THE PURPOSE OF

Contents: Types of research

o Quantitative o Qualitative

Methods of research

o Secondary o Primary o Data gathering agencies o Self-generated

Purpose of research

o Audience research o Market research o Production research

TYPES OF RESEARCH

Quantitative

Quantitative research is research of numerical figures. This is usually expressed in the form of a chart in order to generalise results. Data is collected in the form of surveys etc. This type of research was developed by science researchers looking to study the natural phenomena.

The benefit to using quantitative research is it is easy to generalise, especially when using a large sample. This means researchers can use bigger samples to get a more accurate representation and not have trouble when generalising these results. Another benefit to this kind of research is that due to it being numerical you can replicate research and compare with other results. Researcher Kruger said in 2003 “quantitative methods allow us to summarize vast sources of information and facilitate comparisons across categories and over time”. With quantitative research it is easy to avoid bias responses. This is because for example in a survey, in order to get numerical data the questions need to be closed.

Despite all of this, quantitative data has its faults. The fact it is in the form of numbers it could be argued that results are limited as we are not understanding the route of what researchers are trying to accomplish. Which is what you would get if collecting data involving people’s opinions. Pre-set answers could sway the candidate towards something rather than their true feelings.

This kind of research is key in the music industry, for example it allows researchers to find out a percentage of people who have access to resources allowing people to view music content, therefore helping to decide how to go about promoting the song. Do they promote online, or music television? It also allows music producers etc. to see if the artist is making enough record sales.

Qualitative Qualitative research is collecting data based on people’s thoughts and feelings, as well as understanding their opinions. This involves asking open-ended questions allowing the candidates to give their real views. They are usually done in the form of a focus group and face-to-face discussions in comparison to quantitative, as that is predominantly survey based. However there are also some times of quantitative research not involving face-to-face interaction, research blogs are strategy used in order to encourage discussion about a certain idea.

There are many benefits to qualitative research, particularly in the music industry. It allows music producers and artists view song reviews due to this form of research being based on opinions. It allows the researchers to see people’s reactions to new ideas, getting a real feel of their response. For example if you are wanting to find out people’s responses to a different idea for a concert/tour, as a focus group allows you to see the reactions of people it would be easier making a decision as it isn’t solely based on what they say. Not only does qualitative research achieve that but also it is a good way of providing greater depth than research based on numerical figures, as well as encouraging people to expand on their thoughts. This is beneficial in the music industry as it allows the researchers to also expand upon their own ideas, because others are giving constructive criticism.

However, there are some limitations when conducting qualitative research. When conducting something like a focus group only a small sample is used, if you use a large sample in one focus group there wouldn’t be a flow of discussion therefore it wouldn’t be as effective. The issue with only using a small sample is it is harder to generalise, unlike quantitative methods. Meaning you are unable to collect the accurate figures that quantitative data provides, due to its larger sample size. It is also harder to make systematic comparisons. For example in the music industry if you were trying to find out how people react to certain videos in London and then in Edinburgh, you wouldn’t be able to achieve this using longer answers based on personal thoughts. Not only are there limitations based on what the candidates say but also on the researcher’s questions. Qualitative research is more of a flow of discussion rather than question and answer; therefore the researcher needs to be prepared to also ask questions based on people’s responses, not just their pre-set questions.

METHODS OF RESEARCH

Secondary Secondary research is data that has already been collected from another study. This can be found on the Internet, in books, gathering notes from DVDs etc.

The most beneficial part of secondary research is its ease of access. We can access other data instantly via the Internet or books. The fact it is easily accessible therefore makes it less time consuming. However the problem with this is the reliability, this is because any person can write something on the Internet and pass it off as reliable information, for example Wikipedia. Another benefit would be that it is incredibly low cost to receive, as you don’t have to conduct the research yourself. Secondary data collection is often used in order to prepare for the primary research stage, however the secondary research found may have the exact answer you already need. Eliminating the cost for primary research. For example if music researchers were wanting to find out how many people tune into Capital.FM radio every week by conducting primary research, the secondary research they do prior to this they may come across the answer, on the radio stations website it states that they have 7.2 million listeners every week.

As with all research methods, secondary data collection also has its limitations. The problem with this kind of research is that a lot of the time data doesn’t exactly match the researchers needs, there are similar findings but not exact. For example if music researchers were looking to find out what age group listen to pop (8-13, 14-17, 18-20), however on the internet there is research answering that question but for 12-, 13-15, 16+, this is similar but not exact to the researchers needs. Data found on the Internet or in books may also be out of date if you were looking for modern results. Incomplete information is also a problem with this kind of research as on the Internet you often find a bit of data, free of charge, when you can only receive the full piece of data for a fee.

Primary Primary research is data that you have collected yourself. For example in the form of a survey, researchers have gone to conduct the survey personally. This is also done in the form of focus groups, interviews, observations and ethnographic research.

There are many benefits to this research; you as the researcher have great control over what you’re doing. For example the method you carry out as well as sample size and content of discussion. This means your question/what you wanted to achieve is directly answered. This is also a benefit because your results are unique to your study. Unlike secondary research, where you may have to spend on research that might not be even be useful, primary data focuses specifically on the researches needs.

On the other hand primary data collection is incredibly time consuming, the entire planning process has to be carefully thought out in order to achieve what is needed, researchers then have to take the time to go and conduct this research themselves. As well as then analysing the results and/or generalising them. Primary research also has potential to be quite costly. This is because there is expense in the preparation process as well as the carrying out process.

Data Gathering Agencies

Data gathering agencies are large companies who collect raw information and make it accessible for viewing. However only to reliable companies as they are aware that the information they provide could be misused. An example of this would be RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research). They are the official body for collecting radio ratings in the UK. It is owned by both BBC and RadioCentre and they set the research specification and there data can be seen by other companies looking for similar information.

There are many benefits to data gathering agencies, reliability is a main positive to this kind of research. When you get data off these agencies you know reliability is likely to be incredibly high, whereas with a lot of secondary research there is always a concern as to whether it is legitimate or not. As with any secondary research this kind again is fast to obtain and relatively cost free. Making it easier than conducting your own form or research.

Self-Generated Self-generated research is research you have obtained without the help of external sources, such as researchers etc. as you yourself are the researcher. There are different methods you can use such as questionnaires, focus groups, audience panels and participation in internet forums.

Self-generated data allows you to get the exact answer that is needed, as you have tailored your research method specifically for your project. This means there is not time wasted on searching for data that isn’t fully related to your question. Self-generated research is usually done for a smaller project rather than a larger one, this is because for smaller projects less research is needed however if a large sample is used and only one researcher is looking into all of the data it can be hard to come to any conclusions without extended help. This research can be both a form of primary and secondary research. For example you can personally carry out a survey or use the internet in order to find answers. Therefore this kind of research has both the advantages that the two types of research also carry, such as the amount of control you as the researcher have, you are personally able to tailor questions that you feel appropriate to ask. As well as the benefit of the low cost possibility. If undertaking secondary research there is that benefit of it costing next to nothing. Allowing more money to be spent on other parts of the research task. Another benefit would be the freedom you have in terms of scheduling your research. As you are the only person involved in the research project you can time your research around yourself.

However, self-generated research can cause issues. For example when you reach the conclusion phase, it can be harder to come to a conclusion based on your results without the opinion or help of another researcher.

PURPOSE OF RESEARCH

Audience Research

Audience research is any form of communication research conducted on a specific group of people, known as a segment. Information is then gathered based on their attitudes, knowledge, interests, preferences and behaviours. These segments tend to be based on qualities such as gender, age, ethnicity etc. The purpose of this kind of research is to directly market appropriately to your target audience, by gaining an understanding into the personal thoughts of this target audience.

There are multiple benefits for this kind of research, one being it ensures your campaign to be audience specific, as you as the researcher has gone out to speak to your audience personally. For example in the music industry the more effective the campaign, the more likely it is to boost the sales of a single/album/tour. As with any form of primary research, this type of research allows researchers to find out exactly what is needed, as well as get a greater understanding due to the depth primary research encourages. Another benefit which is a little more subtle, it allows researchers to hear what sort of language others use to describe the product or idea. For example in the music industry it a producer was looking to find a way to promote a pop artists new track, they could use the target demographic as a way of incorporating appropriate language to get on a more personal level with the audience. Audience research also shows a development in certain patterns, for example from audience research it could be apparent that a majority of teenagers in a particular area have the same view on a particular artist. Furthermore making it easier to find out how to market.

Audience research can also be a hindrance to a research project, this is because researchers’ questions may lead to bias answers as the questions may sway the candidate in a certain direction, therefore effecting the accuracy and reliability of the results. A significant amount of time and money is needed to carry out audience research, by first of all identifying your exact audience, to then going to speak to them etc. It’s harder to get a representative of the whole population as a smaller sample is used. Observer’s paradox could also be an issue with this as participants may not express true feelings based on social standards. This effects the reliability of the results as it is not an accurate representative.

Market Research

Market research is the process of gathering information as well as analysing and interpreting this information about a market/product/idea. People conduct market research as a way of having an effective campaign allowing them to increase awareness and possibly boost sales.

Market research is key to any campaign and if done right, can aid a product/idea greatly. Market research enables you to identify a potential market/customer, for example how old is your demographic, what gender etc.? It also allows researchers to understand their existing target audience, why do customers choose your specific product? For example in the music industry, why is one artist’s song more popular than an artist involved in a similar genre? This means it can also identify your competition and your place in the industry in comparison to another artist/company etc. For example in the music industry if you are conducting your market research in order to find where to place yourself in the industry, asking the public through a focus group would also give you ideas as to who else has a similar sound to you. Quantitative data would allow you to look at figures of downloads in order to distinguish competition. Having chosen a song by Disclosure to produce my music video to, I have had to research who my competition is. From this YouTube screenshot when I play the original video, the suggested videos are videos from artists such as Gorgon City & Flume, who share the electronic house sound that Disclosure have adopted. Market research also allows researchers to set realistic targets, with the data collected targets can be set based on expansion and sales opportunities. Market research helps to see how media is consumed prior to releasing the video, for example do a majority of people view music videos online or through music television. This then allows the producers to appropriately and successfully market their video. If advertising placement is done correctly, then the higher the chance of sales. For example an incredibly indie sounding song most likely wouldn’t be advertised on music television, as that is considered too mainstream for the audience. You would most likely want to market the song on indie music websites such as IndieShuffle.co.uk.

Despite all the opportunities market research offers, there are still a few things making the process harder. Cost in particular. Market research, especially if primary, costs money to conduct. For example writing questionnaires and

leading a focus group. Hiring a professional research company also costs a lot of money, however if you do it yourself you will need to employ volunteers to help with this research. Unless self-generated research is chosen. Conducting market research also takes a great deal of time, preparation is needed prior to the investigation itself. Then the investigation, following with the analysis of results. This time could be wasted if you end up not finding out exactly what you intended. You may also come across the participants only being one sided, you may not have an exact representation of both sides of the argument.

Market research benefits the music industry as it allows producers to see what sort of fan base an artist has, therefore encouraging specific marketing strategies.

Production Research “Production research helps to provide content, research commercial viability and plan the post production process.”  Production research is defined as research helping give information on the characteristics of a product. It mainly focuses on how something is made rather than what it is. For example music videos are used to promote the artist and song, so it’s down to the producers to use production research to get information on characteristics about how the audience feel about the video and what they think it should be like. There are many questions you need to ask whilst conducting production research: Is your product (in this case music video) commercially viable? Meaning is there a gap in the market for it. Where are all your finances coming from? And so on.

Media products cost so it is important to have production research done effectively so it all goes to plan. Production research allows you to pre-plan before going ahead with a new venture. For example in the music industry, planning a music video is key before going ahead and filming it. Production research allows producers to get ideas from others beforehand. Making it a more effective video. A key advantage is that is allows a wider audience to be aware of your intentions therefore giving it a larger fan base. For example in advertising, production research allows more people to be aware of your product, improving the likely hood of success. Production research also helps to gain information on incoming and outgoing costs. In terms of finance, you need to be aware of all financial plans before producing the product (or in the music industry, producing the video). This entails how you are financing the production and how you are going to balance expenses of the video and then income from the video.

Again, as with any form of research there are down sides. Production research costs, you usually hire a research team to carry out this sort of research as it needs to be carried out with great thought resulting in success. With cost being such a huge part of production research, errors can’t really be afforded.

A video with a somewhat similar narrative to mine would be Wilkinson – Afterglow & Disclosure – Latch. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9QGpHScGug) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93ASUImTedo) They both follow the story of a relationship(s). These were both incredibly successful music videos, Afterglow received 32million YouTube hits, with Latch receiving 125million. I have used both of these videos as inspiration, for example in my music video I followed the story of a relationship through the eyes of the male, and showed their life together. Wilkinson’s Afterglow also follows their journey, good &

bad. As my music video shows aspects of these videos and more I believe it has a chance of a high success rate. Both of these videos that I used for my inspiration have succeeded in appealing to their target demographic. I need to achieve this in order for it to even be slightly effective. This needs to be thought about and I need to cast people in a similar age group to that of my audience. Which again is what Disclosure & Wilkinson have achieved.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Quantitative

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/quantitative-research.html http://www.edu.plymouth.ac.uk/resined/quantitative/quanthme.htm http://www.southalabama.edu/coe/bset/johnson/oh_master/Ch14/Tab14-01.pdf http://archive.learnhigher.ac.uk/analysethis/main/quantitative1.html

Qualitative

http://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/marketing/market-research/what-is-qualitative-research- http://archive.learnhigher.ac.uk/analysethis/main/qualitative1.html

Secondary

http://www.thisisglobal.com/radio/capital-fm/audience/ http://www.knowthis.com/data-collection-low-cost-secondary-research/secondary-research-disadvantages

Primary

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/559/ http://http.knowthis.com/data-collection-primary-research-methods/primary-research-advantages http://www.slideshare.net/EddieGuy/music-video-questionnaire-primary-research-16339421 http://www.knowthis.com/data-collection-primary-research-methods/primary-research-disadvantages

Data Gathering Agencies

http://www.intelligence.gov/mission/data-gathering.html http://www.rajar.co.uk/ http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/benefits-of-data-collection-services-and-why-it-is-important

Self-Generated

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/self-generated

http://www.slideshare.net/MrMightyMcD/research-unit-booklet

Audience Research

http://www.slideshare.net/fullscreen/AnnieRose95/audience-research-22808080/1 http://ryansawyermarketing.com/the-benefits-of-audience-research/ http://www.slideshare.net/hblyth/audience-research-2822439 http://medicine.osu.edu/sitetool/sites/pdfs/ahecpublic/Audience_Research.pdf

Market Research

http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/market-research http://www.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au/business-topics/marketing/market-research/step-1-why-do-market-research/ http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-market-research-new-product-development-23441.html http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/how-to-sell-and-market-your-music-using-the-latest-research.html http://www.indieshuffle.com/#./?&_suid=142736162916707706337446733574

Production Research

http://www.slideshare.net/fullscreen/marleylong/audience-27055236/1 http://www.slideshare.net/chriswalton/unit-3-research-market-vs-production http://marketandproductionresearch.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/market-and-production-research.html