Unit 3: Research Techniques P1, M1, D1 Tiarnan Sweeney

Research Techniques for the creative media IndustriesAimDuring this document I will demonstrate an understanding of skills in research in the media industry. I will also understand The purpose of research. I will be giving example.

Reasons for ResearchThere are many different reasons for research to take place I will list a few of them below:Cost of a media productionMedia productions such as films and TV shows are very expensive too make and this makes research essential if the company wants to make a profit, as can be seen with many different films in the past they can fail to earn a profit and this can lead to smaller studios failing and at worst case scenario closing down due to financial difficulties. Advertising Another reason for research can be advertising as without research it would be extremely difficult to know how to advertise your product or who to advertise your production too. For example, it would make much more sense to market a rom-com to women aged 13-17 or potentially even older. But if all of a sudden rom-coms became extremely popular amongst men it would make sense to change up the advertisements and this information would not be known without the use of research.Recent Tragedies Research can inform productions of recent tragedies that might cause offence. An example of this can be seen in the spider-man 2002 film in which they had a scene that included the twin towers but this was removed due to the recent tragedy involved. This research manly is just to ensure that the production does not offended anyone or to ensure that no one feels hurt or upset at the production.

Unit 3: Research Techniques P1, M1, D1 Tiarnan Sweeney

Methods and Sources of ResearchPrimary Research Primary research is the data that is collected ourselves and not from an outside source. The data is retrieved using our own methods of collecting data. Examples of data collection methods are questionnaires being given out after people watch a film this can be an effect method of collecting data because the answers we get are from the people who have watched the film and not just anyone. Although with a questionnaire people might not give detailed enough answers and limit themselves to one or two word answers making the questionnaire near useless in some cases. But overall more information can help so questionnaire will help in the long run with understanding what audiences want and what they want out the production. Another major advantage of primary research is that you are 100 percent sure where the information has come from this makes it the most trusted and reliable source of information. Although it is reliable it can be extremely expensive to collect and time consuming as you not only have to collect the data yourself you also have to store and analyse the data yourself.Secondary ResearchSecondary research is a collection method of research that collects the data from existing reports or studies examples of this can be newspapers, magazines and the internet. The information gathered can be very useful as it allows the researcher to gather information on topics that have been exhausted already instead of having to waste time and money on researching information that can be gathered easily. Although secondary information can be useful it can also be very risky as the source of the information isn’t as reliable as primary information. This can lead to the person who originally gathered the data to get something wrong and then spread that misinformation around as common knowledge.

Unit 3: Research Techniques P1, M1, D1 Tiarnan Sweeney

Types of researchThere are many different types of research but I will be listing the main ones down below:Quantitative ResearchQuantitative research is a research method which provides hard facts and statistics to guide you. It enables you to get reliable information/statistical results. This is done by asking people their options in a structured manor. The objectives of quantitative research are to quantify data and generalize results from a sample population, it is also used to measure the incidence of various views and opinions and it can also be followed up by qualitative research to explore the findings further. Because of quantitative researches nature it is generally used with large groups of randomly selected respondents. The data can be collected in many different ways such as online questionnaire s, on-street or telephone interviews.

Examples of Quantitative research in mediaBox office figures Box office figures can provide a company sales figures by showing them the number of tickets sold and the amount of money raised from those tickets being sold. This can allow the company to see what genres are making money at the moment or see how their action film is going to do compared to others. There are different types of websites that allows a company to view the box office figures. An example can be seen below and it’s for the website Box Office Mojo. This is information that anyone can gain access too. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic.htm

Unit 3: Research Techniques P1, M1, D1 Tiarnan Sweeney

Programme ratings Programme ratings allow a company to view how many views their TV show gets each time they are watched. This can be very helpful in showing what episodes’ people want to watch. A website that allows a company to see their ratings and compare themselves to other shows is Barb http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing-data/weekly-top-30/ it allows the company to view the views and base how they operate accordantly.

Unit 3: Research Techniques P1, M1, D1 Tiarnan Sweeney

Qualitative researchQualitative research is much more directed towards a single target audience when compared to quantitative research. It also the researcher to gather information on specific topics or issues. It will use in-depth studies of small groups. Results you get from qualitative research is descriptive rather than predictive. The purpose of qualitative research is to gain an understanding of underlying reasons and motivations, to provide insights into the setting of a problem and to uncover any trends. The information can be gathered in individual interviews or group discussions.Examples of Qualitative research in mediaReviewsReviews is one of the most common ways for a studio to determine how people felt about their product. It can also show the studio what people liked about their film and what they hated and each review will be personal account on how they felt. Reviews can be found on websites such as: rotten tomatoes

Meta critic

Unit 3: Research Techniques P1, M1, D1 Tiarnan Sweeney

Discussion ForumsForums allows people to discuss the product and talk about what they liked and what they hayed. This also allows studios to ask questions to the audience that they might not be able to ask otherwise. It also allows the audience to ask their own questions among each other. Examples of discussion forums are places such as reddit which as its own subforms for any specific products people wish to discuss.

Purpose of researchAudience ResearchAudience research as stated in the name is the research of the audience finding out what they like by creating studies finding out what they like and why they like it. Since your audience is the ones that make you the money it’s important to keep them happy and produce the best product you can to meet their needs/expectations.Market researchMarket research is a department that deals the researching the market within the media industry. They use information gathered from both within the company and externally gathered to find the information needed.

Unit 3: Research Techniques P1, M1, D1 Tiarnan Sweeney