UNIT 3: RESEARCH TECHNIQUES Different types of research

Why is research so expensive?

• media products are expensive to produce
• need to make sure that it will attract the right audience
• to make sure the audience reacts to it in the right way
• to ensure the product will be completed in the required time
• to produce product within budget

Primary Research

This is new research which is carried out by you to answer specific questions. It can be either a survey, market research with a few people, questionnaires or an interview.

Primary Research examples

1. questionnaires
2. observations
3. focus groups
4. experimentation
5. phone surveys
6. test market
7. technology interviews
8. postal surveys
9. user surveys
10. focus groups

Pros

-new first hand information
-reliable because you know where the information is coming from
-reliable swell because you have done the research yourself so you know it isn't made up

-up to date & current

-you can get a lot of information in a short amount of time

-can ask exactly what you want to know about your product

Cons

-expensive because it requires resources to get the information

-time consuming
-may only to be able to get a certain amount of people
-may only be able to get a certain type/group of people which may make it bias or unreliable as all the people are similar
-some people may not want to take part

-could be biased

-you could get limited information

Secondary Research
This is research which has been carried out not by you. It is previously research for other purposes and publicly available. Also known as 'desk research'. It can include surveys, interview, facts, statistics, videos etc. It can also include specific reports from various places such as universities, government

Secondary Research examples
Internal

1. financial statements 
2. files
3. letters
4. phone calls with information which has already been discovered
5. company reports
6. customers

External

1. internet
2. government publications
3. newspaper
4. reference materials

Pros

-some information could be free via internet, books etc although it is very cheap anyway to obtain

-could be quick to obtain and accessible 

-takes little effort to get and causes little preparation for it

Cons

-cant always verify the information or where it is from

-could be really outdated and old

-could be really expensive to buy as some information is secure and you need to pay for

-information may not be specific enough and may not be exactly what you want

Quantitive Research
This presents information numerically e.g. percentages. All the people in interviews or questionnaires answer the same questions are ensure consistency. No words, all data/facts!!!!

Quantitive Research examples

1. sales
2. scores which have been given on websites e.g. IMBD, Rotten Tomatoes
3. box office figures
4. programme ratings
5. readership figures
6. number of hits

Pros

-good for people who have made their own products and want to use their own numbers for personal use

-easy to show and understand

-it gives you a clear visual representation

-it will help you when showing how popular or unpopular something is

Cons

-it is just numbers, there is no details or explanation

-not accurate enough

-some numbers change drastically in a short period of time so websites may not be updated

Qualitative Research

This is primarily research which is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions and preferences rather than statistics. It finds out opinions through opened ended questions.

Qualitative Research examples

1. game review
2. newspapers
3. forums
4. discussions with people 
5. music reviews

Pros

-you can get a wide variety of peoples opinions from different places

-you get a wide audience of peoples opinions so it is not bias

-you can find our opinions about how popular or unpopular something is through reviews

Cons

-it is all opinions and no actual real statistics or facts

-might be inaccurate because everyone thinks and feels different

Market Research

This is an activity which gathers information from usually a small group of people, however there can be a variety of people, which talks about consumers needs and preferences for usually a new e.g. programme, product, toothpaste, music video, advert etc.

Market Research examples

1. focus groups
2. interviews
3. surveys
4. internet research of other products of peoples opinions

Pros

-you can get peoples opinion and they can be honest about what they feel

-you can get a different range of answers

-will help get feedback so you can adjust your idea for the better 

Cons

-people may not want to take part in something that they arn't getting paid for

-people ma not have the time

-some people may lie and not be 100% accurate because they cant be bothered

-some people will give answers which arn't in detail and will be useless

Production Research

This is the collection and analysis of information for the content and production of a media product.. It is related to the production process itself.

Production Research examples

1. production budgets
2. risk assessments
3. location plan
4. filming schedule
5. editing schedule

Pros

-it gives you enough time to plan the product

-when you actually do it you will be prepared and have everything already planned out

-will have time frames so you won't run out of time

-you will see if something isn't possible and will have time to change it before doing it incorrectly

-you can adjust it so it is professional because you will have enough time to plan everything out perfectly

Cons

-something may change nearer the time so you cant always rely on plans

-you need backs ups incase anything happens 

-may look very different when you plan it to when it actually happens

Audience Research

This is any communication research that is conducted to gather information about their attitudes, knowledges, interests, preferences, behaviours. For example, it studies the characteristics of a specific target audience on their listening/viewing/reading habits, their programme preferences, taste preferences and generally how big the audience is for different things.

Pros

-you can get actual feedback so you can change information you have got that may be inaccurate
-it allows the audience to give their feedback on what they would rather see, read, taste etc

Cons

-everyone has different opinions and views so who's do you go with

-audiences might have more than 1 habit so it may be hard to get information for just 1

-could be hard to get a clear idea of what it is they exactly want or what the best solution would be to solve the problems

SAMPLE ASSIGNMENT
You are creating a new perfume for professional men, aged 18-25 years old, living in Britain.

What do you need to research?
-location
-advertising
-price
-target audience (18-25)
-competitors
-most popular scent
-how often they would use it
-packaging/sizing
-statistics about perfume
-the look of the perfume, what attracts them to a perfume
-name/logo/brand/design
-ethics

What primary and secondary research methods would you use?
-questionairres
-market research
-surveys
-go into popular stores, places

PASS= you need to describe research methods and techniques in a basic way covering all the main methods and techniques
MERIT= you need to discuss the benefits and use of each approach
DISTINCTION= you need to critically discuss each method and technique understanding strengths and weaknesses