Primary Research or Self Generated Research is conducted by you, it is the most up-to-date information that you can gather. typically more expensive for companies but the most reliable. There are various ways to secure primary research. Firstly through questionnaires which i used in the making of my documentary. The definition on Google being "a set of printed or written questions with a choice of answers, devised for the purposes of a survey or statistical study." You ask questions that are connected to the subject you are researching. I also had to conduct primary research to find out how my target audience reacted to my corporate video: Jamie Larter Film and TV Blog: Primary Research Questionnaire
Other ways to conduct research are in person utilising things like focus groups and audience panels. groups brought together to discuss a product before it is released to the public or on what they would like in a new product. These are used to understand habits in consumers. For example conglomerate Disney use focus groups to understand habits in toddlers.
and news reports. I used the internet to view reports about my documentary topic. Oxford reference states: "Research using information that has already been compiled and formatted...Other sources for secondary research include investment banks and associations or organizations." Secondary research - Oxford Reference. Secondary research is used a lot more than we realise, even other film makers and writers use other pieces of 'fiction' to research and see what has been done before. Five Titanic myths spread by films - BBC News this article explains all about how writers of the various titanic adaptations used similar myths to write a historical piece. Said myths have managed to become 'common knowledge' surrounding the ship but are far from the truth. James Cameron's famous adaptation is less accurate than we thought.
In the media industry we can use figures of old viewer bases from past programmes using BARB figures (Broadcaster's Audience Research Board). we can use this to determine viewer habits without conducting large scale primary research tasks https://www.barb.co.uk/. Barb provides lots of quantitative data on the UK's most popular TV shows through helpful graphs.
Both these types of research have pros and cons to them. Primary is the most up-to-date information and most likely the best but it takes time to complete and is more expensive. Bigger companies would use this as they have the time and resources. However Secondary is fast and not completely irrelevant as it may only be a few months old. Usually secondary is free.
Quantitative Research is all about numbers and figures to understand trends and consumer tendencies. Statistics are generated from sales of products or surveys. In a fancy way from QuestionPro: "Quantitative research is defined as a systematic investigation of phenomena by gathering quantifiable data and performing statistical, mathematical, or computational techniques" Quantitative Research: Definition, Methods, Types and Examples | QuestionPro. This research is extremely important in the media and film industry as show ratings and box office figures are the key to determining a show or film's success. Websites like IMDb https://www.imdb.com/
Qualitative Research is different it is basically more 'wordy'. The definition on ThoughtCo states "Qualitative research is a type of social science research that collects and works with non-numerical data and that seeks to interpret meaning from these data that help understand social life through the study of targeted populations or places." Qualitative Research Definition and Methods (thoughtco.com). It is less reliant on numbers and more on the consumers opinions. Often through open questions that ask for more than just a yes and no answer. it allows the company to get a more in-depth understanding of the consumers but at a smaller sample size, focus groups are a prime example. Another example can be from film, TV and food reviewers. Either trying something early or simply reviewing the product after, they are a great way to find out the consumer's opinions. IMDb also offers reviews but other magazines and news sources like SFX and Empire that are media based writers. These are the qualitative results from the questionnaire I conducted in the corporate video task: Jamie Larter Film and TV Blog: Qualitative Results. These helped with understanding the improvements needed on our video, We also gained in class qualitative responses when we had a live screening, very similar to a review premier in the film industry.
Various agencies are used to gather this information, already mentioned BARB: the source of all official television ratings and viewing figures, giving producers and advertisers an insight into who watches what on TV. IMDb for the film ratings and box office figures, along with information on who was involved in the production of the film or show. Other websites also do this like Box Office Mojo https://www.boxofficemojo.com/ . RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience
Research) https://www.rajar.co.uk/ is the database of radio figures. they measure the audiences in the UK. Ofcom of course are the regulator of all these bodies ensuring that everyone consuming TV or Radio is protected. They also offer other communication services like broadband and legal services.
Audience and Market Research is all about understanding your audience and the market and what they want. As put by Investopedia "Market research is the process of determining the viability of a new service or product through research conducted directly with potential customers. Market research allows a company to discover the target market and get opinions and other feedback from consumers about their interest in the product or service." Market Research Definition (investopedia.com), You conduct market research to find gaps in the market and audience research to understand social groups and how you can appeal to them. Understanding what social groups view in terms of media helps us do things like place advertisements. For example housewives watching daytime television have adverts for cleaning products and food placed between their programmes. We use all of this research to understand who we are selling to. different demographics (properties of the populate in terms of statistics and numbers: like age and wealth), psychographics (a populations values and beliefs) and their habits as consumers. In our advertisement unit we conducted market research with Unilever and TV adverts. Jamie Larter Film and TV Blog: C. Assignment 2: Television Advertising. How 5 Massive Companies Changed Using Market Research – SurveyPolice Blog This blog shows off 5 excellent examples of how the world's leading manufacturers used market research to generate new products. It shows off the great value in listening to your audience and the benefits of it.
Production Research comes into play when you are making a new product, it is essential to plan and research before you start to produce a product. What you are actually making? Is it viable in the current market? Is It similar to another product? In terms of media: where are you going to film? Is it Safe? Does it infringe copywrite laws? Do you have the correct releases? All of this must be considered when making a new product for a market. I used this to scout out locations during the documentary task to see if my idea was viable in production. We have used production research for every unit on this course, conducting recces to find places we're allowed to film. figuring out who we're going to cast in our short film for example. Jamie Larter Film and TV Blog: Pre-Production Paperwork this is the booklet of research and production papers for our first short film project. A great article on the importance of production research and planning is this grim ScreenRant article 15 Tragic Accidents On The Sets Of Famous Movies | ScreenRant. This horrifying read describes tragic accidents thanks to miscommunication on sets and poor planning. This is why we create location recces and risk assessments for even the minor reasons as safety is the number one priority in any scenario.
Some examples of Production research from my own projects in class are:
This shows the research conducted when finding an adequate location to film for our DepicT project. we went around the local area to find locations that were: safe, usable and easy to access with equipment. Ticking the boxes on whether we needed parking, how long it would take to get there and if we would be interrupted. This links to our risk assessment conducted. we used this to scan for any potential risks in our locations and with our equipment. simple to major risks all must be made aware of to ensure no injury or legal issues when creating our project.
Other forms of research we conducted are talent releases and location releases which ensure you have the legal requirements to use an actor in your video or film in a certain location. Public places typically do not require legal permission unless you are fully disturbing the peace. The Talent releases are the same. If you are under 18 you need to get a parent or guardian to sign for you.
Research is incredibly important in the world of business and media, it allows companies to make products that appeal to us and that we enjoy.
Research is incredibly important in the world of business and media, it allows companies to make products that appeal to us and that we enjoy.
