Task 6 - Methods Of Research - AS1

Why is research important?

Before planning a new advertising campaign it is important to conduct research. This is because in order to advertise a new product, you are going to need to know what the audience are in need of or what their desires are so then you are able to provide the correct information that will help them understand your business and draw in customers. Doing research will also help you understand the audience as well as them understanding you. The understanding of your audience will include: their age, their interests, their living area. These are important so you know how to conduct your advert.
There are 4 main categories, them being: Primary research, secondary research, quantitative data and qualitative data and three different purposes of why the research is carried out, them being: audience research, market research and production research.

Primary Research

Primary research examples are: carrying out questionnaires, surveys, internet forums and interviews/group research. Primary research is when you carry one or more of them examples to find out specific issues from your target audience and all your research is original data personally produced by the researcher. Researchers might use primary research to ensure they can trust the information that they are given and so they personally can interact with the audience and come to their own conclusions. An example of when to use primary research would be if you are trying to find out how what sort of music 15-18 year olds listen to using a questionnaire/survey.

Advantages:
- Greater control on how the information is collected.
- Focus' on specific issues.
- Being able to explore secondary research.\

Disadvantages:
- Expensive because the information has to be independently collected without an insight of any data prior to their research.
- Time consuming due to the fact that primary researchers start with no existing data so they have to find everything out from scratch.

Secondary Research

Secondary research is data originally found by someone else that is usually used alongside primary research. Secondary research is usually published in pamphlets, newsletters, trade publications, magazines and newspapers. People may choose to use secondary research when trying to educate other people whereas primary research is when you are trying to find out research for yourself. An example of when secondary research is used would be in magazines when you read about celebrity lives and all the 'rumours' that are said about them; rumours are secondary research.

Advantages:
- Easy because you are using pre-existing information.
- Cheap because you don't have to pay to carry out your own research.
- Quick.

Disadvantages:
- You aren't aware of who did the research and how honest/accurate it is.
- The research could possibly be biased
- Inaccuracies cannot be checked

Quantitative Research

Quantitative research is research that contains numbers and measurements. Quantitative data is usually shown as a set of numbers, displayed as charts/graphs and it can also be measured. This method of research is usually used to find out basic information about their targeted audience i.e questions such as: 'how old are you?' or 'how often...?' and these questions often feature in questionnaires. Quantitative research is useful for when you are trying to discover the number side of your research and because it is based on real data (facts) rather than opinions.

Advantages 
-Large samples, Large quantity of data.
-Easy to administer

Disadvantages 
-Difficult to design a suitable questionnaire that reveals the desires of your audience.
-Mostly get asked closed questions (yes/no questions)
-Not knowing whether the participant understands the questionnaire.
-Not knowing whether the participant is being honest.
-Closed questions cannot be adapted.

Qualitative Research

Qualitative research helps you find out how people feel. They use open questions so they can elaborate their answers which makes their responses personal to the participant and they can't be measured. It's important to know what your audience is thinking. Qualitative surveys are usually in focus groups or could be a one-to-one interview.

Advantages
-You can ask subsidiary questions, to get in touch with your audience.
-Find out personal information about your audience.

Disadvantages
-Small sample
-Time consuming
-Not representative
-Based on opinions rather than facts

Purposes 

Audience Research 

Audience research is when the purpose of the research is solely to find out more about your audience. There are four basic types of audience research and they are: descriptive research; describes your audience and their characteristics, i.e how old they are etc, analytical research: seeks to know what motivates your audience, why that motivates you and how it motivates you i.e 'Why did you buy the last Justin Bieber album but not his latest?', predictive research; considers 'what if' situations, i.e 'if we changed the name of our company, in what way would that affect us?'
tracking research; long term research that monitors changes taking place over time i.e 'how has the pattern for subscription season ticket sales changed over the past three years?'. Audience research is useful because in order to have a successful poll you need to have an understanding of your audience in one way or another, it also makes the participant feel as if you care about them rather than just your data.

Market Research

Market research is when you gather information about consumers needs and preferences for a product. Questions they may ask are: 'What other products are on the market?' or 'What can be done to improve out product?' etc. Research made by companies to understand what is needed in the market, that when you may use market research, that way you can learn about how to adjust your product to your audiences preferences and you can get rid of any competition within the same market. They are useful because it helps both the consumer and the provider, the consumer because they are getting what they want/need and the provider because they are selling it to them.

Production Research

Production research is used to gather material to allow a company to develop new products and ensure the whole process will run smoothly. In order to do this they investigate the technology and personnel available.  You may use production research if the audience research goes well and the market analysis is favourable a media company may decide to launch a new product within that market. They are useful because they allow companies to develop new products.