent processing system to: receive an indication of a start of a browsing session based upon respondent interaction with a browser extension interface of the browser extension; record and transfer, to a server processing system, browsing data indicative of one or more webpages associated with the browsing session; detect, during a browsing session, a trigger event associated with one of the webpages of the browsing session; -3 present, via an output device of the respondent processing system and in response to a positive detection, one or more questions received from a server processing system; receive, via an input device of the respondent processing system, one or more answers to the one or more questions; receive an indication of an end of the browsing session based upon respondent interaction with the browser extension interface; and transfer, to the server processing system, an indication that the browsing session ended and the one or more answers. [0008] In a third aspect there is provided a respondent processing system for facilitating recordal of online browsing behaviour for a respondent, wherein the respondent processing system is configured to: receive an indication of a start of a browsing session based upon respondent interaction with a browser extension interface of the browser extension; record and transfer, to a server processing system, browsing data indicative of one or more webpages associated with the browsing session; detect, during a browsing session, a trigger event associated with one of the webpages of the browsing session; present, via an output device of the respondent processing system and in response to a positive detection, one or more questions received from a server processing system; receive, via an input device of the respondent processing system, one or more answers to the one or more questions; receive an indication of an end of the browsing session based upon respondent interaction with the browser extension interface; and transfer, to the server processing system, an indication that the browsing session ended and the one or more answers. [0009] In a fourth aspect there is provided a system for recording online browsing behaviour for a respondent, wherein the system includes: a respondent processing system configured according to the first aspect; and a server processing system, in communication with the respondent processing -4 system, wherein the server processing system is configured to: transfer the one or more questions to the respondent processing system; receive and record, in the server accessible memory, the browsing data indicative of the online browsing behaviour for the respondent; and receive and record, in server accessible memory, one or more answers to the one or more questions. [0010] In a fifth aspect there is provided a server processing system for recording online browsing behaviour for a respondent, wherein the server processing system is configured to: receive, from the respondent processing system, an indication of a start of a browsing session based upon respondent interaction with a browser extension interface of a browser extension associated with a web-browser at the respondent processing system; transfer, to the respondent processing system, one or more questions to be presented to the respondent of the respondent processing system during the browsing session in response to detection of a trigger event; receive and store, from the respondent processing system, the browsing data indicative of the respondent's online browsing behaviour; receive, from the respondent processing system, one or more answers to the one or more questions; and receive an indication of an end of the browsing session based upon respondent interaction with the browser extension interface. [0011] Other aspects and embodiments will be appreciated throughout the detailed description. Brief Description of the Figures [0012] Example embodiments should become apparent from the following description, which is given by way of example only, of at least one preferred but non-limiting embodiment, described in connection with the accompanying figures.

-5 [0013] Figure 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of an example processing system that can be utilised to embody or give effect to a particular embodiment; [0014] Figure 2 illustrates an example network infrastructure that can be utilised to embody or give effect to a particular embodiment; [0015] Figure 3 illustrates a system diagram of an example system for recording online browsing behavior for one or more respondents; [0016] Figure 4 illustrates a flowchart representing an example method for determining online browsing behavior for one or more respondents; [0017] Figure 5 illustrates a more detailed system diagram for the system of Figure 3; [0018] Figure 6 illustrates an interface presenting details regarding a plurality of research projects for a researcher; [0019] Figure 7 illustrates an interface to enable the researcher to define parameters of an individual research project; [0020] Figure 8 illustrates an interface to enable the researcher to define a browsing session for a respondent to delete; [0021] Figure 9 illustrates a browser extension interface of the browser extension for the web-browser executing upon a respondent processing system; [0022] Figure 10 illustrates a menu presented via the respondent processing system to allow a respondent to indicate sentiment data in relation to an image of a webpage; [0023] Figure 11 illustrates a manipulated image of a webpage including heat map data; [0024] Figure 12 illustrates an interface to allow the researcher to manage respondents for a research project; -6 [0025] Figure 13 illustrates an interface to allow the researcher to define one or more post browse activities for respondents of a research project; [0026] Figure 14 illustrates an interface representing the presentation of one or more questions for completion by the respondent; [0027] Figure 15 illustrates an interface enabling a researcher to define mid-browse questions; [0028] Figure 16 illustrates an interface enabling a researcher to define pre-browse questions; and [0029] Figure 17 illustrates an interface enabling a researcher to define post-browse questions. Detailed Description of the Embodiments [0030] The following modes, given by way of example only, are described in order to provide a more precise understanding of the subject matter of a preferred embodiment or embodiments. In the figures, incorporated to illustrate features of an example embodiment, like reference numerals are used to identify like parts throughout the figures. Example processing system and network [0031] A particular embodiment can be realised using a processing system, an example of which is shown in Fig. 1. In particular, the processing system 100 generally includes at least one processor 102, or processing unit or plurality of processors, memory 104, at least one input device 106 and at least one output device 108, coupled together via a bus or group of buses 110. In certain embodiments, input device 106 and output device 108 could be the same device. An interface 112 also can be provided for coupling the processing system 100 to one or more peripheral devices, for example interface 112 could be a PCI card or PC card. At least one storage device 114 which houses at least one database 116 can also be provided. The memory 104 can be any form of memory device, for example, volatile or non-volatile memory, solid state storage devices, magnetic devices, etc. The -7 processor 102 could include more than one distinct processing device, for example to handle different functions within the processing system 100. [0032] Input device 106 receives input data 118 and can include, for example, a keyboard, a pointer device such as a pen-like device or a mouse, audio receiving device for voice controlled activation such as a microphone, data receiver or antenna such as a modem or wireless data adaptor, data acquisition card, etc.. Input data 118 could come from different sources, for example keyboard instructions in conjunction with data received via a network. Output device 108 produces or generates output data 120 and can include, for example, a display device or monitor in which case output data 120 is visual, a printer in which case output data 120 is printed, a port for example a USB port, a peripheral component adaptor, a data transmitter or antenna such as a modem or wireless network adaptor, etc.. Output data 120 could be distinct and derived from different output devices, for example a visual display on a monitor in conjunction with data transmitted to a network. A respondent could view data output, or an interpretation of the data output, on, for example, a monitor or using a printer. The storage device 114 can be any form of data or information storage means, for example, volatile or non-volatile memory, solid state storage devices, magnetic devices, etc.. [0033] In use, the processing system 100 is adapted to allow data or information to be stored in and/or retrieved from, via wired or wireless communication means, the at least one database 116 and/or the memory 104. The interface 112 may allow wired and/or wireless communication between the processing unit 102 and peripheral components that may serve a specialised purpose. The processor 102 receives instructions as input data 118 via input device 106 and can display processed results or other output to a respondent by utilising output device 108. More than one input device 106 and/or output device 108 can be provided. It should be appreciated that the processing system 100 may be any form of terminal, server, specialised hardware, or the like. [0034] The processing device 100 may be a part of a networked communications system 200, as shown in Fig. 2. Processing device 100 could connect to network 202, for example -8 the Internet or a WAN. Input data 118 and output data 120 could be communicated to other devices via network 202. Other terminals, for example, thin client 204, further processing systems 206 and 208, notebook computer 210, mainframe computer 212, PDA 214, pen based computer 216, server 218, etc., can be connected to network 202. A large variety of other types of terminals or configurations could be utilised. The transfer of information and/or data over network 202 can be achieved using wired communications means 220 or wireless communications means 222. Server 218 can facilitate the transfer of data between network 202 and one or more databases 224. Server 218 and one or more databases 224 provide an example of an information source. [0035] Other networks may communicate with network 202. For example, telecommunications network 230 could facilitate the transfer of data between network 202 and mobile or cellular telephone 232 or a PDA-type device 234, by utilising wireless communication means 236 and receiving/transmitting station 238. Satellite communications network 240 could communicate with satellite signal receiver 242 which receives data signals from satellite 244 which in turn is in remote communication with satellite signal transmitter 246. Terminals, for example further processing system 248, notebook computer 250 or satellite telephone 252, can thereby communicate with network 202. A local network 260, which for example may be a private network, LAN, etc., may also be connected to network 202. For example, network 202 could be connected with Ethernet 262 which connects terminals 264, server 266 which controls the transfer of data to and/or from database 268, and printer 270. Various other types of networks could be utilised. [0036] The processing device 100 is adapted to communicate with other terminals, for example further processing systems 206, 208, by sending and receiving data, 118, 120, to and from the network 202, thereby facilitating possible communication with other components of the networked communications system 200. [0037] Thus, for example, the networks 202, 230, 240 may form part of, or be connected to, the Internet, in which case, the terminals 206, 212, 218, for example, may be web servers, Internet terminals or the like. The networks 202, 230, 240, 260 may be or form -9 part of other communication networks, such as LAN, WAN, Ethernet, token ring, FDDI ring, star, etc., networks, or mobile telephone networks, such as GSM, CDMA or 3G, etc., networks, and may be wholly or partially wired, including for example optical fibre, or wireless networks, depending on a particular implementation. Example embodiments [0038] Referring to Figure 3, there is shown a system diagram representing a system 300 for determining online browsing behaviour for a respondent 311. [0039] In particular, the system 300 includes a respondent processing system 310 and a server processing system 320. The respondent processing system 310 is in communication with the server processing system 320 via a network such as the Internet. [0040] The respondent processing system 310 can download and install a computer program 315 provided in the form of a browser extension for a web-browser. The browser extension 315 includes executable instructions for configuring the respondent processing system 310 as described herein. In one form, the computer program 315 can be downloaded from the server processing system 320 although this is not essential. The server processing system has stored in memory one or more server computer programs 325 to configure the server processing system to perform the steps as outlined herein. [0041] The server processing system 320 and the respondent processing system 310 can be provided in the form of processing system 100 as described above. [0042] Referring to Figure 4 there is shown a flowchart representing an example method 400 for recording online browsing behavior for a respondent 311. [0043] In particular, at step 410, the method 400 includes receiving, at the respondent processing system 310, an indication of a start of a browsing session based upon respondent 311 interaction with a browser extension interface 900 of a browser extension 315 associated with a web-browser.

- 10 [0044] At step 420, the method 400 includes recording, in memory of the respondent processing system 310, and transferring to the server processing system 320 browsing data indicative of one or more webpages associated with the browsing session. [0045] At step 430, the method 400 includes the respondent processing system 310 detecting, during the browsing session, a trigger event associated with one of the webpages of the browsing session. [0046] At step 440, the method 400 includes presenting, via an output device of the respondent processing system 310 and in response to a positive detection, one or more questions received from the server processing system 320. [0047] At step 450, the method 400 receiving, via an input device of the respondent processing system 310, one or more answers to the one or more questions. [0048] At step 460, the method 400 includes receiving, at the respondent processing system 310, an indication of an end of the browsing session via respondent 311 interaction with the browser extension interface 900 of the browser extension 315. [0049] At step 470, the method 400 includes transferring, from the respondent processing system 310 to the server processing system 320, an indication of the browsing session having ended and the one or more answers to the one or more questions. [0050] Referring to Figure 5 there is shown a further system diagram of the system 300 for determining online browsing behaviour of a respondent 311. [0051] In particular, the system 300 can include a plurality of respondent processing systems 310 which are in communication with the server processing system 320. Each respondent processing system 310 can be operated by a respective respondent 311. It will be appreciated that whilst only a single server processing system 320 is depicted in Figure 5, it is possible that the server processing system 320 may be a distributed server processing system 320.

- 11 [0052] The system 300 also includes one or more researcher processing systems 330 in data communication with the server processing system 320 via a network such as the Internet. One or more of the researcher processing systems 330 can be operated by a respective researcher 331 such as a researcher of a research agency who are engaged by a client to determine online browsing behaviour for particular types of respondents. In additional or alternative embodiments, the researcher processing system 330 can be operated by a business who wishes to determine online browsing behaviour for particular types of respondents 311. [0053] The system and method enables researchers 331 to track, question, manage and analyse online behaviour of respondents 311 in real-time. The types of data that can be produced by the system and method are unique to this process, due to the amount of research biases and incorrect assumptions, currently plaguing the web analytics industry. The method and system allows researchers 331 to understand where the identifiable target audience browses, at what time, for how long and why. A majority of assumptions and guesswork are removed by: 1. Linking large scale quantitative identifiable behavioural data with live, in the-moment qualitative (open-ended question-answer) data within the technology platform and on a real-time basis. 2. Automatic presentation of pre-programmed questions which largely remove the research bias that exists with previous qualitative processes. [0054] The server processing system 320 of Figure 5 can additionally operate as a web server which hosts a website for allowing the researcher 331 to define particular project criteria for a research project. However, it will be appreciated that the web-server may be a different processing system associated with the server processing system 320. For the purposes of clarity, the examples herein will describe the server processing system 320 operating as the web-server. [0055] The researcher 331 can operate a web-browser executing upon the researcher processing system 330 to visit the website hosted by the server processing system 320, wherein respondent 311 details such as a username and password can be input by the - 12 researcher 331. Upon successful authentication, the server processing system 320 serves the researcher processing system 330 a research project home interface as shown in Figure 6. [0056] The research project home interface as shown in Figure 6 presents a summary of one or more current or completed research projects for the researcher 331. Furthermore, the research project home interface allows the researcher 331 to define a new research project, view the progress of current research projects in field, and access collected data associated with current or completed research projects. [0057] When the researcher 331 interacts with the research project interface, the researcher 331 can define for a new research project a respondent sample from the plurality of registered respondents stored in a server accessible data store such as a database 500. In one form, the researcher 331 can define one or more criteria for selecting one or more respondents 311 from the plurality of respondents 311 stored in the database 500 to participate in the research project. For example, as discussed above, particular respondents 311 may have registered with the server processing system 320 using an identifier (such as a project code) to indicate their participation in a particular new research project via a recruiter, wherein the researcher 331 can indicate that registered respondents 311 who registered using the identifier form part of the respondent sample for the new research project. Additionally or alternatively, demographic criteria may be selected by the researcher 331. Respondent's which satisfy the demographic criteria can be identified as forming part of the sample respondent group for the new research project. [0058] If an insufficient sample size has been defined by the researcher 331 for the new research project, the server processing system 320 may transfer a notification, via the research interface, to the respondent processing system 310 indicating that further respondents should participate in the new research project in order to obtain accurate and meaningful results. In one form, the server processing system 320 has one or more thresholds stored in memory which can be used to determine if an insufficient sample size has been defined for a new research project. In one embodiment, the server processing system 320 may suggest a modification to the criteria specified by the research agency - 13 defining the sample respondents, wherein an alternative set of criteria can be suggested based on the demographic data stored in the database 500 for the registered plurality of respondents, wherein the alternative set of criteria results in a respondent sample which satisfies the one or more thresholds. [0059] Upon selecting one of the research projects from the research project home interface, an individual research project interface is presented to the researcher 331 as shown in Figure 7. A progress bar is presented by the individual research project interface indicative of various milestones of a research project being completed. For example, the progress bar may include a plurality of hexagonal images which change colour from orange to green once 100% of the respective respondents involved in the research project have completed the respective stage of the project. In particular, regardless of the study selected, once 100% of respondents included in the study have downloaded the browser extension, the 'Download Application' hexagon will turn from orange to green. Once 100% of respondents have completed their first browsing session the 'First browse completed' hexagon will turn from orange to green. One of two algorithms may be used to affect the rest of the hexagonal progress bar (50%, 75% and 100%), dependent on whether the study programmed by the researchers , is a 'Journey to purchase' or 'Digital Ethnography' Study as shown in Figure 13. For a 'journey to purchase' study the hexagons take into account a minimum number of completed browsing sessions as well as the minimum number of minutes programmed in by the researcher. For example, if the researcher specifies a minimum of 6 browsing sessions and minimum number of 20 minutes, once the respondent has completed at least 3 sessions and 10.01 minutes' worth of browsing the 50% hexagon will turn from orange to green. If the respondent has completed 3 sessions but only 9 minutes that respondent won't be counted as having completed 50% of their project requirements. For 'digital ethnography' type studies, the algorithm is based upon total weeks respondent has been commissioned to take part in the study and minimum number of minutes. E.g. 4 week study and minimum of 30 minutes browsing as shown in Figure 13. It will be appreciated that an individual's progress can also be determined by viewing the 'Status' column on the Manage Respondents interface as shown in Figure 12.

- 14 [0060] The researcher 331 can define other project data fields for an individual research project as shown in Figure 7. For example, the researcher 331 can define a research project identifier, an end client for the research project (i.e. the entity which the research is being conducted), a research project name, a status indicator, and an account manager for the research project. [0061] As shown in Figure 7, further details for the individual research project can be defined by selecting various menus at the bottom of the individual research project interface. [0062] Selecting the program study menu allows for the researcher 331 to define the one or more questions to be presented to a respondent 311 as shown in Figure 13. For example, one or more questions can be defined (as to be asked) at the start of the browsing session, during the browsing session, and/or after the browsing session. Textual content of the one or more questions can be predefined by the researcher 331 which is then stored in the database 500 by the server processing system 320 for the research project. Other types of content for the one or more questions can also be predefined by the researcher 331. [0063] For at least some of the questions, a trigger event may be defined by the researcher 331. More specifically, questions which are presented during the browsing session can be defined by the researcher 331 to be presented in response to the browser extension detecting an associated trigger event. In the event that the browser extension executing upon the respondent processing system 310 detects the trigger event, the respective one or more questions are presented to the respondent 311 to complete with one or more answer input fields. [0064] It will be appreciated that the one or more questions defined by the researcher 331 for presentation at the start of the browsing session (herein 'pre-browse questions') and at the end of the browsing session (herein 'post-browse questions') can be presented to a respective respondent 311 in response to the respective respondent 311 interacting with the browser extension interface 900 to indicate the start and end of the browsing session respectively. Thus, the one or more pre-browse questions and the one or more post-browse questions are independent of the browsing data recorded for the respective respondent, and - 15 thus the one or more respective questions are presented to all respondents 311 of the sample when indicating the start and end of the browsing session. It will be appreciated that for some researchers 331, the research project may be defined without any pre-browse questions or any post-browse questions, thus no pre-browse or post-browse questions may be presented to each respondent 311 for such a research project. Figures 16 and 17 show an interface enabling a researcher 331 to define the text recorded in the database for pre browse and post-browse questions. [0065] As shown in Figure 15, the one or more questions defined for presentation during the browsing session (herein 'mid-browse questions') can have associated therewith one or more trigger events defined by the researcher 331 which are dependent upon the browsing data for the respondent 311. For example, one or more mid-browsing questions can be defined by the researcher 331 which are presented in response to detecting a trigger event of the respective respondent 311 visiting a specific webpage during the browsing session. Additionally or alternatively, one or more mid-browsing questions can be defined by the researcher 331 which are presented in response to detecting a trigger event indicative of the respective respondent 311 visiting a webpage having a URL that contains defined text (e.g. a webpage of having a URL including a specific domain name). Additionally or alternatively, one or more mid-browsing questions can be defined by the researcher 331 which are presented in response to detecting a trigger event of the respective respondent 311 leaving a specific webpage during the browsing session. Additionally or alternatively, one or more mid-browsing questions can be defined by the researcher 331 which are presented in response to detecting a trigger event indicative of the respective respondent 311 leaving a webpage having a URL that contains defined text (e.g. a webpage of having a URL including a specific domain name). Additionally or alternatively, one or more mid browsing questions can be defined by the researcher 331 which are presented in response to a period of time that the respective respondent 311 views any webpage (herein referred to as "dwell time") meeting or exceeding a dwell threshold (e.g. greater than or equal to 2 minutes). It will be appreciated that in the event that a plurality of mid-browsing questions are defined by the researcher 331, a combination of different trigger events may be defined for the plurality of mid-browsing questions.

- 16 [0066] As shown in Figure 13, the researcher 331 can additionally define one or more images of one or more webpages or URLs of one or more webpages which can be presented to the respondent 311 as a post browse activity to the respective respondents 311 of the respondent processing systems 310. The images or URLs can be stored in the database 500 by the server processing system 320. In the event that the researcher 331 inputs one or more URLs of one or more webpages rather than uploading one or more images of a webpage, the server processing system 320 can access each webpage and create a snapshot image of the webpage, wherein the image data representing the snapshot image is stored in the database 500 for the research project. As will be explained in more detail below, the images can be presented to each respondent 311 as a post-browse activity, wherein each respondent 311 is requested to indicate a sentiment (e.g. like, dislike) and/or provide comments in relation to portions of the image of the webpage. The server processing system 320 can then generate a manipulation of the image based on the sentiment data. In one form, the image is manipulated using a heat map image manipulation program which manipulates each image of the various webpages to include heat map data based on the sentiment data received. A switch interface element can be associated with each image to be presented to each respondent 311, wherein the researcher 331 can interact with the switch interface element via the respective input device to indicate whether the respective image should be presented as part of the post-browse activity. The researcher 331 can also define conditions which the post-browse activities are performed. Similarly to the mid-browse questions, the researcher 331 can define one or more conditions dependent upon the browsing data. For example, the one or more conditions associated with the presentation of the images can be based upon whether the browsing data is indicative of the respondent having visited a particular URL or a URL including particular text (such the domain name or a particular keyword). In the event of a condition being satisfied, the browser extension configures the respondent processing system 310 to present the post-browse activity in relation to the one or more images indicative of the one or more webpages. [0067] Furthermore, the researcher 331 can also define an incentive criteria defining requirements for each respondent 311 to be rewarded with an incentive, wherein the -17 incentive is provided to the respondent 311 upon the respondent data including the browsing data meeting the defined incentive criteria. For example, for a research project involving a journey to purchase study, the incentive criteria may be defined as a predefined number of browsing sessions the respondents 311 are to complete, or a minimum number of minutes browsed in total. In another example, for a research project involving a digital ethnography, the incentive criteria may be defined as a total number of weeks the study will take place over, a minimum amount of time spent browsing per week, and/or the total browse time per study. [0068] In the event that the researcher 331 selects the 'Manage Respondents' menu as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the server processing system 320 transfers a respondent webpage as shown in Figure 12 which is presented via the researcher processing system 330. The researcher 331 can select from a plurality of registered respondents 311 recorded in the database 500. The researcher 331 can provide criteria to select a portion of relevant respondents from the registered respondents 311 for use as the sample respondents. The researcher 331 can additionally or alternatively upload a group of respondent details to the server processing system 320, wherein the respondent details are stored in the database 500. The details may be stored in an Excel CSV file or the like which can be uploaded to the server processing system 320 which populates the various fields in the database 500 according to the uploaded file. Furthermore, the researcher 331 can define individual respondents 311 for the research project, wherein various details for the respondent can be input via the input device of the respondent processing system 310 and stored in the database 500 of the server processing system 320. For example, the respondent details can include first name, surname, username, password, company, gender, age, country, city, salary band, occupation, and the like. The researcher 331 also can select a button of the interface to delete selected respondents 311, wherein the server processing system 320 deletes a selected record from the database 500 according to the selection submitted by the researcher 331. [0069] Each respondent 311 for a research project is assigned a unique session identifier by the server processing system 320 which is stored in the database 500. The session - 18 identifier is indicative of a particular browsing session for the respective respondent 311. A status is also assigned by the server processing system 320 to a browsing session. When a browsing session is initially defined upon installation, the status is set to created. The server processing system 320 additionally generates for each respondent an authentication key which is a cryptographic hash of a current time and the session identifier. A cryptographic hash algorithm such as MD5 can be used by the server processing system 320. The authentication key is also stored in the database 500. The authentication key may be generated at the time of creating the record in the database 500 or at a later time such as at the time of installation of the browser extension 315. [0070] Once the research project has been defined with the server processing system 320, the researcher 331 can set the project to go live. Each respondent 311 can visit a webpage to download and install the browser extension 311. After installation, the respondent's browser is presented a finished installation webpage which results in the server processing system generating a cookie including the authentication key associated with the session identifier for the respondent 311. The cookie is transferred to the respondent processing system 310, wherein the authentication key is stored in non-volatile memory. [0071] Each respondent of the research project can interact with the browser extension interface 900 of the browser extension 315 to record and transfer respondent data including browsing data to the server processing system 320 for recordal in the database 500, be presented with one or more questions, input and transfer one or more answers to the one or more questions which are stored in the database 500, and input and transfer feedback in relation to images of one or more webpages at the end of the browsing session which is stored in the database 500 by the server processing system 320. [0072] More specifically, referring to Figure 9 there is shown a button 900 representing the browser extension interface of the browser extension. The button 900 depicts a record button which a respondent can select at the respective respondent processing system 310 to begin a browsing session. The browser extension interface of the browser extension 315 can change to a stop symbol indicating that the current browsing session is being recorded - 19 by the respondent processing system 310 configured according to the browser extension 315. [0073] A respective respondent 311 selects the record button 900 of the browser extension interface, the respondent processing system 310 configured by the browser extension 315 sends an indication of a start browsing session and the authentication key to the server processing system 320. The indication of the start of the browsing session can include data indicative of a browsing session number (i.e. the number of browsing sessions that have been completed by the respondent), browsing start time, browsing start day and browsing start date. Whilst the browsing start day and browsing start date can be treated as similar data, the browsing start day (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) is directly indicative of whether the session was completed on a weekday or weekend as browsing behaviour changes accordingly and thus this extra granularity assists the researcher. The server processing system 320 queries the database 500 to determine whether the authentication key was issued by the server processing system 320 and whether the status associated with the authentication key has been set to created. In the event of a positive determination, the status for the respective browsing record is set to started and data is transferred from the server processing system 320 to the respondent processing system 310 indicative of the one or more questions to be presented to the respondent (i.e. pre-browse question(s), mid-browse question(s) and post-browse question(s)), the one or more trigger events, and an address for the one or more images to be presented as post-browse activity. In the event that the status associated with the authentication key is not set to created upon the initial query however the authentication key was determined to be issued by the server processing system 320, the server processing system 320 generates a new browsing session record having a new browsing session identifier and new authentication key for the new browsing session for the respondent. The new authentication key is transferred to the respondent processing system 310 for storage in non-volatile memory. The data is also transferred to the respective respondent processing system 310 which is indicative of the one or more questions to be presented to the respondent (i.e. pre-browse question(s), mid-browse question(s) and post browse question(s)), the one or more trigger events, and an address for the one or more images to be presented as post-browse activity. After starting initialization, the respondent - 20 processing system 310 configured by the browser extension 315 does not request any further data from the server processing system 320 except for images in relation to the post-browse activity if required. The images can be cached in memory of the respondent processing system 310 for later retrieval. [0074] If pre-browse questions have been defined for the particular research project, the pre-browse questions are presented to the respondent 311 via the web-browser prior to the viewing various other webpages associated with the browsing session. The pre-browse questions may be presented in the form of an electronic form as shown in Figure 14. The answers provided by the respondent can be stored in a temporary table in a local database of the respondent processing system 310 for later transfer or can be transferred immediately upon submission to the server processing system 320. [0075] After the pre-browse questions have been completed, the browser extension 315 configures the respondent processing system 310 to listen for specific web page events that occur within the web-browser, such as loading and unloading a webpage. In particular, the browser extension 315 includes one or more listeners which listen for predefined events that can occur in response to a webpage such as loading a webpage, closing a webpage, etc. These events are not dependent upon the content of the webpage. The browser extension 315 additionally scans each web page loaded for one or more input elements and dynamically creates a listener for each identified input element to capture any respondent interaction with the identified input elements. For example, the browser extension 315 compares a list of predefined tags, such as HTML tags or the like, indicative of input elements (i.e. text input field, check box, radio button, etc.) against source code of the loaded webpage to identify the one or more input elements of the webpage. Upon identifying the one or more input elements of the webpage, the browser extension 315 dynamically creates a listener for each identified input element such that upon respondent 311 interaction with one of the input elements of the webpage, respondent interaction data can be captured for the browsing session (e.g. text inputted, selection, etc.). When a webpage is closed, the browser extension 315 can destroy the one or more dynamically created listeners. The generation of one or more dynamic listeners for input fields of each - 21 webpage loaded during a browsing session is highly advantageous as it provides additional insights into the browsing behaviour for the respondent 311 whilst dynamically adapting to the specific content being viewed by the respondent 311. [0076] Upon detecting a browsing event (i.e. visiting a new webpage, interacting with an input field, etc.) that is being monitored by the browser extension 315, the browser extension 315 can configure the respondent processing system 310 to record and transfer data associated with the monitored browsing event to the server processing system 320 for recordal in the database 500. The recorded browsing data can include various parameters. For example, the browsing data can be indicative of the URL for each webpage viewed or opened (i.e. in the background via another tab/window), an order of the webpages being viewed by the respondent during the browsing session, a time stamp for each webpage that was viewed, a path to each webpage, an active time viewed (e.g. total time webpage/ tab was being viewed), and/or total time tab open (e.g. total time tab was open, including when it was in the background). [0077] The recorded browsing data can be stored in the temporary database table in volatile memory of the respondent processing system 310. Each transfer of a portion of browsing data to the server processing system 320 can additionally include the authentication key for the started browsing session so that the server processing system 320 can record the browsing data in the appropriate browsing session record in the database 500. Some browsing parameters can also be determined or inferred by the respective respondent processing system 310 based on the browsing event data that is recorded. For example, timestamps recorded between sequential monitored events can be compared to determine a dwell time that the respondent 311 viewed a particular webpage associated with a URL of a previous recorded event. The dwell time can be recorded by the respondent processing system 310 as part of the browsing data prior to transfer to the server processing system 320 for recordal in the database 500. However, it will be appreciated that such parameters can be calculated at a later time by the server processing system 320 based on the recorded browsing events that are received by the server processing system 320.

- 22 [0078] For each browsing event that is recorded, the browser extension 315 configures the respondent processing system 310 to determine whether any mid-browse trigger event associated with one or more mid-browse questions have been satisfied. In response, a webpage including the one or more mid-browse questions are presented prior to presentation of the next webpage for the browsing session as shown in Figure 14. One or more answers to the mid-browse questions are then transferred to the server processing system 320 for storage in the database 500. The respective respondent processing system 310 can additionally record browsing data indicative of the specific trigger event that was detected which can be recorded in the database. [0079] Browsing data can also be captured by the respondent processing system 310 configured by the browser extension 315 and transferred to the server processing system 320 indicative of various textual data which is input by the respondent 311 into a webpage or a portion of the web-browser. For example, the browsing data may be textual content (e.g. the text that was entered into a webpage), text type (e.g. what kind of text was entered: either on webpage as a standard input, or in URL bar), and an x and y coordinate of the input text (x coordinates of where text was inputted on the page). [0080] Upon the respondent 311 selecting the stop button of the browser extension interface 900, data is transferred to the server processing system 320 indicating the end of the browsing session. The data transferred to the server processing system 320 can be indicative of a browsing stop time, a browsing stop day, browsing stop date. Similarly to that mentioned above, whilst the browsing stop day and browsing stop date can be treated as similar data, the browsing start day (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) is directly indicative of whether the session was completed on a weekday or weekend as browsing behaviour changes accordingly and thus this extra granularity assists the researcher. In addition, various other parameters may be determined by the respondent processing system 310 based on the recorded data prior to submission to the server processing system 320, such as a total time spent on browsing. However, it will - 23 be appreciated that these parameters could also be calculated at the server processing system 320. [0081] The respondent processing system 310 is then configured by the browser extension 315 to present one or post-browse questions if defined for the specific research project and/or post browse images. In particular, the respondent 311 selecting the stop button of the browser extension interface 900 acts as a trigger event for the browser extension 315 to present post browse questions and/or images via the browser. [0082] Data indicative of one or more answers provided by the respondent 311 to the one or more post-browse questions are transferred to the server processing system 320 for storage in the database 500. It will be appreciated that this data is also associated with the authentication key such that this data is recorded correctly in the database. [0083] The respondent processing system 310 then presents the one or more images requesting respondent feedback in relation to the webpage(s) depicted by the one or more images. More specifically, the respondent 311 is asked to click, using the input device (e.g. mouse, touch screen interface) anywhere on each image of a webpage to add their sentiments and/or comments. Coordinates indicative of where the respondent 311 clicked on each image are recorded by the respondent processing system 310 configured by the browser extension 315. Once the respondent 311 clicks on the image, a menu will appear as shown in Figure 10. Once the respondent 311 has selected their comment's sentiment type (Like, Dislike, Neutral) from the menu, the respondent 311 is able to input a comment regarding the particular portion of the presented webpage (e.g. 'I really like this image because of ... ). The browser extension 315 then configures the respondent processing system 310 to aggregate the coordinates of all of the clicks indicated by the respondent 311 for each image and transfer this feedback data to the server processing system 320 for storage in the website. As will be explained in further detail below, the researcher 331 can generate a specific sentiment based heat-map for each image based on either the sentiment types selected by the respondents (e.g. like, dislike, neutral) and the textual comments. The feedback data related to the viewing of each webpage image can include: a site URL (URL - 24 respondent has to visit for question-activity to be triggered), a screenshot URL (unique URL attributed to each static image that us associated with each heat-map activity), a rating value (relates to sentiment of respondent comment input), an x and y coordinate for each click, and any textual comment provided by the respondent 311. It will be appreciated that the feedback data is associated with the authentication key to enable correct storage of the data in the database 500 by the server processing system 320. [0084] In a further variation, movements of the cursor controlled by an input device such as a mouse can also be captured by the respondent processing system 310 configured by the browser extension 315. [0085] Once the post-browse questions and activities have been completed, the server processing system 320 sets the status of the respective browsing session in the database 500 to completed. If the respondent 311 is required to conduct another browsing session in the future for the respective research project such that the respondent 311 interacts with the browser extension interface 900 to begin recording a new browsing session, the status of the authentication key of the previous browsing session record will already be set to completed rather than created. In this event, the server processing system 320 generates a new browsing session identifier and authentication key for recording any new browsing data for a new browsing session for the respective respondent 311. [0086] When the researcher 331 logs back into the research project home interface after at least partial completion of the collection of respondent data, the researcher 331 can select a 'Conduct Analysis' link for the respective research project in order to download the browsing data and/or request generation of one or more heatmaps based on the respondent data. In particular, as shown in Figure 10, the researcher 331 can select the 'Real-Time Excel Data' hyperlink on the Conduct Analysis webpage. This causes the server processing system 320 to post a request to the database 500 which exports the data for the specific research project in an Excel based CSV format which is then transferred to the researcher processing system 330. The researcher 331 can then view the timestamps, URLs, time lapses and mouse clicks and movements for the research project in an easily readable - 25 format. The Excel file in CSV format can include information in relation to the following parameters which are either captured by the browser extension 315 as discussed above or determined based on captured parameters by the browser extension 315: e Company respondent belongs to e End client for the study (i.e. the entity which has requested the research project to be undertaken) e Project alias e Respondent specific information: o Respondent identifier o First name o Initial of respondent's surname o Gender o Age o Country living in o City living in o Occupation o Salary band o Customisable segments per project (e.g. type of car owned, brand owned, type of care considering for next purchase etc) o Internet browser used and version (e.g. Chrome v.45 or Safari v.8) o Session number o Browsing start time o Browsing start day o Browsing start date o Browsing stop time o Browsing stop day o Browsing stop date o Time spent on browsing o Page order o Page visited o Time stamp - 26 o Path to page o Tab number from left to right (e.g. 1", 2 "d, etc.) o Active time viewed (total time webpage/ tab was being viewed) o total time tab open (total time tab was open, including when it was in the background) o Text input variables (the below four variables can capture up to ten completely different pieces of text/ input variables) - text value (text that was entered into a webpage) m text type (what kind of text was entered: either on webpage as a standard input, or in URL bar) - text pos x (x coordinates of where text was inputted on the page) m text pos y (y coordinates of where text was inputted on the page) m Pre browse questions (e.g. up to ten) m Pre browse answers (e.g. up to ten) m Mid browse questions (e.g. up to ten) m Mid browse answers to questions (e.g. up to ten) m Mid URL (e.g. up to ten URLs where mid-browse questions were triggered) m Mid time (time spent on page where question was triggered - e.g. up to ten URLs) o Heat-map variables (unlimited number of heat-map question variables - but below are the core types that are repeated for each heat-map question/ activity created): - Siteurl: (URL respondent has to visit for question-activity to be triggered) - Screeenshot URL (unique URL attributed to each static image that us associated with each heat-map activity) m Rating value (relates to sentiment of respondent comment input) m Pos x: (x coordinates of respondent heat-map comment) m Pos y (y coordinates of respondent heat-map comment) m hq comment (respondent heat-map comment - actual text) - 27 [0087] The researcher 331 can then use an offline spreadsheet dashboard, such as an offline Excel dashboard, stored in memory of the respondent processing system 310 to manipulate the downloaded data. The offline spreadsheet dashboard is a custom created spreadsheet file that utilises a mixture of macros, pivot tables and formulas to generate meaningful statistics from the raw data that has been downloaded from the server processing system 320. The offline spreadsheet dashboard can generate statistics such as: e Websites/webpages visited e Order of websites/webpages visited per browsing session or per study * Paths taken to specific webpages e Active time viewing websites/ webpages (tab actively being viewed) e Passive time websites/ webpages viewed (tab open in background) e Number of sites visited per session x individual or by project * Days of week where browsing is taking place e Times of day where browsing is taking place e Text entered into webpages and the relative location (x, y coordinates) of the text on the webpage e Number of browsing sessions per individual/ per project * How many tabs are open at any one time e Which browser is being used e All of these statistics can be looked at by/crossed with respondent variables, such as: o Respondent name/ ID number o Gender o Age o Occupation o Country o City o Salary band o Five customisable segments mentioned above (e.g. type of car owned, brand owned, brands considering) -28 [0088] The researcher 331 can also transfer a request to the server processing system 320 to generate a heat map for each image presented to at least some of the respondents 311. The researcher 331 can define, via the analysis webpage, the project, heat map name, sentiment type (i.e. positive, neutral and/or negative) and size of the individual heat-map click points. In particular, the researcher can change how large the individual 'click' marks are represented on the heatmap. This is helpful when the researcher has a smaller sample size and fewer clicks on the page. 'Click point size' can be changed via the point area slider shown in Figure 11. [0089] These variables are then passed to the server processing system 320. The server processing system 320 uses a heat map image manipulation computer program preferably stored in memory of the server processing system 320 to manipulate the one or more images according to the received variables and based upon the received post browse activity data received from the respondents 311. The manipulated images include heat map colouring/shading effects 1100 that are applied to the original image, as shown in Figure 11, to indicate which portions of the webpage received a like, dislike and/or neutral sentiment based upon the browsing feedback data of the sample respondents 311. The selection of a sentiment type causes the server processing system to filter the respondent data such that only respondent data having the selected sentiment type is used for generating the heat map image. It will be appreciated that the researcher 331 can toggle different sentiment data on or off. For example, the researcher could have a heatmap with purely 'like'/ positive data, or combine like data with 'dislike', or combine with both 'dislike' and 'neutral' data to have an 'all sentiments' heatmap. The heatmap is specifically created via respondent clicks based on where the respondents 311 are marking up website images with their comments. However, it is also possible that the mouse movement data may also be used for generating the heatmap. The one or more heat-map images can be downloaded by the researcher 331 to the researcher processing system 330 and imported into the offline spreadsheet dashboard which can overlay comments of individual, specific groups or all respondents involved in the respective research project.

- 29 [0090] In a further variation, the researcher can interact with the interface for generating the heatmap to define a level of opacity of the image which is manipulated with the heatmap effects. This can therefore be used to assist with heatmap markings standing relative to the original image of the webpage. An image manipulation program can initially adjust the opacity of the image based on the level of opacity defined by the researcher, wherein the opacity-adjusted image is then passed onto the heatmap image manipulation computer program for generating the heatmap image effects in respect to the adjusted image. [0091] In certain embodiments, from within the manage respondents interface, the researcher can also select a 'Delete Browsing Session' tab which allows for the research agency to delete browsing data for one or more respondents 311. An example of the Delete Browsing Session tab is shown in Figure 8. For example, if a respondent 311 has recorded something by mistake, they can inform the researcher 331 to delete specific browsing data via the Delete Browsing Session tab. [0092] Many modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for recording online browsing behaviour for a respondent of a respondent processing system, wherein the method includes: receiving, at the respondent processing system, an indication of a start of a browsing session based upon respondent interaction with a browser extension interface of a browser extension associated with a web-browser; recording and transferring, to a server processing system, browsing data indicative of one or more webpages associated with the browsing session; detecting, during the browsing session, a trigger event associated with one of the webpages of the browsing session; presenting, via an output device of the respondent processing system and in response to a positive detection, one or more questions received from the server processing system; receiving, via an input device of the respondent processing system, one or more answers to the one or more questions; receiving, at the respondent processing system, an indication of an end of the browsing session via respondent interaction with the browser extension interface; and transferring, from the respondent processing system to the server processing system, an indication that the browsing session ended and the one or more answers.

2. A computer program for configuring a respondent processing system for transferring online browsing behaviour for a respondent for recordal, wherein the computer program is a browser extension associated with a web-browser including executable instructions which configure the respondent processing system to: receive an indication of a start of a browsing session based upon respondent interaction with a browser extension interface of the browser extension; record and transfer, to a server processing system, browsing data indicative of one or more webpages associated with the browsing session; detect, during a browsing session, a trigger event associated with one of thes webpages of the browsing session; -31 present, via an output device of the respondent processing system and in response to a positive detection, one or more questions received from a server processing system; receive, via an input device of the respondent processing system, one or more answers to the one or more questions; receive an indication of an end of the browsing session based upon respondent interaction with the browser extension interface; and transfer, to the server processing system, an indication that the browsing session ended and the one or more answers.

3. A respondent processing system for facilitating recordal of online browsing behaviour for a respondent, wherein the respondent processing system is configured to: receive an indication of a start of a browsing session based upon respondent interaction with a browser extension interface of the browser extension; record and transfer, to a server processing system, browsing data indicative of one or more webpages associated with the browsing session; detect, during a browsing session, a trigger event associated with one of the webpages of the browsing session; present, via an output device of the respondent processing system and in response to a positive detection, one or more questions received from a server processing system; receive, via an input device of the respondent processing system, one or more answers to the one or more questions; receive an indication of an end of the browsing session based upon respondent interaction with the browser extension interface; and transfer, to the server processing system, an indication that the browsing session ended and the one or more answers.

4. A system for recording online browsing behaviour for a respondent, wherein the system includes: a respondent processing system configured according to claim 4; and a server processing system, in communication with the respondent processing system, wherein the server processing system is configured to: - 32 transfer the one or more questions to the respondent processing system; receive and record, in the server accessible memory, the browsing data indicative of the online browsing behaviour for the respondent; and receive and record, in server accessible memory, one or more answers to the one or more questions.

5. A server processing system for recording online browsing behaviour for a respondent, wherein the server processing system is configured to: receive, from the respondent processing system, an indication of a start of a browsing session based upon respondent interaction with a browser extension interface of a browser extension associated with a web-browser at the respondent processing system; transfer, to the respondent processing system, one or more questions to be presented to the respondent of the respondent processing system during the browsing session in response to detection of a trigger event; receive and store, from the respondent processing system, the browsing data indicative of the respondent's online browsing behaviour; receive, from the respondent processing system, one or more answers to the one or more questions; and receive an indication of an end of the browsing session based upon respondent interaction with the browser extension interface.