In this essay I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the research techniques used in
the media industry. I will describe, explain and analyse the different methods which are used.
There are four separate research techniques which are primary research, secondary research,
qualitative research and quantitative research.
Primary research is a form of analysing which consists of several various methods. Such as
observation, interviews, surveys and questionnaires. Research that is done by the researcher
themselves is considered primary research. For example if one was to create their own
questionnaire it would be primary research. Interviews are a part of primary research, there
are three types of interviews, structured, semi-structured and unstructured. Structured
interviews are formatted closed questions with short and relevant answers sometimes
consisting of just a yes or no answer. An example of this interview format is used by the BBC
journalist 'Jeramy Paxman'. Pole and Lampard (2002 P139) Practical Social Investigation. "Structural
questions which invite the interviewee to explain how things happen". In this quote Pole
and Lampard explain one of the advantages of a structured interview format, in which a
structured question strictly refers to the topic, and gives the interviewee a better opportunity
to explain their opinions that relate to the subject. Semi-structured interviews have a focused
topic, but the flexibility of the interview will allow for the interviewee to go off topic. An
example of this method is shown on Louie Thirox's 'Most Hated Family In America' .
Unstructured interviews are usually less formal than the prior two, and usually go off topic as
the conversation moves forward, An example of this format can be found in daytime television
programs such as 'This Morning' and 'Loose Women'. This method is used in these chat shows
because their content and format is more relaxed, and has less of a political and social standing
that programs like BBC's 'Question Time' and 'News night'.
All formats of these interviews have there own advantages and disadvantages. The advantage
of a structured interview would is that all the answers given would be relevant to the subject. A
disadvantage of a structured interview is that the interviewee usually doesn't have the
opportunity to discuss why his or her opinions or discussions are valid. Semi Structured
interviews are the most common format that is used in the media.
May. T(2002) Social Research, Open University Press, Buckingham
"These types of interviews
are said to allow people to answer more on their own terms than the standardized interview
permits" P123. In this quote May. T describes the advantages of semi structured interviews,
observing that the interviewee has more freedom to express their opinions on the related topic
that a structured interview will allow. Because semi-structured interviews are opinionated,
they are useful when doing quantitate research. A disadvantage of semi structured interviews
is that the interviewee can go off topic or give unnecessary information. For example during a
Jeremy Paxman interview with BNP leader Nick Griffin on Newsnight, Griffin goes off topic
frequently, while Paxman attempts to turn the conversation back to the original question.
Another form of primary research is observation. Observational research is a first person
account made by either the researcher or the audience. An example of this form of research is
used in the Panorama documentary 'Last Chance Academy'. In the media this type of
filmmaking is described as 'Fly-on-the-wall'. This can be used as an advantage because the
audience is able to make their own opinions on the subject that is presented. Although this
format can be thought-provoking, the audience may not understand the history or background
of the topic that is presented.
Secondary research is form of analysing research that has not been done by the researcher
themselves. This form of research can consist of internet searches, literature or specialist
websites. Internet searches are a form of secondary research that uses the world wide web to
find information. The advantage of researching the internet is that the information is quick and
is often relevant. A disadvantage of internet research is that everyone who has access to the
internet is allowed to add information which maybe irrelevant or inappropriate.
Another form of secondary research which is done via internet are specialist websites like
'Wikipedia' and 'Google Scholar'. An advantage of this format of research is that the researcher
can get instantly with academic sources. McQeen and Knussen (2002) P200"research methods
for Social Science "The scope of secondary data will often exceed what the individual might
achieve on their own". Because this online format is relatively new, not all the information may
not be available.
Books are also a form of secondary research. Researchers will use a book to find academic
research or references. An advantage of using books is that researches can find reliable and
academic sources. A disadvantage of using books is that it can be time consuming and all the
information might not be direct to the subject.
Quantitative research is a form of analysing that is numeral based. Which can consist of
surveys, viewing figures and Readership figures. Market research is a form of quantitative
research. Market research can be used for televisions programs, film, newspapers or
advertisements. B.A.R.B is form of market research which is used to measure television
viewership figures. Many different television networks compete to win the most viewers during
the primetime hours. For example, by researching on B.AR.B I have found that during last
Saturday ITV's 'The X Factor' got more viewership figures than the BBC's 'Doctor Who'.
Another form of quantitative research are surveys. Researchers would use a survey to separate
an audience into different categories. These categories can be based on age, gender and race. The advantage of using a survey would be that a researcher could directly find who their target audience are by using numeral information, for example; if a researcher wanted to find out how many females there were in their audience, they would only need to look at the tally chart. This makes the research process more efficient. A disadvantage of using a survey for research is their is no opinionated answers, this could because problematic because a researcher may need to find out their audiences hobbies and interests which you can't achieve using quantitative research.
Readership figures are also a form of quantitative research, the 'National Readership Survey' is most commonly used to find the readership figures, and the social grading system within the UK. The advantage of using the NRS social grade is that a research can discover who a large percent of their audience are and cater for them. For example; 'The Sun' targets a working class audience, and will target them by including coverage of sports and celebratory culture, while 'The Guardian' will attempt to target a middle to upper middle class audience, by covering politics and the recent stock market figures. A disadvantage of using the social grade is that it stereotypes people; for example, Someone who is working class may not like sport or popular culture. And using the social grading system a research cannot find the exact wealth of their target audience, for instance, an E graded unemployed person could have won the lottery, so they would no longer need to economise with costs.
Qualitative research is a form of analysing which can consists of; observations, filed notes and focus groups. A researcher would use filed notes as a reminder of the information. An advantage of a filed note would be that the researcher has the all the information for future reference. A disadvantage of this would be that some of the information may have not been written down by the researcher, so it may be misinformed information. Focus groups can also be used as a form of qualitative research. Focus groups are gatherings of people who are asked to give their opinions on a product. The advantage of focus groups is that positive feedback can be used to market the product. For example; some films are screened to critics before they are released, this is because if the film receives positive reception, they can use it as part of the films advertising campaign. A disadvantage of focus groups is that people can have a wide difference of opinion, each person is an individual. One group of people may like something that another group dislikes. This can make it harder to find the researchers target audience.
In conclusion, all four of these research techniques connect to each other to give the researcher a target audience that would be interested in their documentary, qualitative and quantitative research helps narrow down that target audience by, age, gender, hobbies or any special interests. Primary and secondary research is useful because it gives the researcher the information needed to create their own product weather it would be, reading books, observing events or searching the internet.
Bibliography
May. T (2002), Social Research. Open University Press.
McQeen and Knussen (2002) Research Methods for Social Science.
Pole and Lampard (2002) Practical Social Investigation. Qualitative and Quantitate Methods in Social Research.
