Task 5 – Methods of Research Done

  

Audience research- This is finding out what the audience like or hate. This is important because when making a production, one would like to produce something everyone would like to see, Spend time and money on. If the research is carried out and no one appreciates the work it could be a waste of resources as there would be no one to watch it.

Market research- the meaning of marketing research is basically other markets in the media industry or any other industry are competing against each other to be the best and most popular and bring in the audience to view there show. for example if a person made a TV show that played the same thing as celebrity Juice, the other show would do everything to make their own show better than celebrity juice. If they remained on the same level as of that of celebrity juice people would not watch it but they would keep watching celebrity juice which is the original. This is the same on radio shows and stations.

Production research- this is everything within the production of the topic a person is working on. For example If a person was working on creating a radio station, this the person would have to consider would be the costing to set it up and also finding out what people would like.

Method of Research

Primary research - This is any type of research that you go out and collect yourself. Examples include surveys, interviews, observations, and ethnographic research. A good researcher knows how to use both primary and secondary sources in her writing and to integrate them in a cohesive fashion.

Conducting primary research is a useful skill to acquire as it can greatly supplement your research in secondary sources, such as journals, magazines, or books. You can also use it as the focus of your writing project. Primary research is an excellent skill to learn as it can be useful in a variety of settings including business, personal, and academic.

Many types of primary research exist. This guide is an overview of primary research that is often done in writing classes.

Interviews: Interviews are one-on-one or small group question and answer sessions. Interviews will provide a lot of information from a small number of people and are useful when you want to get an expert or knowledgeable opinion on a subject.

Surveys: Surveys are a form of questioning that is more rigid than interviews and that involve larger groups of people. Surveys will provide a limited amount of information from a large group of people and are useful when you want to learn what a larger population thinks.

Observations: Observations involve taking organized notes about occurrences in the world. Observations provide you an insight about specific people, events, or locales and are useful when you want to learn more about an event without the biased viewpoint of an interview.

Analysis: Analysis involves collecting data and organizing it in some fashion based on criteria you develop. They are useful when you want to find some trend or pattern. A type of analysis would be to record commercials on three major television networks and analyse gender roles.

Pros

Can aim questions directly at your research objective

Latest information from the marketplace

Can assess the psychology of the customer

Cons

Expensive: £10,000+ per survey

Risk of questionnaire and interviewer bias.

Research findings may only be usable if comparable back data exists.

Secondary research -Secondary research this could also be called desk information (or desk research) gathers existing information through available sources. Secondary research examples include:

Information on the internet

Existing market research results

Existing data from your own stock lists and customer database

Information from agencies such as industry bodies, government agencies, libraries and local councils.

Secondary research allows you to make the most of existing information about your market. However, it can be a challenge to find the information you really need. Learn more about different research resources for business and industry.

You may use secondary research to get an initial understanding of your market. It is often faster to analyse than primary data because, in many cases, someone else may have already started analyzing it. However, when using secondary research be careful how you interpret it, as it may have been collected for a different purpose or from a market segment that isn't relevant to your business. Also make sure that any secondary information isn't out-of-date, as the market can change quickly and this will affect your results.

As well as understanding your market, you can also use secondary research to examine factors inside your business, such as sales figures and financial records.

Pros

Easy to access.

Quick to find.

Often the only resource, for example historical documents.

Cons

Might not have all of the information that you need.

The information that you have found may be out of date.

Not all of the data that you find will be correct unless you find it in an old book or it comes from the main source.

Quantitative research - Quantitative research gathers numerical data. Quantitative research includes:

Surveys on customer return frequency, Sales figures, Industry product sales numbers and Financial trends.

You can use this approach to identify the size of your market and how much it might be worth to your business, and to find areas for sales growth. Quantitative research can also help you understand the demographics of customers, such as their age and gender.

Quantitative research often produces a lot of statistics. These are useful as an overview of your market, but make sure you don't rely solely on statistics in your research. Consider all of the information you have. For example, the 'average' price your target market suggested it would pay for a product could be distorted if a few a participants selected a very high amount (not reflecting the high number who would not pay that much).

Pros

When the survey involves a convenience sample for example a mall intercept study, data can be collected and analysed fairly quickly.

When the survey involves a statistically valid random sample, the results from the sample can be generalized to the entire population if the response rate is high enough.

Surveys can provide reliable direction for planning programs and messages.

Surveys can be anonymous, which is useful for sensitive products.

Surveys can include visual material and cam be used to protest prototypes.

You can generalize your findings beyond your participant group.

Cons

They have limited ability to probe answers

People who are willing to respond may share characteristics that do not apply to the audience as a whole, creating a potential bias in the study.

They can be costly.

Qualitative research - Qualitative research gathers views and attitudes. Qualitative research includes:

Focus groups with customers and potential customers to understand their feelings and attitudes towards your products and services

Formal and informal conversations with customers about their satisfaction with your business

Visits and reviews of competitors to understand their products and customer service practices.

You can use this approach to get a better understanding of your customers' interests, needs and habits, and identify opportunities for growing sales and improving customer service. Analysing qualitative data requires a different approach and can take longer to interpret than quantitative data because of the nature of the information.

Pros

Explores topics in more depth and detail than quantitative data.

Often qualitative research is less expensive than quantitative research because you do not need to      recruit as many participants or use extensive methods.

Offers flexibility as far as locations and timing, as you do not need to interview a large number of      people at once.

Cons

Cannot quantify how many of your audience answer one way or another.

Cannot generalize your findings to your broader audience or the public in general.