Research Methods in the Media Industry Essay Example for Free

Research Methods in the Media Industry EssayTheres a whole garland of reasons why look into is undertaken in the media industry and theres also a number of different tracks to air divulge research to acquire the different forms of instruction required. This report will be discussing the following in detail audience research, qualitative methods, quantitative methods, aboriginal research and unessential research lastly consumer aw arnessWhy we research in the media industry?As I said before research is undertaken for a variety of reasons. It might be so the director knows what they possibility may need to adjust in their production based on what its about, and this is cognize as content depth psychology where the producer and the director will research the subject matter to assemblage information to include into the final production. In accession research might also be undertaken be aware of effective restrictions for instance copyright infringement simply when you w ant to use the same ideas or the same content you will require written consend from the person who originally invented or owns the idea, in most cases copyright infringement doesnt protect the profound ideas, it also doesnt protect facts. For instance, copyright doesnt stop or limit you from expressing in your own words thoughts and facts that originate in any sources you read or view however you must give appropriate credit to the sources in which they originated from. For instance, there form been several, Alien based institutes, however only one E.T. hearing researchMedia products all have a station audience which could be defined by several factors, including age, gender as well as demographics. Whether its a chat show, daily newspaper, film or any another(prenominal) media form, each has a clear target audience. You must beware that audiences are non the same besides the audience research tells the producer what most applies to the audience how they john take advantage of what applies to the audience. They may watch previously released films/programmes and find out if they were successful at appealing to that audience. On the other hand they can observe a sort viewing of a series premiere to take hold of the groups reaction and see if theyve met their expectations and getting a calculation from the observation to see if they need to make just about alterations to the production. Additionally Producers may also use BARB to find out further details about their selected audience what exactly is appealing to them after that discus features that will be in the production.Qualitative research methodsQualitative methods are better for finding more descriptive selective information and horizons because you interact with the research which lets you to explain any misunderstood questions and to go into further detail meaning you get a more factual answer. Methods that are categories under qualitative research range from case studies, interviews, diary a nalysis and focus groups. For instance the producers of a film will pick out a group which has the profile of their target audience, and will show them the film. This can be done both pre and post release if the film is not performing as well as predicted. The producer could then use the focus groups response to alter or completely re call, or even go ahead and take nothing on board and confirm the adopt and content of the film.Quantitative research methodsQuantitative research mainly is numerical data. It could be used by producers of a film or by the fellowship which is marketing it. UK based TV companys use the( Broadcasters Audience Research Board) BARB for short to analyse viewing ratings, positivist radio move use ( Radio Joint Audience Research Limited) short for RAJAR will view the listening numbers. Qualitative and quantitative methods are constantly used together in order to research the habits and preference of the target audience. In order to identify the profile o f the audience, producers may look at current demographic models has on age or gender, or they may try to create a new audience for their film.Creating a new audience is much harder to accomplish to boot a producer may have to come up with a film which is appealing to those that feel theres a gap in the industry, or gather a group of item-by-items together who all desire a possible reinvasion in the market. Finally when a target audience has been recognized, the film producer will then target the audience by using a series of carefully organised ad campaigns. The films could be promoted in newspapers that the target audience reads, also online sites which are frequently visited by the target audience, or show an ad when youre guaranteed the most viewers such as thaumaturgists league games or X factor episodes.Primary research methodsPrimary research is any research thats done by an individual first hand. Theres a wide range of techniques for primary research from focus groups, int erviews, observations and questionnaires, all come under as primary since questions are being asked directly this is research that is done first hand.Primary research is more suitable for finding out detailed information since you wouldnt have to rely on anyone elses results to be correct since the individual would have gathered the necessary information themselves so they know everything was done exactly how they precious so the information is reliable. Primary research can come in the categories of both qualitative and quantitative research since theres a variety of ways to conduct this research.Detailed look at a few the primary research techniquesQuestionnaires are regularly used by researchers when they need to gather essential information from a number of people targeting certain groups by age, ethnicity, and gender even social class. There practically surveys that can be sent on the internet in the post or hand out person to person. Its easy to analyse questionnaires since it s just basically gathering numbers, in addition its a much cheaper but sometimes a more time consuming process to gather information.Then again on the down side questionnaires arent able to get hold of, detailed information since they typically have closed questions yes or no type or the listed options provided in questionnaire. Another potential problem with questionnaire is that the individual taking part in the questionnaire may get the wrong end of the stick about a particular question or just not understand completely. For that reason the individual organising the questionnaire may possibly not get the right results from the questionnaire. Possible way to evade this you could do a pilot study to examine the questionnaire and make any necessary alterations after.Interview interviews can be divided into three areas structured, outfit structured, unstructured interviews. social organisationd Structured interviews stick to a specific guideline with set questions sticking to the o nes written.Semi structured Semi structured interviews have some questions however questions can be added on the spot to go into more detail with the questions.Unstructured lastly unstructured interviews have no questions set. The interviewer will bring up a topic with some questions in their head, similar to a casual conversation than anything.Interviews are mainly qualitative forms of research this method of research can very fruitful to the researcher since you are capable of going into more detail and thus gather further information for your research.On the other hand, the questions asked in an interview may be bias if the interviewer has their personal biased viewpoint placing their opinion in the questions. This may be done by the interviewer if they ask leading questions for instance. Tell us the reason why you like this film, instead of do you like the film.Secondary research methodsSecondary research is gathered information that was done by someone else and made accessible to the public. For instance through archives, the internet, and other media outlets such as the news all of these come under secondary data since the information that you receive from these sources is information that the individual never gathered themselves.Potentially secondary research maybe unreliable option of researching since the individual cant be sure that everything written is accurate since they never carried out the research themselves and they cant test it and get the same results. On the plus side secondary research is significantly cheaper and faster process to use since the information has been completed for you already by someone else.Detailed look at a few the secondary research techniquesThe most common practice of secondary research done nowhere days is on the internet to think not too long ago we spent while copy the information on a copy machine. With the capacious amount of online resources, traditional promoter of research done by books seem out dated. Its now common for a student to complete an essay without opening a angiotensin converting enzyme book. However there are always pros and cons with any new technology. Some people like to say theres a skill convolute in finding a book in the library and searching.An Individual can ignore the entire topic that was read thoroughly for pertinent information. This may lead to more people getting the wrong end of the stick and not understanding the subject matter. But its a free vast amount of information free for use for anybody much easier and less process, as well as getting qualitative information and opinions including polls, surveys, are simpler with the internet, assuming youre aware of where youre getting your information from. That could lead to a con since its not wise to use information from an unaccredited source, not from opinion based sites a lot of these sites around that look creditable but are far from itConsumer awarenessConsumer awareness is the understanding that a cons umer is knows his or her legal rights and duties. Its essential for a consumer to stick to these rights. Its implemented for the protection of the consumer, so the consumer is not exploited. But the producers may look into consumer awareness to discover if their ad campaign successful or if its unsuccessful.NRSThe National Readership Survey NRS for short is provides the most dependable and respected audience research in operation for the advertise sector in the UK. The NRS reports on over 250 of the UKs mainstream newspapers and magazines, you get a sense of the size and nature of the audiences they attract. In this always evolving digital age the NRS tranquillize create partnerships with the leading digital data sources providing a clearer vision of the combined total audience future. This is a great source for gathering information since data posted on this site are available without subscription. Already prepared for producers and so on only thing to do now is compare.Company S tructureNRS Ltd is regulated and for the most part funded by three shareholders(IPA) The Institute of Practitioners in Advertising(NPA) The Newspaper Publishers Association(PPA) The Periodical Publishers AssociationWhy are the surveys so important?The way surveys are carried out affects the estimations it produces. Particularly for media measurement surveys NRS haphazardly selects individual aged 15+ in the UK. Only the chosen individuals may be interviewed to ensure that the surveys are clear and representative.The demographic characteristics wont have the same reading habits according to their lifestyle and availability. Its better for NRS to use random testing to reduce the favouritism towards people who are available for interview than others.The Interviews StructureA nonstop survey, all 12 months of the year, 7 days a weekTotal number around 36,000 interviews a year with adults aged 15+ per yearA random sample interviews only conducted at randomly selected addresses with rando mly selected individualsThe average time for an hour takes half an hourhttp//www.nrs.co.uk/access.html