Research Techniques

Handbook.
 Contents Page:
Page 3: Quantitative Research
Page 4: Qualitative Research
Page 5: Self-Generated and Data Gathering Agencies
Page 6: Audience, Market and Production Research:
 Quantitative Research
Quantitative research is when questions are asked to members
of the public or a certain focus group that provide conclusive
details. This assortment of data will then be used to measure
the interest of a particular topic or idea. This type of research is
usually how products or productions are determined. This
particular method of research allows the producers to have a
more ranged opinion and allows them to be in more contact
with their target audience this then leads the company to work
on a production that is pleasing to their targeted market.

There is a range of methods within this research technique. For

example probability sampling is when the target audience are
mostly considered regarding the topic they are researching. In
order to ensure this research is unbiased a range of people will
be referred to the people who have been chosen will then be
separated into groups regarding age and gender etc

However, another method would be Non-Probability sampling;

this is when certain people will be chosen to be questioned.
This is to determine a more specific demographic this also
ensures that the answers will not be as ranged unlike the
previous research method mentioned. The more specific market
allows the producer to be sure of what theyre market is
currently interested in.

This method of research as a whole is useful regarding music

videos as it gives the producer an idea of what the public are
more interested in at this time also ensures that the staff
working on the production have an understanding of what
theyre preferences are regarding the music video side of the
media industry. Due to the fact whats popular is constantly
changing in pop-culture this research method is a productive
way for producers to keep up with their target audiences
interests. However this technique is useful regarding all
platforms of media as well whether it be for TV and film or for
journalism such as magazines and newspaper articles as it
highlights the most popular trends of this period.

A negative of this research method may be that the statistics

are not detailed enough for the producers to find how varied or
not varied the opinion of their target audience is regarding their
production idea. As this research is mostly completed through
mathematics the producers will not understand the opinion of
their audience in a detailed explanation that could benefit their
production incredibly. Also the statistics may be in accurate due
to a technical difficulty of human error this could then inflict on
the production and result in the production not being as
successful as intended during filming.

Quantitative research is purely numerical this means that it

only shows by statistics how interested people are in a specific
production for example, the YouTube popularity of Gangnam
Style is purely based upon how many views the sensation
received. The video itself has been viewed over 1 billion times
making it one of the most popular videos on YouTube. These
types of number highlight the interest of the music video
regarding members of the public. This type of video was very
popular due to the fact it was strange and outgoing. People
enjoyed the music video and it was viewed so many times due
to its insane amount of promotion and how much it was talked
about within the public this then resulted in an incredibly
popular production.

Qualitative Research:
In comparison to quantitative research which is dependent on
statistics qualitative research is more reliant on how people
think and why. Fewer people will be nominated to answer the
questions the production would want them to answer, this is so
theyre target audience has a larger response and their
research and results are more reliable regarding what they
want to achieve. Qualitative research allows the workers on
the production to explore their target audience on a more
personal level and can give more detailed explanations as to
what particularly interests that specific age group. This
technique also ensures that the people selected to answer
questions are able to give more varied answers and can
express their own opinion the topic in a more professional
manner.

An example of qualitative research is interviewing the

nominated people one to one sessions this method has been
proven to be very successful as it will be easier for the
interviewee to explain why they are interested in the topic with
a more detailed response in comparison to answering a
questionnaire where the interviewee may get bored too quickly
and not give an expressive opinion that will benefit the
production in a positive manner.

Another popular method used in qualitative research are focus

groups this is when a group of selected people (the target
audience) are bought together to answer a series of question
regarding the specific topic the production crew need to know
more about. The number of people involved in the focus group
may vary regarding how much research the production workers
believe they need in order to have a stronger understanding of
the opinion given by the target audience as going against the
majoritys opinion may impact the productions success once it
is released or published.

However a negative of this research is there may be a time

limit in which the interviewee can remain in the interview this
can lead to the questions and more importantly the answers to
be said quickly and not in a lot of detail which would then
jeopardise the research and can inflict the process of the whole
production. Also there may be an extreme difference opinion in
the focus group which could confuse the producers as to what
idea they should follow and makes it impossible to make a
compromise which benefits both points of view.

As a whole this technique can be proven to be successful but

has a few negative points as this method is very reliant on a
solid opinion to have an estimated idea of how successful the
production will be once released to find out you have a more
varied opinion will make it difficult for the producers to move
the production forward, more importantly will increase the
difficulty of impressing the target audience as a whole although
to impress everyone is merely impossible to achieve when
working in the media industry which enhances the positive of
this method as it allows the producers to find out what the
majority of people think and why this is their opinion on it.

This method of research also helps labels see how popular

certain types of past productions have been regarding how the
public have responded to them as it is a more informative way
to receive feedback this allows companies to adjust their
productions and their artists to be more popular regarding the
publics perspective.

Secondary Research:
Secondary research is when research is composed using
sources such as books, the internet and newspaper articles this
method of research tends to be used in the music industry as
you can observe the past success of other artists and producers
in order to promote and improve your own music production
and the style in which this is being presented.

A con of this method is mostly the idea that all of the sources
are trustworthy and honest regarding the popular opinion of a
specific artist, genre of music or style of music video. Due to
the sources being secondary they can either be exaggerated or
dishonest and more importantly edited to suit a particular
opinion or audience. They also may have been misinterpreted
by the producer which could then lead to the production as a
whole following the wrong idea.

However it does give the opportunity to discover more ideas

that may have been used before and style them into their own
in order to promote and artist or a particular piece of music.
The researcher could read through old music magazines which
would then allow them to see what was successful either
recently on in the past and could use their ideas and the
popularity they had in order to promote their production and
the artist themselves. As when promoting music you are not
only affecting the promotion of the artist but also the work of
the producer and the person who has been selected to use
research to benefit the production they are working on.

Primary Research:
Primary research is more personal and less based upon Medias
promotion of the topic. Primary research will consist of focus
groups and questionnaires that have been carefully designed to
ensure the production receive responses which are useful to
them on when working on the project.

This research tends to be more helpful during production as it

allows the crew to have more exact responses that they are
looking for and allows them to examine the specific points they
may be struggling with regarding the presentation of the
production. This means they can decide what questions they
will ask to their selected few that fit into their target audience
this can be done in person-to-person focus groups or through
online or printed questionnaires once they have been
completed the producers will have a clear and well evaluation
of what their audiences wants and expects to see.

A con of this is that the interviewees may be misinterpreted or

dont give a well explained answer that could affect the
production also they may feel as if they cant go against the
majority which could affect the statistics of the research.

Self-Generated Research:
Self-generated research is when a company will work with
research that has been done without any sort of aid other than
themselves. This would be beneficial to the company as it
allows them to use their own knowledge in order to improve
their production. Its also coming from a personal source this
means that the researcher does not need to worry about the
information being twisted as its coming from their own
knowledge or the companies own knowledge.

However this method of research can be difficult to trust as it

may not come from a source that has proven it to be correct
this can lead to the company following false information that
can inflict the production negatively.

Data Gathering Agencies:

Data gathering agencies are organisations that collect
information about audience measurement. For example the
organisation RAJAR operate a single audience measurement
system for UK radio and work with the BBC and some other
stations. The company have a joint ownership of the BBC
(British Broadcasting Corporation) as this channel is a high
priority regarding audience measurements.

Although they have all the statistics a negative of these

agencies is that the information is not well explained as its
simply data consisting of numbers such as how many people
watch a show this means the responses have very little detail
about the audiences opinion.

Regarding music videos these statistics could be very useful

regarding when the most popular times are for people being
online and how popular other music videos are in comparison in
conclusion this method of research allows the company to have
a better idea of what they are competing against.

Audience Research:
Audience research is when the company will research their
target audiences point of view on specific topics that will inflict
how they produce music or their music videos this can be done
with many different research methods such as focus groups or
one-to-one interview sessions that the company will then use to
structure their music video. To ensure that the audience is
pleased with the final production companies will use the
research they have gathered on their audience

This is important to music videos as it will inflict how the

audience respond to the production itself once it is released. In
my opinion audience research is the most important thing that
labels and companies need to do to ensure that their
production and artists are as successful as they possibly can be
as in the music industry a positive audience response is the
most important thing that leads to a successful career or
production.

Companies tend to adjust their productions to a specific

audience classification whether this be their gender, age,
sexual orientation or occupation. By working around groups like
this the company allows itself to specify their productions to a
smaller point this means that they can concentrate on ensuring
this artist or music video appeals to their target audience this
also ensures that it will be popular within the market and allows
the production to reach a certain point of popularity. This is an
example as to why audience research is an important concept
in the music video industry as it is what the entire productions
success is based upon.

Media preferences is when a company researches the online

specifications (iTunes, Spotify, YouTube etc) on how often
music is bought by the public and they also keep track of the
buying patterns this is when they research into how often music
is purchased online whether this be daily, weekly or monthly.
Media preferences are important regarding the popularity of the
song regarding how much it has been purchased this then leads
to the overall success of the artist.

Product preferences is when a company thinks about things

such as physical copies such as CDs and Vinyls the company
will research how popular this preference is regarding their
chosen target audience. This then allows them to get
permission to publish the song via these types of platforms.
This type of purchase then adds to the overall success of the
song and/or artist by producing the production to these
platforms it allows the target audience to access the production
easier and on many different media platforms.

Market Research:
Market research is when the label with gather information
about the people or other companies who are purchasing their
product this is to debate which product may be more successful
than the other or to estimate the amount they will earn from
the product or how much promotion will be available for this
product.

Market research can be twisted though in order to try and

sabotage the competition or to ensure that a company has the
upper hand.

The market research allows the company to check out the

competitor and their success rate. This then results in the
company ensuring that their production is capable of beating
the success rate of other record labels their competitor analysis
is up to date data that withholds information about the other
companies. This then gives them a secure and reliable source
to check up on when producing a new music video.

Market research is also important regarding advertising as it

will show the company where to advertise and how to do so.
Advertising is very effective and important in the music
industry as the success is based upon how the public perceive
the production. This also gives the companies a bigger chance
to beat their competitor if theyre production is advertised more
or advertised on better platforms. For example, if a company
was adjusting their work to be relatable to younger audiences
they would most likely want to advertise their production on a
platform such as YouTube as this is where most teenagers will
be able to see the advertisement this would then influence the
majority to follow the production and might help with future
success regarding the artist.

Production Research:
Production research is needed in the production process of a
music video. The research is to benefit information about the
structure of the production when filming. It focuses mostly
during the production process which is self-explanatory. The
research allows a company to have more commercial value
when producing the music video.

A negative of production research may be the sources are not

trustworthy or research methods such as questionnaires were
not followed through correctly and therefore the company is not
receiving the information they need in order to complete
filming to the standard they would want to.

The content of the production is the most important thing when

producing a music video this means that the company will have
to do various research techniques in order to accomplish what
they need in order to ensure a successful career for an artist.
Companies will have many resources when talking about
production research as it has high importance during the
production process of a music video this maybe: personnel,
suppliers, finance etc. Production research looks into how
specific audiences respond to particular music videos this is
then acknowledged in order to improve and produce a music
video that is popular and well presented to the public and/or
chosen audience.

Costs is vital as it indicates the finance portion of production

this is decided by the company and the people working of the
production then have to work their production around the
budget given to them. The company will base the budget
around past success of the artist or the concept.

The viability is measured upon the success ability of the

production. This is important when doing production research
as the company can base this upon their production and use it
to ensure that it meets a high enough standard that the
company ensure that is gets the advertisement, budget and
work crew it needs to ensure it reaches the high success the
people working on the production want to achieve.

The placement of a production is vital to the success overall.

The record label will debate how and where the placement
should be for their audience. This can be via, broadcast,
webcast, podcast and audience. This is important as it decides
where the production is placed and how/where it is viewed.

Bibliography

http://thcvibeproductions.weebly.com/u3-lo1.html

http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/market-
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http://www.dictionary.com/browse/self-generated
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http://www.rajar.co.uk/content.php?
page=about_process
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%20meaning