The Nature and Purposes of Research

The Nature and Purposes of Research

Primary research/self-generated research

When a person conducts primary research, they gather their own data using surveys, interviews, observations, questionnaires, and other methods. Primary research is primarily focused on acquiring content-specific facts that may be used to solve a specific problem. Furthermore, it enables the researcher to collect first-hand data, which can be deemed more genuine and authentic in a study setting.

I had to undertake my own primary research for the East Norfolk College T-Levels. I gathered data using a questionnaire that had closed questions. It was a very short questionnaire standing in at 9 questions with each questions getting more detailed with more answers given to them. I decided to only use closed questions as it would end up being more appealing to more people instead of them turning it down when it came to writing out their answer however, its a very good idea to add a couple open questions where I could've gotten both qualitative and quantitative data.

An advantage that primary research is better than secondary research is that the data gathering and utilisation may be managed to ensure that it is used as effectively as possible. However, a big disadvantage that discourages a lot of people is that it takes a very long time to gather the necessary information and with the day and age we live in where all your answers are on the internet most people are put off by the fact that you have to conduct the research yourself.

Even in the professional industry primary research is useful, a good example for TV and Film is "test screening". Test screening is a sneak peek of a film or television show before its released to the general public in order to measure the audience's reaction. A cross-section of the population is chosen for preview audiences. Harold Lloyd is credited as being the first to apply the notion, having done a "test screening" in 1928. An example of test screening is for the movie E.T., they testing killing off E.T. at the end of the film instead of going back home to space which the audience didn't enjoy so they redid the ending.

FormPlus, Primary research. Available at: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/primary-research/

QuestionPro, Primary research. Available at: https://www.formpl.us/blog/primary-research

Wikipedia, Primary research. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_screening

Den of geek, Primary research. Available at: https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/51-movies-and-how-they-were-affected-by-test-screenings/

Secondary research

When someone conducts secondary research, they gather data or information from various sources such as books, video/audio recordings, articles and the internet mainly. It's important to evaluate any secondary research before you use it, especially from the internet as anyone can give out false any misleading information.

I also had some of my very own secondary research for the East Norfolk College T-Level video. Once I finished my video I shared it to the classroom to get thought and opinions on what I need to improve from a second set of eyes. Everyone wrote their feedback on a piece of paper making it a open text question where they handed me something to change as the video must look as professional as possible for the college website.

When compared to primary research, secondary research has a number of advantages. For example, unlike primary research, which must be gathered from the start, it is always and immediately available because of the enormous number of sources that can be rapidly accessible. Because the data is readily available especially in today's day and age, secondary research is a quicker procedure that may be finished in a matter of weeks. On the other hand, there are a few drawbacks. The main disadvantage that was previously explained is that a credibility assessment is required to verify the information's veracity. The sites may not have the most recent versions of reports or statistics, rendering the information obsolete and meaningless.

There's been a lot of movies and television shows that involve a lot of secondary research. A very genre that commonly uses secondary research to tell their stories is biographical movies/television shows. Being in such a big industry with millions on the line to produce a high-quality product for the world to see researchers will go through anything from written content, documentaries, and more. After gathering as much information as possible all the researchers will then compare and contrast the facts and remove any biases that may have existed when the data was initially gathered. An example of a biographical movie is "Ford v Ferrari" released in 2019 starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon as the main protagonists of the movie. The plot follows a motivated team of American and British engineers and designers, led by automotive designer Carroll Shelby and his British driver, Ken Miles, who is sent by Henry Ford II to construct the Ford GT40, a brand new racing vehicle with the potential of finally ending Ferrari's massive win streak.

QuestionPro, Secondary research. Available at: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/secondary-research/

Wikipedia, Secondary research. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_v_Ferrari

Quantitative research

Quantitative research is defined as the collection of numerical data through the use of a questionnaire or other numerical methods. Primary and secondary research can also be used to acquire it. This can be done with a questionnaire or survey, but the questions should still be closed. A good example is multiple-choice so that the answers can be counted up.

I had to create a survey for my East Norfolk College video, where I collected data about what I need to improve on and what is already good about it. The majority of the questions are closed questions is giving them the option to answer "yes" or "no". I created a pie chart for each question to help give a clearer understanding of what the answers would look like then just text on a screen. I was then able to determine the primary and secondary audiences by examining the responses that received the most and second-most votes.

There are many reasons why you would want to choose quantitative research, one reason is that it's very straightforward when quantitative data, the form-finding indicate which statistical measures to use. As a consequence, analysing the results and reporting your results is easier and less susceptible to distortion and subjectivity. Another advantage is that quantitative research can be presented visually using graphs and charts, making it easier to display. This type of information is easier to absorb because the findings are very straightforward. A disadvantage is that numerical data makes it oversimplified dynamic ideas like mood and belief. An example can be a  film that may generate a lot of money but it doesn't mean everyone enjoyed the movie due to overhyping it.

In the professional industry for movies and television shows, the main objective to find if it's a success of a broadcast they use this thing called box office sales. The highest-grossing film of all time is the recently released "Avengers: Endgame" that came out in 2019, with an all-time high of $2,797,800,564 grossed worldwide. However, in 2020 "Avatar" re-released the movie around the world to take back the top spot. An example of a movie that did really well at the box office but didn't get much praise from critics about the movie is "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" which came out in 2017 grossing over $1,332,539,889.

QuestionPro, What is quantitative research?. Available at: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/quantitative-research/

Scribber, What is quantitative research?. Available at: https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/quantitative-research/#:~:text=Quantitative%20research%20is%20the%20process,generalize%20results%20to%20wider%20populations

SmallBusiness, Advantages of quantitative research. Available at: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/quantitative-research-advantages-and-disadvantages-2296728

Wikipedia, Highest grossing movies. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_films

Qualitative research

Qualitative research is the compilation of any kind of non-numerical data that can be observed and recorded is referred to as qualitative analysis. For example, any type of text box where you can type out your reason or opinions. This can be gathered by primary polling techniques such as assessments, interviews and open-ended surveys or questionnaires. Open text boxes allow for more precise answers which is very useful for some surveys.

After the T-Level videos were all complete by everyone in the classroom, we then shared it during the lesson where we all gave the video some feedback so it can be as good as possible. We wrote our feedback on paper making it an open text question. This is a good example where qualitative research is better than quantitative in this situation as i am able to pin point the exact problems with my East Norfolk College video.

Like quantitative research, there are many advantages to using qualitative research. One advantage is that was previously explained is the ability to gather comprehensive responses due to the interactive nature of the questions and the opportunity people have to express themselves. This offers additional data to be analysed and added to a media product in order to enhance it as much as possible. A disadvantage of using qualitative research is the time-consuming data collection process. Gathering a large number of people to answer with different answers takes a very long time to sort everything.

In the professional media industry, qualitative data is often gathered from critics around the world that do it as their job or from the audience that attend the movies or television shows. Critics using flock to web pages like IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes being the top dogs for movie and television shows reviews. On both websites, you can find both sides for reviews, either written by authorized personnel or anyone else which is sectioned off into two areas.

Scribber, What is qualitative research?. Available at: https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/qualitative-research/#:~:text=Qualitative%20research%20involves%20collecting%20and,generate%20new%20ideas%20for%20research.

QuestionPro, What is qualitative research?. Available at: https://www.questionpro.com/blog/qualitative-data/

Data gathering agencies

Data gathering agencies capture and records consumptions of footage and an example of a data-gathering agency is a broadcaster audience research board (BARB).

The broadcasters audience research board (BARB) is the organization that compiles audience measurements and television ratings in the United Kingdom. Participating viewers have a box on the of their television sets that tracks the programmes they have watched.

IMDb is the worlds most popular and authoritative source for movies, television shows and celebrity content. You can also find ratings and reviews from authorized personnel for the latest movie or television show.

They also have a box office section which was once owned by box office mojo that was an American website that tracks box office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way.

Blogger, Research techniques for the creative media industries. Available at: http://unit3kieranfalzon.blogspot.com/2016/01/data-gathering-agencies.html#:~:text=A%20data%20gathering%20agency%20is,data%20gathering%20agency%20is%20barb.

Ipsos MORI, What does the broadcasters audience research board do?. Available at: https://www.ipsos.com/ipsos-mori/en-uk/measurement-tvvideo-viewing#:~:text=The%20Broadcasters'%20Audience%20Research%20Board%20is%20the%20organisation%20that%20compiles,Institute%20of%20Practitioners%20in%20Advertising

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Box Office Mojo, Homepage. Available at: https://www.boxofficemojo.com/

Audience and market research

Audience research is when the consumer research identifies a media product's target audience and conducts research to learn more about them specifically the demographic or psychographic. It is carried out on small groups of people and contains data such as views, desires, and tastes.

Market research is described as the action or practice of gathering information about the needs and desires of customers. Information about target audiences and consumers is collected so that the company or organization can learn more about an individual person or a group of people. This aids in identifying and analysing consumer demands, market size and much more.

When I was done making my T-Levels video I conducted comprehensive primary and secondary research. I did this by making a 9 question survey/questionnaire that has both quantitative and qualitative questions in it. I focused on a couple of the questions at the beginning about what my target audience is with my primary audience being 18-25 years old which is the age children would start attending college or thinking about T-Levels or University. My secondary audience is parents where who might be the ones making the choice of coming to East Norfolk College instead of the child choosing.

In the professional industry, when ranking and controlling media text, audience and market polling is used. Before producing the product, the media production company must have considered their target audience, particularly when it comes to the age range. After the product is near completion it will need to be checked by the regulatory board. A well known British board is the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). If the board does not agree with the age rating the producers made they will offer them some recommendations to make to improve the age rating and the product its self.

Wikipedia, Audience research. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audience_measurement

Wikipedia, Audience research. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_research

Learning Hub, What is audience and market research?. Available at: https://learn.g2.com/audience-research

BBFC, About us. Available at: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/

Production research

The purpose of production research is to find out how to finance the production and how much it would cost: to gather information on the content of the production and also to discover whether the product is viable for release, this would be figured out when production research is completed. They may use primary research by setting up focus groups to gather people's opinions.

I also did a considerable amount of product research before making my short video on T-Levels. It includes all the planning, location releases, and a lot more. All the equipment and costumes if needed was funded by the school where I 2x cameras, 2x tripods, boom microphone, audio equipment, etc.

In the professional media industry, pre-production documentation is essential so the company can get approval to use certain personnel and sites to schedule what they can do during the production process. Things like shot lists, location releases, recces are part of the production paperwork. If companies aren't filming in a studio they will get location scouts to look over the locations they plan to use and see if they have permission to film there, especially in private areas like houses, farms, and more.

Jamie Robinson, Pre-production work. Available at: https://online.fliphtml5.com/diioa/zgqq/

Filming in England, About. Available at: https://www.filminginengland.co.uk/about/

Slideshare, What is production research?. Available at: https://www.slideshare.net/marleylong/audience-27055236