Kerri Roberts

The Importance
of Research

Contents Page

Kerri Roberts

Types of Research
1. Quantitative
Qualitative

Methods of Research
2.

Primary
3. Secondary
4. Data Gathering Agencies
Self- generated

Purpose of Research
5. Audience Research
6. Market Research
Production Research
7. Bibliography

Types of Research
Quantitative

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Quantitative Research- Type of research that is based on measurable

and quantifiable facts and information, producing numerical and statistical
data. For example, hits on websites and CD sales.
Quantitative research produces data and information that is quantifiable
and are able to measure. The data is usually represented statistically, and
can be presented in the form of tables, charts and diagrams. Both primary
and secondary research techniques can produce quantitative data. This
includes things such as ratings, circulation figures and market analysis, as
well as the counting and measuring of items in a content analysis of a
media product.
Quantitative research also allows the music industry to know how popular
a certain artist is through CD sales
and Website hits- music video
views in particular. This is very
important in knowing whether that
artist needs to do something new
and also how popular they are.
An example of this would be if a
music website, such as AllMusic,
were to review peoples opinions on
a new song by using quantitative
research methods then they would
only be able to review if people
liked it or not by using a chart for
example. This doesnt allow people
to know the emotions, opinions,
etc. of that song due to the research method.

Qualitative research Type of research that is based on opinions,

attitudes and preferences rather than hard facts.
Qualitative research produces information on peoples opinions, views and
preferences about something. Both primary and secondary research
techniques can produce qualitative data that becomes very important
within the media industry as it is used to find out what individuals and
groups think and feel about a particular advertisement, for example, a film
or television programme.
Depending on the nature of the research and the types of questions
asked, it may not always be possible to analyse the results and
information statistically, especially if the responses are personal and

Kerri Roberts

subjective. For example, if someone were to write a song review, not

everything in the review would be accurate or something that you would
be able to change or use to analyse as it is someones opinion. Also, not
everyone would agree, or disagree. Another example could be fanzine
website opinions. Fans that express their opinions on the artists website
may not be a suitable source to use for analysing as they could be a
phony or someone that is expressing their views, which isnt justifiable
evidence to use as an analysis for research. But it is a good way to hear
peoples views and opinions and could even change something for the
better and improve something, if taken into consideration.

Methods of Research
Primary Research
Primary research primary research is research to obtain original data
using such methods as interviews, questionnaires, focus groups and
observation.
Primary research is first hand research that is carried out for a specific
purpose. It involves the use of a range of different techniques to obtain
new data.
Examples of different techniques you can use for primary research areconducting a survey in the street, interviewing people over the phone and
running a focus group.
What to consider when planning primary research:

Think carefully about what you are trying to find out

Choose an appropriate sample

Make sure you know the appropriate research technique

Kerri Roberts

Make sure you know the size, scope and schedule of the task.

One of the main methods used in primary research is asking people

questions, so it is very likely that you will use some form of questioning
technique for the research tasks that you do. In starting this form of
primary research you may decide to:
Organise one-to-one interviews with a selected number of people, produce
a questionnaire to survey a larger group of people and also to organise a
focus group.
Doing a lot of one-to-one interviews can be a very effective method for
getting reliable, qualitative data from a certain amount of people, but it
can also be very time consuming. Also, if you are asking very personal or
sensitive questions then the person being asked may feel a bit
uncomfortable to answer in a face-to-face situation. The use of a
questionnaire is one of the most popular forms of primary research, but in
order to receive reliable and valid answers, the structure of the questions
need to be understandable and worded correctly.

Secondary Research
Secondary research Research that is based on the use of pre-existing
data and information that has already been gathered by another person or
organisation. It can often be found in books, journals or the Internet.
Secondary research involves the use of data and information that has
already been published or is already available within an organisation.
Looking in books, journals and on the Internet for information that already
exists are all examples of secondary research. Many media organisations
will also use data and information that has already been gathered and
analysed.
There is a large amount of information and research data already available
in books, journals and on the Internet, and you might do some form of
secondary research to increase and support your own primary research.
But, collecting pages of information from the Internet doesnt count as

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being secondary research. So, any information that you print off from the
Internet, or photocopy from books and journals, should be read and then
changed to suit your understanding for it then to be used to inform and
increase your own primary research.
When carrying out secondary research you should make sure that you
know what the purpose of the research was, who authorised it and when it
was conducted. This is because not every piece of research that you find
will be reliable or valid. For example, if you were researching the effects of
advertising on young people you might find a piece of research that says
that there is no evidence to show that cigarette advertising encourages
young people to smoke. But before using this secondary information, you
should first of all know that the research is very dated (from the 1960s),
was conducted in the USA and not the UK, and was sponsored by a
leading cigarette manufacturer of the time.

Data Gathering Agencies

A data-gathering agency is an agency that gathers data for various
reasons and for various different methods. Some of these methods could
include filling in surveys or even taking part in interviews in order to
gather data. This data may then be used in order to improve a certain
product or service. People may go to a data gathering agency as it isnt
very time consuming, could help save them money and even may enjoy
the service.
Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR) was established in 1992 to
operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry,
including all BBC, UK-licensed and other commercial stations. The
Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) and the British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) own the company. There are an increasing
number of advertising agencies, including the above, which offer research
and analysis services to media producers, advertisers and regulators.

Summary of radio
audience figures for the
quarter ending
December 2006 (Source:
RAJAR)

Kerri Roberts

Self-Generated
Self-generated research is research, which you have gathered yourself. For
example, it may be a video that you have produced, records of events or
your own observations. This could be things such as forms of media this is
right, but by looking back at your own content which you have created for
your own or even someone elses research purposes makes it SelfGenerated research.
So if you have created your own video, you could use this as research if
you were looking into the basics of filming techniques and shot types, as
long as you keeping referring back to your own work.
Also, your own observations could be used to help make a music video for
example. So, if you had previously observed the making of a music video,
then you could use the things you had learned from this and the research
to make your own music video.

Purpose of Research
Audience Research
Splitting the audience into different categories makes it easier for media
producers to identify and target groups of people with the same needs
and wants. For people who are doing research within, or on behalf of,
media organisations should look for categories they can use to divide up
the possible audience.
Common classifications include:

Age

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Many advertisers are interested in what different age groups are reading,
listening to, watching and playing, because they can then know whether
to advertise their products and services on certain media websites and
places.

Gender
Gender is also an important category as many media products are
targeted at a specific gender group. This is more noticeable within the
magazine market, which have specific products targeted at men and
others targeted at women. But, this doesnt mean that a certain gender
isnt allowed to read a certain magazine, as it would be classed as
stereotyping.

Culture and ethnicity

Due to the progression the media industry has had, newspapers,
magazines, radio and television programmes are now available to people
from all over the world. Media producers will also try and sell their
products to audiences all over the world. There is also a growing
production base in the UK for media products that target different cultures
and ethnic groups.
Income and social class
The potential audience can also be split depending on annual salary or
type of job and social class. Knowing a persons disposable income can be
important, especially for advertisers who need to target the appropriate
income group as accurately as possible. For example, it would be useless
trying to advertise and sell a Rolex watch to a household that has a low
disposable income.
Most organisations involved with media research and production use the
socio-economic groups (A, B, C1, C2, D and E) to identify and describe the
different audience groupings according to income and social class.
Sometimes the different categories are combined to shorten the data they
have collected.
Audience research is important to the music video industry as well as it
allows artists to produce a video that is targeted towards their fan base,
but also a wider audience, which may help them build their fan base. With
audience research, the industry is able to make money as well. For
example, Eminems mass audience will consist of mainly young male
teens aged 15 to 25. This is mainly due to his choice of lyric, style and
song meaning.

Kerri Roberts

Market Research
Effective and successful media products target the right audience and
communicate to them in an effective way. As the media industry becomes
more divided, there is more competition for a share of the audience.
Market research involves looking at:

Statistical data about audience size and structure for a particular

media product (for example, how many people read The Sun
newspaper and what sort of people they are)

How much a potential audience know about a media product or

service (for example how many people are aware of new digital
radio channels that are available)

What people think about particular products and services and how
they usually behave (for example what people think about
broadband Internet technology and what they use it for)

Market competitors who are competing for a share of the audience

and revenue with similar products (for example a company
launching a new lifestyle magazine will want to be fully informed
about other similar magazines).

The media marketplace is highly competitive and media producers will

often start detailed research into their target market, or more commonly
instruct other companies to begin research on their behalf. The findings of
their research often become a commercial product in its own right that is
then sold on to media companies.
In the music industry, marketing and promotion costs are the largest
single item of spends for a record company on upcoming artists. Breaking
an artist to a major audience unlocks a wide range of revenue
opportunities, from live to merchandising. This requires a substantial
investment.
Record companies have generally switched their marketing spend towards
digital platforms, which enables them to target individual groups of
consumers more accurately. But, the costs of online marketing are
increasing, and record companies also have to continue to advertise
across television, radio, print and outdoor media to ensure their artist
stands out. Some record companies have also increased the amount they
spend on customer insight and research, which enables them to take
advantage of new marketing opportunities.

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Record companies have the contacts in TV and radio. In countries around

the world, broadcasters trust them as a source of new music. Artists
rightly expect support from this network when they sign a recording deal.
Showing off performers to audiences in different markets is an important
way of being able to reach a large audience.
A record company can spend between 200,000 and 700,000 trying to
break an up and coming artist in a major market.
So, market research is important in the music industry as record labels
need to make sure that they are not wasting their money, but are
investing in an artist that will succeed and hopefully make their money
back.

Production Research
Production research is research in which a producer will find and gain
information about a certain product. So, for example, production research
in the music industry will work by someone scouting a hopeful artist and
then finding out what main points about him or her will sell. Production
research will consist of mainly the content and resources, for example,
talent, finance, suppliers, facilities, locations, costs.
Also practicality and placement, e.g. publication, broadcast, webcast,
podcast, audience is other things in which production research involves.
Due to the cost of media products, planning is essential. For example, if
you were to produce a music video, you will need to think about the cost
for crew, equipment, location, props, etc.
Video production is more important now as many customers can access
music through services such as YouTube and Vevo. Record companies
usually produce two or three videos per album. Costs can vary widely
between individual projects, with some artists' videos costing over
500,000, while some innovative low budget videos can cost as little as
10,000. The average cost of video production for an up and coming pop
act in a major market is estimated to be around 50-300,000 for three
videos. But this high spending is not always needed and videos can be
produced much more cheaply. It all depends on the needs of the individual
project.
For example, If you are making a music video, before going to the
expense of production, you will firstly need to identify your audience and
find out whether your production will appeal to them. Audiences can be
classified by age, sex, geographical location, etc. so, to help you

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understand your target audience, you could look at the audiences for an
existing similar video to identify your own audience. So, if you were
making a Pop Punk music video, you could research who the audience was
for Sum 41- In Too Deep. Once you have done this, it will give you a good
idea in identifying the target audience for your own music video which will
be mainly teens between 18 and 25. You can then use this demographic
as a basis for your further research. Production research saves money and
time.

Bibliography
http://www.slideshare.net/09SC1/data-gathering-agencies
http://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/FEAndVocational/Creativea
ndMedia/BTECLevel
%203/BTECNationalInMediaProduction/Samples/Samplematerial/BTEC_Nat
_Media_Unit01.pdf

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http://www.slideshare.net/MrMightyMcD/research-unit-booklet
http://www.slideshare.net/mroper/research-techniques-in-the-mediaindustry
http://www.ifpi.org/how-record-labels-invest.php
http://freddysa2mediacw.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/target-audience-foreminem.html
https://www.plunkettresearch.com/industries/entertainment-mediapublishing-market-research/
http://thcvibeproductions.weebly.com/round-2.html