Abstract: A method and apparatus for collection of ethnographic data from a building housing a population, which includes modern surveillance equipment, marketing and other testing materials, and may comprise an agreement between the dormitory and a dormitory sponsor to collect ethnographic data and provide test products and other materials in a dormitory equipped as a real-world social laboratory. This synergy between dormitory sponsorship, dormitory management, and students allows for easy, organized and cost effective experimentation and data mining of the valuable student demographic with incentive to the parties involved.