Types of Research

There are many reasons why media companies use research. The main reasons are to find out what types of TV programmes are popular or which types of magazines are selling well e.t.c. They do this because if they do their research properly they will earn more money and get  more sales and viewings.

Types of Research
Quantitative Research - This consists of TV programme ratings, readership circulation figures (newspapers and magazine sales), hits on a website e.t.c. Quantitative research basically a number of something. Media companies will use this research because they might want to know what type of TV programme to make and what will be popular because if they don't carry out this research they might make a programme that appeals to anyone or a programme that has a small target audience.

Qualitative Research - This consists of film reviews, game reviews, comments on websites e.t.c. Media companies will use this research to see what might need improving on their next film or TV programme and see if the public actually like their film or TV show.

Methods of Research
Primary Research - Primary research basically means getting the research yourself to obtain new information. Media companies may use this because they will want to know themselves what people are interested in media-wise. Primary research is generally quite reliable. However it might be difficult to find the right person to ask a question to and it could be quite expensive because media companies will have to pay people to be a surveyor.  Primary research consists of Questionnaire's, surveys, focus groups, interviews e.t.c. A media company may ask questions like "What is your favourite film genre" or "What interests you most in magazines." However they will need to ask relevant questions because if you are making a football magazine you don't want to ask questions like "What is your favourite colour", and you need to ask the right people because you wouldn't ask questions about a football magazine to 65+ women.
Secondary Research - Secondary Research basically means, getting research from numbers and information that already exists or has already been gathered by other companies or other people. Media companies may use this to see how well other TV programmes that are similar genre are popular or not. Secondary research might not be as reliable as primary research and it might be quite difficult to find the exact information that you want, but it is free so that is a huge advantage. Examples of secondary research would be books, magazines, websites e.t.c.

http://www.barb.co.uk/

This a link to the 'BARB' website which is secondary research of the latest TV viewings

This is a picture of secondary, quantitative research on a few recent sales of some newspapers. From this picture it shoes The Sun was the most sold paper within a period of time. It also shows that it was sold most to people within the C2DE occupational class and is also sold most to 15-44 year olds. However it doesn't show whether it is sold mainly to men or women. With this being secondary research, the information shown might not be accurate because it is an estimated population. Also it doesn't show the qualitative research for example it doesn't say what they think of The Sun or what they like most about it and what they don't like about it.

Production Research - Production research is the collection and analysis of information for the content and production of a media product. This basically means if a media company have done some research and a particular TV programme is successful, that company will develop a new product for that market to earn more money. For example, Top Gear is a successful, so the BBC have made a lot of Top Gear merchandise and products so the company makes more money.

Market Research - Market research is a type of research that media companies use to see what the competition is like. They research all different things about their company to see how successful they are and see what their company needs to do to be as successful as their competition so they don't lose money. For example if a TV channel wanted to make a new reality show, they would do research on all the other reality shows to see what makes them successful and to see if their is a gap in the market for their idea.

Audience Research - Audience research is a type of research that media companies use to see what their target audience likes and what they will watch or buy. For companies to do the research properly they need to research data the size of their paticular audience and what their audience members characteristics are like and what their behaviour is like. For example a media company might want to know what teenagers do at the weekends or how big the teenage audience is.