This document defines and provides examples of different types of research used in media production including primary research, secondary research, quantitative research, qualitative research, audience research, market research, and production research. It also defines common research terminology such as objective, subjective, valid, and reliable.

1. Research
Theory
Louis Dodds-Rodgers

2. Terminology
Circulation
-How many print documents have been distributed.
• Hits
-How many times a certain web page has been used.
• Box Office Figures
• How much money a film has made at a cinema.
• Ratings
• How something has been rated e.g. 4/5 stars
• Sales
• How many products have been sold.

3. Primary Research
• Definition – Research you do yourself, audience in contact with the
researcher.
• Advantages – Knowing the facts / statistics are correct, getting more
quantitive and qualitive research first hand that can be used straight on
paper.
• Disadvantages – Takes longer to gather research by yourself, finding the
right people to question and partake in surveys may take some time.
• Example – Asking a select amount of people in the street to complete a
survey or questionnaire (these are called vox-pops)

4. Secondary Research
• Definition – Studying pre-taken research using it in your
work.
• Advantages – Saves time, quicker than primary research.
• Disadvantages – Could be incorrect information may
have to take more time fact checking it before using it in
your work/statistics.
• Example – Researching an article online and using the
articles facts / statistics for your own research.

5. Quantitative Research
• Definition – Research you can put into numbers e.g.
percentages and fractions.
• Advantages – Helps show statistics better and gives a simpler
understanding.
• Disadvantages – People reading the numbers and statistics
may prefer reading articles and text rather than just numbers.
• Example – Writing an article on current events and describing
the happenings using numbers and percentages over writing
an article.

6. Qualitative Research
• Definition – Research that goes more in depth than just
numbers and statistics, usually presented as full texts or
discussions.
• Advantages – Find a deeper meaning to questions and get a
better understanding of why people choose a certain answer.
• Disadvantages – Takes a lot longer as you go into more depth.
• Example – An interview and the questions are based on
religion and instead of answering with yes or no they tend to
answer with why.

7. Audience Research
• Definition – finding out who consumes the product.
• Advantages- knowing your customer base and who is consuming
your product.
• Disadvantages – not always fully knowing your customer base.
• Example – taking a survey of people who use said product to find
out the gender / age of the consumers.

8. Market Research
• Definition – finding out about the market in which
the product is sold
• Advantages – can potentially target a larger audience
• Disadvantages – incorrect information can effect the
market.
• Example – people going to a certain video game store
to purchase a new release.

9. Production Research
• Definition – finding information and resources to produce media.
• Advantages- collecting information makes the likeliness of the facts
higher meaning you wont be producing lies.
• Disadvantages- false information can lose customers / consumers
• Example – writing up research to better your product as you know
who is consuming it and who is going to be purchasing it.

10. Terminology
• Objective – research that is not effected by bias or personal
opinions.
• Subjective – research that has been effected by opinions and
emotions.
• Valid – Where the proposed research can answer the said question.
• Reliable – research with consistent and accurate results.