Task 1 – Understand the Nature and Purposes of Research in the Creative Media Industries

Types of Research

There are two main types of research, they are QUANTITATIVE research and QUALITATIVE research.

Quantitative research is made up from surveys, questionnaires and asks the audience their opinions of a certain product or service in a structured way, the use of the surveys and questionnaires are so that the company can get numerical data or information that can be easily put into numbers. The development of questions is also included in quantitative research, it can also be used to find out if the audience like the product or not, it shows this using numerical data. Programme ratings and box-office takings are included within quantitative data. This type of research is used in the games industry to find out if a particular product that they have created was a success or not. The way they would conduct this research is by asking a variety of different people that bought the game, what their opinion of it was; once they had gathered that information they could then put it into a percentage and create a chart that shows whether the game was received well or whether it could have been better. Developers release alpha and beta versions of the game so that the audience can get  a sense of how the game will look and feel in the final version, they then receive feedback from the audience and that information is then put into a chart, this can determine whether the game will be a success or not. One advantage of this type of research is that the information is easy to put into charts or graphs, making it quicker and easier to find out information about their product, instead of sitting for hours on end searching through long written research. One of the only disadvantages is that this research doesn’t really allow you to gather detailed opinions about the product.

Qualitative research is made up of different people’s opinions, views and preferences about a certain product. It is the complete opposite to quantitative research because instead of giving simple numeric answers, it offers the audience’s in-depth answers in words, unlike quantitative research is can be used to gather the audience’s in-depth opinions about that particular product. Focus groups are used in the games industry as qualitative research. A focus group is where you pitch an idea to a fairly small audience and then you receive detailed feedback about the idea you pitched, they would highlight the good and bad points, which could then be taken back to ‘drawing board’ and altered if it needed to be in order to fit the audiences needs and tastes. Focus groups usually consist of around 5-10 people and within that group there is a moderator whose job it is to ask specific and necessary  questions. The disadvantage to this research however is that the information you gather can not be put into graphs or charts as the answers are too detailed.

Methods and Sources of Research

There are many methods and sources of  research, they are PRIMARY research, SECONDARY research, DATA GATHERING AGENCIES, BROADCASTERS’ AUDIENCE RESEARCH BOARD (BARB) and RADIO JOINT AUDIENCE RESEARCH (RAJAR).

Primary research is used to find out original data. To do primary research you need to create a research plan, this will include data collection, data input and then how the data is produced and analysed. It can be an expensive process as it can sometimes have a lengthy duration, but despite this the research that you collect will be more relevant to the audiences needs. There are two types of  primary research, they are qualitative and quantitative research. An advantage of using primary research is that the data is original and hasn’t been modified, so it is more reliable.

Secondary research is the most common research method that is used within the industry. It involves processing data that has already been collected, researchers look through reports, articles and previously created market research and using the information that they find they come to a conclusion. An advantage of this research is that it doesn’t cost a lot to gather the information as you’re not doing the research yourself, a disadvantage of this type of research is that it might not be that reliable.

Data Gathering Agencies are organisations that can provide information through a variety of different things, such as interviews and surveillance’s (both technical and physical). The information can be gathered by open, covert, electronic and satellite sources.

Broadcaster’s Audience Research Board is the British company that measures television ratings and audience interest. The numbers gathered by BARB are vitally important to advertising companies because based on the information gathered the can match their advert to the target audience and are able to promote the product easier.

Radio Joint Audience Research was set up in 1992 to align, design and operate a single audience measurement system for the UK radio industry which serves the BBC and licensed commercial stations. The company is jointly owned by the BBC and by the RadioCentre. It is a non profit making organisation, the data collected by RAJAR is the industry currency for planning, buying and selling advertising on commercial radio.

Purposes of Research

Market Research is the process of gathering, analysing and interpreting information about a specific market, a product or service that is to be offered for sale in a particular market and also the past, present and potential customers for the product or service. It looks at characteristics, spending habits, location and needs of your business’ target market, the industry as a whole and also the competitors that the business might face. It involves two types of data, primary and secondary information

Audience Research ensures that the people reached are the correct audience that the product or service is aimed at. Audience research can provide necessary changes to a product that ensures that it is tailored to the correct target audience and also ensures that money is not being wasted by the different companies because they marketed the product to the wrong audience.

Production Research helps to provide content, research commercial viability and plan the post production process. In the games industry, the developers employ trained researchers to gather information for the area they are looking for such as finance or location. This type of research also includes advertising and where the best place to advertise a product should be placed, to gain the best possible reaction from the specific audience, this will help to gain information on income and outgoing costs.