This document discusses different types of research used in media production:
- Quantitative research uses measurable facts and statistics, while qualitative research relies on in-depth opinions and perspectives.
- Primary research involves collecting original data directly, such as through surveys or focus groups, while secondary research uses existing sources.
- The purpose of research is to understand audiences and make profitable media products through learning about demographics, psychographics, competition, and determining a project's viability.
2. TYPES OF RESEARCH
Quantitative – This is research that is based on measurable facts. This can be
put on a graph or data collection sheet and is usually numerical which makes it
very factual.
One example of how quantitative is collected in the real world is survey, a
newspaper company might want to find out what newspapers people buy in one
area buy creating a survey.
An advantage to this kind of research is that it is factual and is very clear cut with
no middle ground. Another positive to having quantitative research is that it's
easier to group people making it easier to manage.
A downside to this type of research is that it is not very detailed. Another negative
to quantitative research is that there is a certain amount of questions you can
ask.
3. Qualitative – This type of research is based off of people's opinions and
questions usually requires a longer more in depth answer.
An example of how this type of research can be collected is in a focus group,
a movie director would ask an audience to give their opinions about their film
in a focus group.
An advantage to this type of research is that it is more informative than
quantitative and can be more useful to a media company. There is no limit to
the types of questions and answers you can get.
One disadvantage to this kind of research is that it can be harder to collect
and sort because of the wide variety of answers that could be given because
of this it's also harder to group the information. Another negative to this type
of research is that a person could give an undetailed answer.
TYPES OF RESEARCH
4. METHODS OF RESEARCH
Primary Research – This is when research is done first hand by one
person or a group working together.
All the examples I gave in the last two slides of creating a survey or
holding focus group were primary because it was for the benefit of the
newspaper company or the director directly.
An advantage to primary is that it is reliable as it is your research so all of
it is relevant. Another positive to primary is that it is free to collect.
A negative to primary research is it might be incorrect with nothing to
compare it to. Another disadvantage is your primary research is that it
can be very time consuming the more detailed you want it to be.
5. METHODS OF RESEARCH
Secondary research - secondary research is someone else's research
found on the internet, cd’s or in books. It is usually used to compare to your
primary.
For example a filmmaker might take someone else's research paper on the
romans to make their movie on the romans more realistic and accurate.
An advantage of secondary research is you can compare it to your primary
and it can also backup your primary research. Another reason is it easier to
get as a lot of detailed work with experts in every field.
A negative to having secondary research is that it can be outdated and
irrelevant. Another disadvantage is that secondary data can not always be
reliable.
6. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH
The purpose of research is to create an idea of what you as a company need
to use in the creation of a media product to create the most profit and to
create a larger audience. Knowing how to please your audience is important
and research can help with it.
Psychographics – when learning about your audience it's good to group
them, one way of grouping your audience is by the way the think, feel and
react to information. This can be good for knowing how to appeal to your
audience. This can also link to the social class of people as people from
different backgrounds are exposed to different medias.
7. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH
Demographics – these are studies on physical attitudes of people such as age
and gender as different ages of people can have different influences on the
things they want to see. For example and old lady might like to watch period
dramas and read the news, where as a young man in his twenties would like to
read the news online and watch action movies.
Knowing your demographics and psychographics is important as it can help
with the marketing aspect. When a company wants to advertise a product they
would need to know their target audiences preferred platform of media and how
to advertise to them. For instance adverts on busses are usually aimed at
younger people who get busses, on the other hand adverts in a newspaper
would be targeted towards older people.
8. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH
Market research–This is research that is done on the market which your
product will put on and be in competition with products similar. By doing
market research you will be able to see what competition you have and how
to make a better product by seeing what the others don't offer. As well as
knowing the competition you would have you also need to research about
advertisement placement to better reach your target audience, this links
back to psychographics and demographics. Movie adverts are put up before
a film is shown in the cinema and they will usually relate to the film you watch
based on the demographics and psychographics
9. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH
Production Research–Another valuable part to research before a media
product is its viability or success. If a company deems a project non viable
then the project will be dropped as to not waste the time and money of the
company. If a television show has had a massive loss of profit from one
season then they might consider not continuing it. Before a project is started
a total cost sheet would be drawn up to see what the total cost of everything
needed would be, which would help in deciding whether it's viable or not. In
the cost there would be all the resources needed, this might include the
camera equipment. If there can be changes made to the equipment list that
will save them money they could be changed.