NDCMPY 1 Creative Media Production – 2013-2014Unit 31: 1 - Research TechniquesLecturer: Faustina StarrettAssignment 3: 1 Report Darragh Doherty

The Purpose and Forms of Research in the Creative

Media Industries

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Contents1: Introduction

2: Types of Research

3: Methods of Research

4: Purpose of Research

5: Conclusion

6: Bibliography

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IntroductionThis report will explain the different types of research and the purpose of research in the creative media industries. The report will outline and illustrate various types of research and research examples from my own course work. Finally, the report will look at the purpose of research.

Types of ResearchThere are two types of research that are used within the creative media industry; these are quantitative research and qualitative research.

Quantitative ResearchQuantitative research is when information is gathered via statistical, mathematical or computational methods. Examples of quantitative research would include ratings for TV programs, box office takings and sales of products like cars, DVDs or phones.Quantitative research is about gathering data about numbers and statics related to the product.

Using quantitative methods allows the researcher to measure results conclusively.

Quantitative research can be used to prove or disprove any assumptions about the audience.

Examples of organisations that conduct would be BARB, RAJAR and ABC.Quantitative research is about collecting numerical data through structured

questions with a limited number of predetermined responses. Information gathered via quantitative research is usually shown in the form of charts, diagrams and tables.

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Who carries out Quantitative and Qualitative Research? Purposes of Research to find out about Consumer groups and target audiences

Quantitative Research carried out by BARB to measure viewing habits of British Public. Other research bodies like MORI; GALLUP - measure Elections voting results

Qualitative Research by Academic Research Groups – FOCUS Groups qualitative results about effects or special interests.

Campaigning Bodies for regulation of advertising and filmPressure groups like the BBFC1, which is responsible for giving films age ratings using the labels below, and the ASA2, which is responsible for regulating the content of advertisements in UK.

BBFC Classification List

An example of quantitative research1 The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) is a non-government organisation responsible for the censorship and classification of films in the UK.2 The ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) is an organisation governs advertising regulations in the UK.

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Extracted from : http://www.buzzfeed.com/jakel11/the-highest-grossing-movie-franchises

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Qualitative ResearchQualitative research is more focused on people’s opinions, preferences and views instead of facts and figures. Qualitative research involves researching people views and understanding their choices and opinions. Qualitative researchers aim for a better understanding of what people want and this allows companies to improve their business or products to satisfy the public.Qualitative research is about gathering data about the interests of the audience.

Using qualitative methods involves studying of small groups of people to guide and often supports the construction of hypotheses.

Qualitative data is gathered through techniques such as surveys or face-to-face interviews.

Organisations that gather the information would usually have a “focus group” which is made up of people from different backgrounds.

Qualitative research can be conducted via interviews, questionnaires, sampling techniques and observations. ASA is an important reference source for me as I will be making adverts as part of my production work.

Audience Profiling6

Whenever marketers are trying to profile their audience, there are various categories they keep in mind:

Economic Social Ethnological Political Gender

Audiences are often segmented into different groups based on certain criteria: Geographic Segmentation – Divides audiences based around physical and

political boundaries.

Demographic Segmentation – Divides audiences based around age, race, religion, gender, family size, ethnicity, income, and education.

Psychographic Segmentation – Divides audiences based on their lifestyles such as attitude, expectations and activities.

Behavioural Segmentation – Divides audiences based on their behaviour such as how they respond to, use or know of a product.

An example of qualitative research

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We attended a focus group, led by Michael Wilson, which is an example of qualitative research3.

We were asked the following questions:What do you watch digitally?Where do you watch it?How do you watch it?How much do you watch?What sort of content do you watch?How do you feel about UTV as a digital operation?What could UTV do you change your opinion?What sort of content could UTV produce that would interest you?

What qualitative research I have cover in my course:

3 We also attended a BBC master class on young audiences on 6 degrees.8

Biographical Sketch - TV Interviews4

Below is an example of the conducted research:

Fictional Film – I’ve watched a few films in the thriller genre.5 I also did research on how to write a script for my film.

Social Action Research for inspirational Person6

(Cross Reference to Research for Presentation on Keanu Reeves)Below is a Screenshot of the Conducted Presentation

Methods of Research

4 Russell Brand interviewed by Paul O’Grady – https ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfXB1_xB_9U 5 Taken, Captain Philips and Die Hard 46 Social Action Project Folder Unit 31:1

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There are two types of research methods: Primary and Secondary. Primary research, also known as “field research”, involves gathering information through first-hand experience while secondary research, also known as “desk research”, involves gathering information through existing material.

Primary ResearchPrimary research involves getting information from a primary source, also known as an original source, which is something or someone that can give first-hand information. An Example of a primary source would be a person with first-hand knowledge of a topic. For social action project, “The Carndonagh Christmas Committee”7, I interviewed two key members from the committee.8

Advantages and disadvantages with primary researchAdvantages

Reliable Accurate Specific to the issues

Disadvantages Expensive May be hard to find Time consuming

Secondary ResearchSecondary research is when data or information is already available and is gathered from existing sources such as an article on the internet or in a newspaper. Secondary research allows the researcher to not go on the ground as all the required information has been documented already. Examples of secondary research I used includes the BTEC Study Guides, books from the library and sources provided in the Guidance section for this assignment9

Advantages and disadvantages

7 Cross reference unit 31:18 See DVD film, interviews with Albert and Gabriel9 See Assignment brief and Unit spec. recommended reading.

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Advantages Cheap Accessible Not very time consuming

Disadvantages May be unreliable May be inaccurate The information may be out-dated

The Purpose of ResearchPurposes of Research to find out about Consumer groups and target audiencesThe main role and purpose of research in the creative media industries is to gather information on the audience and market through collection and analysis of this data which can be used to create or improve a product or service so that the needs of the audience is satisfied. Furthermore, research helps to monitor a specific area before carrying it out and also helps to discover new things by gathering and looking out for what others would have constructed. Furthermore, research helps to gather and explore further in depth into a specific topic, which helps to strengthen the researcher’s opinion with the findings.

Industry Bodies Audience ResearchAudience research focuses on gathering information on a target audience that is collected and analysed. In the media industry today, it is very important to know who the target audience is and what they require. Hence, research that is conducted determines the size, age, gender, background and interest of the audience.

Research OrganisationsAn example of organisations that conducts audience research would BARB, RAJAR and ABC.

BARB collects data about what people watch on television.

RAJAR collects data about what people listen to on the radio.

ABC collects data about what people read in newspapers and online.BARB (Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board)

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Established in 1981

Delivers the official viewing figures for UK television audiences

Commissions research companies to collect data that represent the viewing behaviour of the UK’s 26 million TV households.

This data offers broadcasters and advertisers vital information that shows how programmes, channels or advertising campaigns have performed.

Television is the only medium that a fully representative in the measurement.

BARBs panel is a sample of very carefully recruited households, these households represent households across the nation.

BARB interviews over a 1000 families every week for the BARB establishment survey. Information needed to accurately weight their viewing data so it is representative of the whole nation.

Then 5100 homes are selected by household type, demographic, TV platforms and geography. Over 12000 people living in these homes which then give an accurate representation of the country.

Examples of Industry Bodies Audience Research

RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) RAJAR collects data about what radio stations people listen to.

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RAJAR is the official body in charge of measuring radio audiences in the UK.

Established in 1992

RAJAR is owned by the BBC and the RadioCentre on behalf of the commercial sector.

There are currently approximately 310 individual stations on the survey and results are published every quarter.

RAJAR is responsible for setting the research specification for overall quality control. RAJAR Data is collected using a seven-day listening diary. Approximately 110,000 adults 15+ are asked to fill one out over 50 weeks of the year.

Data Collection

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Information is collected by means of a seven day self-completion diary. Diaries are personally placed with one selected adult (15+) and up to two children aged 10-14 years (according to the number of children present) in each selected household.

The paper diary is customised at placement. Each respondent is asked to sort through a set of cards with the names of all the radio stations in the area and invited to select all the stations which they might listen to or hear in various situations. This process provides a station repertoire for the selected individual which is then entered in the diary by the interviewer, using station name labels. All paper diaries are collected personally by interviewers at the end of the seven days.

The online diary station selection is carried out by the respondent, each person is asked to look through a set of station names onscreen that are available in the area and invited to select all the stations which they might listen to or hear in various situations.

ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations)14

ABC is the industry body for media measurement for print (e.g. newspapers, magazines) and online publications.

ABC gather data about what read about online and in print, they also collect data about what events people go to.

Their data is used by a wide range of decision makers: Media owners Media agencies Advertisers Rights owners Investors Management

A team of experts verify data across a wide range of media channels including print, online and events and look to include new platforms as they emerge.

Take a census-based approach which means counting every interaction rather than using a survey sample.

This allows ABC to provide granular detail across channels to showcase performance and support the media buying process which is all the more important in our increasingly fragmented world.

Market Research

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Market research is focused on gathering information on the market where a product will be competing in. Market research is a key factor to maintain competiveness over competitors. Market research is used to determine the size and needs of the market and to identify any competition. Market research, which includes social and opinion research, is the systematic gathering and interpretation of information about individuals or organisations using statistical, analytical methods and techniques of the applied social sciences. This allows insight or support decision-making. An example of market research would be a TV channel company gathering data on what programmes the audience is watching and interpret this information to change their programme production.

An Example of Market Research

Source: http://www.newspaperinnovation.com/index.php/2008/09/29/no-frees-in-irish-readership-survey-yet/

Conclusion16

Research is an important asset in the creative media industry because companies use it to understand what their audiences want and interpret this information to improve their product or services which help them compete with other companies in the market.

This portfolio Assignment has allowed me to learn the main types of research (Quantitative and Qualitative) and it has allowed me to develop my personal ideas about how to integrate these research techniques into my future projects.

BibliographyCampaigning Bodies Examplehttp://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification (Edited using “Snip tool”)

Quantitative Research Examplehttp://www.buzzfeed.com/jakel11/the-highest-grossing-movie-franchises (Edited using “Snip tool”)

Industry Bodies Audience Research Example 1 http://wewillraakyou.com/2009/10/daily-newspaper-circulation-uk-2001-to-2009/

Industry Bodies Audience Research Example 2 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jazz_FM_RAJAR.png

Market Research Examplehttp://www.newspaperinnovation.com/index.php/2008/09/29/no-frees-in-irish-readership-survey-yet/

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