Evaluating Research Methods
Media companies often expect that mass media products have a large audience reach. This means the product is more likely to be successful and will make profit via sales. However, the primary reason for this is to find out how many people will consume the product within a given reach through research.
Organizations such as BARB and RAJAR carry this out for companies in the TV and Radio industries; comparatively NRS collects circulation (how many people buy a print product) and readership (multiple people reading that purchased print product) data for publishing and print companies.
Audience Feedback allows media companies to notice a gap in the market (something such as a product that isn't in the market like the lack of a girl band, introducing a girl band fills that gap). Audience feedback is also used to develop an understanding to the needs of mainstream and niche audiences. Social media is often used to gain this feedback as it is cost effective (cheap) and gains a high response rate. This is because social media is a captive and mass audience that allows for audiences to easily share media content. This allows for audiences to give feedback on how they can be targeted for a given product.
Competitor Research is useful as it allows for a company to research what is successful and what isn't about a competitors product so that the company that is conducting the research can use that research to improve their products and beat their competitors. BBC and ITV use online technologies to conduct focus groups (researchers) to find out what viewers think of major storylines they have produced. Companies find out what audiences think about the products of their competitors.
- Primary Research Methods - methods conducted by yourself such as making and releasing a questionnaires of open (an opinion) and closed (yes or no) questions, focus groups (online via sites like Teams, Skype and Zoom), interviews and online surveys to discover what the media producer wants to find out. This is beneficial as this is your own research therefore, no source is needed to be given (and research won't be wrong as it's first hand so reliability is not an issue) due to it being your own research .
- Secondary Research Methods - methods that use information that has already been released such as theorist research or using the internet to find information. This can cost money to access certain sites/information and runs the risk of outdated/misinformation as well as unreliable sources.
Primary Research Methods - Advantages and Disadvantages
Questionnaires
- Advantages - Allows researcher to ask direct questions to get the answers they want to know, easy to answer, can reach older and younger demographics
- Disadvantages - The sample can be biased, risk of low response rate, questionnaire could go to junk folder, untruthful answers
Focus Groups
- Advantages - You can develop discussions with immediate answers
- Disadvantages - Multiple people can all give the same opinion, one person can be overbearing
Interviews
- Advantages - Allows the producer to ask direct questions which give direct answers from one specially selected person/detailed answers, making that information more reliable. Can ask for interviewee to elaborate
- Disadvantages - Small sample size
Online Surveys
- Advantages - Reaches a mass audience that exceeds in reaching digital natives
- Disadvantages - People can give misinformation, not everyone can access the internet
Secondary Research Methods - Advantages and Disadvantages
Internet Research - Search engines gather personal opinions, news articles and academic research.
- Advantages - Accessible via blackbox devices with near limitless sources
- Disadvantages - This can cost money, requires an internet connection, sources can be unreliable or have misinformation. Advantages -
Books and Journals - Textbooks provide methods of getting information.
- Advantages - Lengthy and detailed pieces of text covering needed information. Traditional (been through a publishing company)
- Disadvantages - The writer may have incorrect or misinformation, authors may be unreliable or biased (requires background check), text can be outdated
Magazines and Newspapers - Articles written by journalists who have used primary research methods to create data.
- Advantages - Written by professional journalists who understand what they are writing about and use primary sources
- Disadvantages -Information may be harder to find in a wide magazine or newspaper, costs money and information can be biased/fake news.
- Advantages - Easy to access due to it being on your home TV and via streaming services (accessible via blackbox device). Visual.
- Disadvantages - Information might be outdated or made in a way that appeals to a certain audience therefore, losing pertinent information to cater to a wider audience. Not time efficient.
SWOT - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities (improvements), Threats
You have been asked to launch a new fashion magazine aimed at young females (16-24). Choose two research methods (one primary, one secondary) and use SWOT to analyse them.
Questionnaire: Can be sent out via email or a social media post, this is because the 16-24 age bracket consists of digital natives who are likely to be using a blackbox device to see these questionnaires. This is advantageous as it reaches a wider sample that also includes the target audience. However, online questionnaires can result in false/misinformation due to ease of access. This presents opportunities to find out what audiences want from the magazine therefore, it can cater better towards the target demographic, using audience feedback. Additionally, to prevent misinformation the questionnaire can contain closed questions or the user will have to register an email to discourage putting false information. However, if the questionnaire is not anonymous then you run the risk of breaching the data protection act.
Internet Research: An advantage of using the internet for secondary research would be that you can analyse other's primary research methods for your own benefit with sites such as BARB or RAJAR, this being easy to access and often free. However, information can be outdated depending on what sites you conduct research on, leading to false information. This can be circumvented via analyzing when the research was conducted by way of a date on the site or way back machine; false information avoided by conducting research on the person who wrote whatever you're analysing for legitimacy. A potential threat would be the copyright act; using others research for your own benefit or claiming it as your own.
PEST Analysis
- Political - Environmental issues, legislations, regulatory bodies (e.g. Ofcom), funding and grants, government policies.
- Economic - Economy (abroad and domestic), economic trends, taxes, exchange/interest rates.
- Social - Lifestyle trends, demographics, consumer attitudes, brand, role models/influencers.
- Technology - Technological development, research funding, replacement technology, data, intellectual property rights, innovational potential.
Marketing Possibilities
In the media industry, most successful products will often have spin off's and sequels however, this is dependent on audience feedback and income. This is because if a product is successful, audiences are more inclined to consume a spin-off product related to what they already know they enjoy. This makes it safe for the company to produce a spin-off as it is likely to have a similar success to their previous successful product. An example of this would be Loki which is a spin-off series to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (The Avengers and Thor films).
Companies know if their product is successful based on viewer ratings, social interactions online/publicity and reviews (alongside income).
It's important for companies to know how audiences consume their product (the platform and way they are using it) such as watching a movie via streaming service on blackbox device rather than traditional cinema. Companies know this by analysing data (found on places like BARB).
Technological Convergence
Technological convergence - The way in how media has changed in the way it can be accessed since web 2.0; technologies incorporating many kinds of media on one device. Technological convergence has changed the way industries distribute media. This could include a newspaper converting to online issues to be accessed via blackbox device.
If you see a newspaper like the Daily Mail which has more mobile sales/circulation than print, the audience is primarily digital natives (below 35). Compared to The Mirror which has more print/physical circulation due to an ABC1 audience that have disposable income to spend on individual newspapers (rather than a monthly subscription), mainly being digital migrants (35+).
Data Types
Qualitative Data - descriptive data in detail (text based) that allows for in depth analysis of a product and what people think of it. Beneficial for individual feedback.
Quantative Data - numerical data that allows for figures and facts to be analysed such as how many people interact with a product and how many via a certain platform. Less individual and gives less precise detail however, gives quick and concise understandings of factual objective data rather than subjective opinions from qualitative.
Quantative Data - BARB
Regulatory Bodies
- W3C - Internet
- PEGI - Games
- PRS (Performing Rights Society) - Music
- BBFC - Film
- Ofcom - TV and Radio
- ASA - Advertising
- IPSO - Print
Media Research Organizations
- BARB (Broadcasting Audience Research Board) - TV
- PAMCO/NRS (National Readership Survey) - Print
- RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research) - Radio
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