Courtney Wilsnagh

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Courtney Wilsnagh
Creative Media
15 February 2014



Unit 3: Research Techniques
Why Research is important
one of the main purposes of research is to collect and gather information on a
subject therefore improving your knowledge and understanding of the topic at
hand.

Quantitative research:
What are TV programme ratings? Give some examples.
The ratings for a TV program are for the age limits. Each episode of each program,
series, film etc. played on the TV has a
rating for the age of who can watch what.
In the UK, there isnt particularly an age
limit, but there is a rule that has to be
followed, called Ofcom, that enforces the
watershed rule. The rule is that no sexual,
rude, or foul language and body language
can be shown on live TV until 9:00pm.
What are readership circulation figures?
A newspapers circulation is the number of
copies it distributes on an average day.
Circulation is one of the principal factors used to set advertising rate. Readership
figures are usually higher than circulation figures because of the assumption that a
typical copy of the newspaper is read by more than one person. In many developed
countries, newspaper circulation is falling due to social and technological changes
such as the availability of news on the internet. is an estimate as the amount of readers
there are for copies.

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Do the number of hits on a website show how popular the website is? Do you
need more information about who is using the website to get an accurate
picture?
The number of hits means the amount of views a website has, the more popular it is
on the other hand just because people have been on the website, doesnt mean they
approve or that the website is what they where looking for. In conclusion more data
would be needed on who is using the website before you come to assumptions, this
could be done by for example like facebook pages a like button is used to say
whether the page appealed to them or not
Do box office figures show if a film is popular? Would this change in different
countries or cultures depending on what the audiences around the world enjoy?
Box office figures show how much profit and views a film has during its opening at
theatres and cinemas this will of course show how popular the film being aired is
compared to the others, although this does change according to countries and cultures
as each has different preferences to what is appealing, for example a british comedy
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might do better locally than in America as they will not understand british humour as
well.
Do sales of CDs and DVDs and internet downloads show what kinds of
programmes people are interested in?
The sales of DVDs and CDs dont determine what types of programmes people are
interested in although TV programme ratings would determine this if the programme
produces a soundtrack of songs used in the programmes or in a film then this would
show whether the programme is popular with its audience. You could also gather data
from the genre of music and films and see if they are similar to any programmes.

Qualitative research

What are film reviews, who might read them, do they have different styles?
film reviews are the evaluation and analysis of the film from a viewers perspective,
they critique and express there options about the film which could be found regularly
in magazine and newspapers for example. the Daily Mail and the Sun Newspaper.
Would a film review in The Sun newspaper be different from one in the Daily
Mail?
The Sun (7,772,000 readers)
The Daily Mail (4,741,000)
A film review in the Daily Mail and Sun newspaper would be very similar apart from
the fact that they are read by different target Audiences and as you can see the Sun has
more Views than the Daily mail this is mostly due to the fact that the Sun is read by
viewers who are less educated and like stories loosely based on the truth.
Are computer game reviews different for different kinds of players of games?
computer game reviews will vary depending on the genre of the game. X-box or
PlayStation gamers who are very much into their gaming and all of the new releases
will do research into these new games in order to find out all of the information that
they require; which they are likely to find on either the games certified website or
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websites that specify game reviews. Those people that play games on social
networking sites; Facebook arent as likely to do research into the reviews of the
games but if they did then it is possible that reviews will be left as comments on
Facebook.
How do fanzine websites talk about their chosen content, is it different to a
critical
Fanzone websites tend to be a have both positive and navigate views towards the
particular game.
In my opinion going to a fanzone website to read read up about a game I'm interested
in would be my first choice, as there tends to be no agreement on the quality of
experience you have while playing the games, because it is everybody's personal
opinion. Reviews on websites like this are often not in depth about why the game is a
failure or a huge success, they tend to be messages about one certain thing thats
happened to one person, and that others cant relate too.
Users of fanzone websites tend to be gamers, as theres always change and updates
going on within the game. Fans of TV shows or DVDs dont tend to have fanzone
websites as theres hardly ever more than 2 or 3 new versions of a film, so theres
never much to mention. However, a film such as Harry Potter, where there are 7 or 8
versions of this film, I could understand about there being a fanzone website for this
as there are also games on the PS3, Xbox and Nintendo of Harry Potter.
Big companies such as ITV, BBC and Channel 4 should have a fanzone where they
can debate about shows, and connect with each other about whats just happened on a
show thats live on air at that particular moment, a week old, or on in an hours time.
However, I do feel that companies as big and as successful as ITV, BBC and Channel
4 should not listen to fans reviews as they could then make or break a show, or
potentially their reputation
What websites allow you to comment and give responses to news coverage?
websites such as www.bbc.co.uk allow you to comment and give responses.
What websites allow audiences to responses or make complaints about
advertising?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/complain-online/
As you can tell the BBC website is big on there views opinions and customer service.
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How might advertising campaigns work (e.g. Go compare, Compare the
Meerkat,etc)?
How do the adverts develop? How would the advertisers know their adverts are
working and know to keep the campaign running?

Part 2: Methods and sources of research

There are different ways in which you can collect data, however they can be grouped
into two main areas.
Primary research, where you get information direct from the source, and secondary
information, where someone else has prepared information for you. In terms of
primary research, what are the following and how would you carry each one out?
An interview with an expert
This could be most helpful as it would be classed as Primary research, this is because
the expert can help you by answering all the required questions and give you valuable
information you will need to create a successful product.
What are open and closed questions?
Open questions can be answered with any answer you want for an open question
could be whats your favourite romance movies and why? as you can see the answer
can be quiet lengthy where as a closed question has a simple yes or no answer for
example Do you have a camera? as you can tell this only requires a one worded
answer.
An observation of an event
This will give you first hand knowledge of the event as for example it would be more
helpful than another person explaining the even to you as it will not be changed by
that persons views or prospective
Online questionnaires
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This will show different peoples opinions and views from a very diverse audience.
This will be helpful if you are trying to pick a target audience or a product more
people will enjoy.
Census surveys
this is done to collect information about every person in the population and is the
more expensive way to gather information as this collects data from 100 person of the
people.
this results in the fact that Censuses can only be conducted every few years as it is a
long and expensive process.
A focus group
is where a group of people are asked to share their opinions, beliefs and attitudes
towards a product. This helps the company understand what the target audience feel
about the product, and see what they can do to make the product more successful to
the audience.
Audience panels
This is when a group of people are asked to share there thoughts, views and opinions
about a particular product so they can collect data about the products likability and or
alter it.
Active participation in internet forums about a subject (e.g. Avaaz, CAAT, etc.)
This is another tactics of getting the opions, ect on a product.
In terms of secondary research where could you get access to the following
information sources? What might be an appropriate use for each one?
Books could be helpful depending on the subject matter at hand. this form of research
is most important when researching history and things that are not recent ,this is
because most evidence is being developed to fast and technology is taking over in the
aspect of filing evidence digitally and on the internet.
Journals are extremely helpful if you want primary evidence on events, for example
in world war we can gain personal first hand knowledge because the soldier was
documenting evens as it was happening.
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Periodicals is a newspaper or magazine that is only published at certain times. For
instance,FourFourTwo, is published once a month, therefore making a bigger and
better reading for its viewers.
Newspapers
Film Archives
Photo Libraries are a good way of promoting your product without the use of words.
You can show off your product whilst in use, which is sometimes what puts people off
when buying a product simply because they cant see the job it does, and the
difference it can make.
Online encyclopaedia
Is an online resource of information that can be changed and updated frequently
by other users.

Audience Research Board (BARB)
As best said on its own webpage, BARB is the official source of television
viewing figures in the UK. We continually develop new ways of measuring
what you and the rest of the UK are watching.
Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd (RAJAR)
is the official body in charge of measuring radio audiences in the UK. It is
jointly 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.
How can your own self-generated audio or photographic records of events be
used to research?
Part 3: Purposes of Research
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When your research is complete your data will be useful to you. How are the
following different kinds of media information used?
Audience research, how could you use:
Audience research allows us to obtain valuable data so that we can profile our
audience which can assist in identifying data to either substantiate or discount
our research. It also allows us to establish if difference audit demographics has a
bearing on expected outcomes of our research, establishing which demographic
would value the research more or less. Therefore identifying our target audience
for future reference which could allow us to do deeper research dives if required
later.
Audience Data
Audience data allows us to segment our data in order to validate or dispute our
data. Gives us the ability to profile our audience into different segments either
via demographics or profiling based on age and gender.
Audience Profiling
Audience profiling is used to segregate the audience based on age, gender etc to
ensure that the correct target audience can be reached. This is useful when the
media is intended for a specific target audience.
Demographics
Demographics allows us to target a specific audience based on social and
economic standing that could also have a bearing on our intended research and
target media audience.

knowing who you are dealing with
This is important to ensure that we are reaching the correct target audience.
Geodemographics
refers to segmenting the population by recognising that people generally live in close
proximity to other people who are demographically similar.
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The clustering is based on the life stage and wealth characteristics of the population.
Landscape therefore allows the marketer to objectively differentiate between the
diverse types of people in the population, from those in metropolitan areas to those
found in rural and semi-rural locations. For example a business just trying to open a
shop, they need to pick the area well as if they majority of people are elderly it would
be a bad move to put for example a activities centre
knowing where your audience is from
Knowing where your audience is from assist in ensuring that its relevant and the
target audience can identify with it.
Consumer Behaviour (i.e. collated from Tescos clubard)
Consumer behaviour is valuable in that it can establish if there is a pattern in
which consumers behave based on external or internal factors; therefore
influencing there behaviour in either one or the other direction as a result. This
is also often used to identify if a specific marketing campaign has been effective
or not and sometimes used to drive consumer behaviour by having a campaign
that is focused on achieving a consumer behavioural result.
Consumer Attitudes (i.e. from an online survey)
Consumer attitudes allows us to establish the consumers responsiveness to a
particular situation, instance or service. establishing if the consumer attitude is
receptive, negative or positive.
Audience Awareness (Knowledge of facts and figures)
Audience awareness could be critical in ensuring that if we have quoted any
facts or figures that they can be quickly validated, disputed or reconfirmed. it
can also be used to quickly garner support for a particular promotion allowing
quick cross referencing and substantiation of facts and figures.



Market research, how could you use information about:
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The Product Market
By utilising market research based on a particular product allows us to quickly
garner if that product is a viable within a particular market or segment.
complimentary to that market or competitive.
what is already out there
establishes a base for what is currently in the market.
How much competition there is
can establish the breadth and depth and competitiveness of the market
Competitor Analysis
The market research can be used to segment the competitor landscape
establishing who is the market leaders and what differentiates and or the
similarities between competitors. It cal also help assist in identifying when at
times if the product is similar however one competitor simply out performs
another as a result of things such as better after sales service or customer service
as examples.
who are your main competitors and can you compete?
Market research is vital in identifying your competitive landscape, enabling you
to rank them and also identify there strengths and also at times there weaknesses
and possibly also establish if there is a gap in the market that you will be able to
exploit and therefore compete effectively.
Advertising Placement, where is it best to put your adverts?
In this day advertising dollars are hard to come by therefore having effective
market research will ensure that the correct target audience can be used which
will hopefully result in an improved return on investment. As a result ensuring
that the best place to place your advert is achieved in hopefully a shorter
timeframe.
Advertising Effects, how effective is you chosen format and style of advert
going to be on your audience?
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The effectiveness of the form and style of an advert will be determined based on
the research obtained and establishing the intended target audience. Therefore
based on that research we can identify and ensure that we address the format
and style which will best suited to reach an intended audience.


Conclusion:
In conclusion working in the media without having access to information and or
information gathering methods would be extremely difficult and this just goes
to show the importance of research and how valuable it is to creating a product.
Bibliography:
thhttp://www.nrs.co.uk/readership-circulation-trends/