The document discusses different types of research used in media projects including primary research which involves direct contact with audiences, secondary research which analyzes existing studies, and qualitative and quantitative research which use open-ended questions or measurable data. It also outlines different research methods like surveys, interviews, and observations that can be used for audience research, market research, and production research. Key terminology discussed includes concepts like objective and subjective research, and valid and reliable results.

1. Research
Jay Birkin

2. Terminology
• Circulation
– the public availability or knowledge of something.
• Hits
– A hit is a request to a web server for a file, like a web page or an image.
• Box Office Figures
– used to refer to the commercial success of a film, play, or actor in terms of the audience size
or takings that they command.
• Ratings
– a classification or ranking of someone or something based on a comparative assessment of
their quality, standard, or performance.
• Sales
– the exchange of a commodity for money; the action of selling something.

3. Primary Research
• Definition
– Research you do yourself
– Where the audience and the researcher are in direct contact
• Advantages
– You can create your own research to get the information you need for your work
– You could ask extra questions during and interview
• Disadvantages
– It can take a long time to set-up your research. You then have to gather your results and
then present them
– Finding the right people to ask can sometimes be a challenge
• Example
– Questionnaires/Surveys
– Interviews
– Focus Groups
– Vox Pops
– Product Analysis

4. Secondary Research
• Definition
– Studying previously undertaken research
– Using existing research in your own work
• Advantages
– The research has already been done for you. You just need to look at it and then use it in
your project.
– There can be a wide range of resources available
• Disadvantages
– The research may not be quite what you were looking for
– The research might not always be easy to find
– You have to rely on how well others have researched
• Example
– Internet research
– Library research
– Archive research

5. Quantitative Research
• Definition
– Expressed or expressible as a quantity
– Research that you can quantify/measure and put into percentages, fractions and
numbers
• Advantages
- The relationship between an independent and dependent variable is studied in detail
- Quantitative research can be used to test hypotheses in experiments
• Disadvantages
- the context of the study or experiment is ignored
- a large sample of the population must be studied
• Example
– Observations
– Questionnaires
– rating scale

6. Qualitative Research
• Definition
– Research that goes more in depth- finding out opinions/beliefs/reasoning
– Presented as full text or discussions
– Makes the person have to reflect and expand on their answer
• Advantages
- Qualitative research is useful during the early stages of a study when the researcher may be unsure
of exactly what will be studied or what to focus on.
- does not need a strict design plan before it begins
• Disadvantages
- The researcher interprets the research according to his or her own biased view
- very time consuming
• Example
– diary accounts
– open-ended questionnaires
– unstructured interviews
– unstructured observations

7. Audience Research
• Definition
- Audience research is defined as any communication research that is conducted on specific
audience segments to gather information about their attitudes, knowledge, interests, preferences,
or behaviors with respect to prevention issues
• Advantages
- Gaining insight into what and how people think and feel about a topic or idea
- Improving the planning and design of a new piece of material
• Disadvantages
- Significant amount of time and preparation required
- Often the number of participants in typical audience research is too small to be representative of
the population.
• Example
- Interviews
- Questionnaires
- Surveys
- Online forums
- Vox pops
- Discussion groups

8. Market Research
• Definition
- the action or activity of gathering information about consumers' needs and preferences
• Advantages
• increase insight into market and consumer purchase behavior.
• identify and target best prospects-don't waste resources on low potential activities
• Disadvantages
• expensive to do right-data collection and analysis are pricey
• sampling errors can have a big impact on results and lead to bad decisions
• Example
– Focus groups
– Phone surveys
– Testing
– One on one interviews

9. Production Research
• Definition
• Finding information and resources required to produce a piece of media.
• Advantages
• They focus on giving consumers affordable products that might be relatively basic in design
but are readily available.
• It is research to help give information on the characteristics of the product
• Disadvantages
• focus on mass distribution and efficient production.
• may fail to attract the most discerning consumers and compete with companies that offer
new and innovative products that are superior in quality, performance and even features.

10. Terminology
• Objective
– Research that is not influenced by personal feelings or opinions
• Subjective
– Research that has been influenced by personal feelings or opinions
• Valid
– Whether the research proposed is able to answer the intended outcome/question
• Reliable
– Research that produces accurate and consistent results

11. Harvard Referencing
Name of the film being researched;
1. Hitchcock, A. (1960) Psycho
2. Bloch, R. (1959) Psycho
3. Wikipedia (2016) Pyscho (novel)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho_(novel)
4. Monohan, M. (2015) Pyscho movie review
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film
reviews/11025424/Psycho-review.html