Research

Jordan Beeston

Terminology• Circulation

– How fast, how much something circulates around the population.• Hits

– Number of views• Box Office Figures

– How much money something made on release.• Ratings

– User ratings.• Sales

– Number of people who used/bought a certain product.

Primary Research• Definition

– Research done by yourself– When the researcher and the audience are in contact.

• Advantages– No large media bias

• Disadvantages– Small team, less productivity, takes more time, have to do more work.

• Example– Interviews– Focus Groups– Questionnaires/Surveys– Product Analysis

Secondary Research• Definition

– Reviewing previously completed research• Advantages

– Things that are tried and tested generally have a high method of success/contingency.– Don’t have to do any research.– Already a wide range of sources available.

• Disadvantages– Time changes things.

• Example– Internet research– Library research– Archive research

Quantitative Research• Definition

– Statistical research, based around correlation and causation• Advantages

– You can test and observe data before it is put into practice.– Data collection takes little time

• Disadvantages– Confirmation bias– Data produced could be too much of a generalization to use when producing

a product.• Example

– Sales– Box office figures– TV ratings

Qualitative Research• Definition

– Research that priorities quality over quantity..– Goes more into detail on peoples personal opinions/beliefs on certain topics – Presented as a discussion topic, rather than using statistics.– Makes the person being questioned think more about the answer they are giving in more detail.

• Advantages– The research is generally higher quality

• Disadvantages– Mainly focused on public voice and approval, and marketing schemes can create false statistics

and distort the actual public view.• Example

– How do elderly people living in a retirement home perceive their situation and how are they dealing with it?This question can be approached using a qualitative approach as you can talk with the elderly about it. A questionnaire is not appropriate as you can probably not come up with all the possible answer categories.

Audience Research• Definition

– Research used to gather information about their attitudes, knowledge, interests and preferences about certain topics

• Advantages– Gain an understanding of the consensus, and how to build your product

around their interests to make the product successful.• Disadvantages

– The product can become greatly devalued due to the appeal to the general public, the product would more than likely have to follow a strict set of guidelines to be successful

• Example

Market Research• Definition

– A review of the current market and what is selling and what isn’t• Advantages

– When you are designing your product the research you did can help you come up with final ideas and tweaks you can do to make your product sit better on the market.

• Disadvantages– The time to do the research gives the market more time to develop and evolve,

reducing public interest and making the research stale and unviable.

• Example – For example a computing company might want to know what kind of

people/other companies will buy, how much they will pay and what kind of software, hardware they will need from their products.

Production Research• Definition

– A research of the products characteristics and market viability.• Advantages

– Gives a good idea of how the product will perform on the market.• Disadvantages

– Costs go up, takes time to produce viable research .• Example

– Some children may want to use products differently than others– Some prefer action games and others prefer happy family friendly

games on different systems, so the researcher needs to determine the right kind of game if they want to make the most out of the market.

Terminology• Objective

– Something that Is a fact, it is tangible and not altered by personal opinion in any way.

• Subjective– Relating to a personal opinion,– Something determined not by fact but by opinion– Eg. taste in music can be subjective

• Valid– Is the research able to answer the specific question provided.

• Reliable– The research has to be up to date and accurate, it also has to produce

consistent results.

Harvard Referencing

Name of the film being researched; 1. Chris Columbus, (2001) Harry Potter2. J.K Rowling, (1997) Harry Potter3. www.jkrowling.com/4. http://www.ew.com/article/2015/10/12/

harry-potter-illustrator-jim-kay-interview